Hi Folks,
Just finished surfacing some White Birch and thought I’d share some photos with you. These boards were made from logs Ethan Allen rejected but I like ’em.
The long boards I just couldn’t cut into short ones. The short pieces are 3′ long and average about 8″ wide.
These are a couple of the offcuts. I had to cut up 8′ boards so had some healthy sized offcuts for the bin….
As you can see I kinda got ’em mixed up/out of sequence. Not a problem as with white birch the end grain tells ya.
I think they’d make some really nice parts. Hmmmmm, mebbe I’ll shellac ’em!
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Replies
jeez bob, what a great big pile of potential! what do ya mean from a log that ethan allen rejected?
really nice stuff. i've had some good woodworking times with birch, hope you will too.
your shop's looking good too.
eef
Eef,
Jack a distant relative of mine, cuts hardwood logs each winter and has been doing this for many years. There is a local Ethan Allen furniture factory and the log buyer (a well known local chap) stops by in early apring and selects whatever logs he wants for the factory.
Uncle Stewart, myself and several other woodworking enthusiasts get first dibs on the rest. Last spring I bought 420 bf mix of birch, maple and cherry.
All the wood was sawn in May and air dried til mid November, then kiln dried and brought home turkey day weekend. Stacked overhead in the garage with the rest of me stash.
Regards, Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
You lucky devil!Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
Frosty,
Yeah, I'll buy Ethan Allen rejects till the cows come home! And some of the widest & nicest boards are still in the stack.
Got some real interesting crotch pieces that are still air drying, stickered and lying flat up over the garage.
Can't wait to see what this springs crop has in store,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
You lucky devil!
Your choice of title for this thread is interesting. Yes, Birch is probably not given the respect it deserves from many hobbyists and custom builders.
But it sure gets lots of attention from the cheapo cabinet shops. I've seen dozens of kitchen remodels where the home owner thought they bought really fine cherry cabinets. One quick look from an experienced eye proved that they were birch, with a good-looking reddish stain.
I've also seen fake walnut, fake pecan, and even one attempt at faking maple -- all with birch.
It really is a versatile wood in that respect. And its also excellent when used as birch.
Yes,
I've thought of using it as a fake several times but just couldn't bring myself to do it. Like it better just the way it is.
Made lots of pieces using birch, including my workbench and cabinets in the woodshop. Matter of fact, my first piece faintly resembling anything fine was made out of birch.
Guess I've always had kind of a soft spot for it,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 1/14/2009 4:14 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
A lot of hickory is called pecan. Would you call that fake or does it realistically fall within the realm of pecan?
Call me a purist when it comes to wood and wooden furniture, and tree species.If something is made from cherry, call it cherry. If it's cherry and cherry veneer, then call it cherry with cherry veneer.And if it's "Pecan" that is not made from pecan, my opinion is that it should not be called pecan. Even though it might have been made from a very similar, just as scarce (maybe even more so), just as beautiful hardwood.If it's hickory, it should either be called hickory, or it should be called "Faux Pecan", or "With a pecan-look finish, made from select hardwoods" -- or something like that.It's not that the furniture is inherently less valuable, or the work somehow less worthy. For me, it's kind of like seeing a baked potato on a menu that says "Idaho potato" -- and getting one that was grown in Georgia. It's just not right.
Politics is the antithesis of problem solving.
Tinkerer3Pecan and Hickory are different species in the same genus--Carya illinoensis is Pecan and Carya ovata (shagbark hickory) or Carya lacinosa (shellbark hickory). That's probably more than you wanted to know. I was a budding horticulturalist in my youth! You can lead a horticulture but you can't make her think... ;) Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
So it would seem that pecan is as much related to the hickories as the shagbark and the shellbark are to each other? BTW, what is the difference between shag and shell? I have a hickory behind my house but I'm not sure whether it is a shagbark or a shellbark.
According to the article I consulted (thank you Google!), the shellbark has a larger nut with a thicker shell. Not very descriptive. Wood-wise, I'd guess there's not much difference. I've never worked pecan or hickory for anything other than BBQ, but I've heard others say here on Knots there's a significant difference between pecan and hickory wood as far as workability. Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
Neve used any true Pecan. Hickory all the time. Hickory gets a bad rap for being hard to work with in my opinion.
Bob,
That stack has Krenov style cabinet written all over it. There would be some very cool door panels there. Maybe even cooper the sides, the curves would really show off that grain.
Napie,
Uh, not a big fan of Krenov stuff. Not taking anything from his craftsmanship/talent mind, but his pieces all just seem to look the same to me. He definitely makes a fine stage for presentation of the wood he uses.
The wife wants me to use it for new treads & risers for new stairs in the house. I'm mind wrestling with that one........
Yes, they would make some really interesting panels. Mebbe I can get that Samson fella to guide me?
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I have not forgotten about the birch,
I have built a number of projects with it and I am currently building a work bench top out of it. The stuff I get comes from a sawyer who cuts it out of the northwestern Ontario region. Some where around Kenora. it is lovely wood. I find it just the right mixture of hardness combined with workability.
Derek
Derek,
I find it just the right mixture of hardness combined with workability.
Absolutely! Doncha like the smell when milling it too? But it doesn't beat cherry in my book though. Hey I guess they all smell good when ye workin 'em.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Oak does not smell good when you are working it. I live in the land where Oak is the wood to have. I despise it so. It is over done in these parts. Yuck...
But birch sure does smell sweet.
Derek
I think you may be a minority regarding the smell of oak . . . that's the one wood smell that my wife has complimented, and also one of my faves. Why do you thinkd that grilling over oak is so popular? It's the best smelling wood that I can think of. Need I go on?Well the one time the smell did gross me out was when cutting it for firewood. There seemed to be a lot of moss and bugs and crap involved, and I think that's what my impression was based on, but also the wood was green so that could be part of the difference, too.Brian
Bob,
The smell of birch when working it, takes me back to my childhood. I always think of the popsicle sticks I used to chew on after finishing the treat.
Ray
Life is a Birch, and then you get eaten by termites. ;-)
Nice score, Bob.
That's a nice-lookin' stack of lumber you've got yourself. And is that flame in one of those offcuts? I wonder if they were rejected because they had both heart and sapwood in them. Those are the kind of boards that get me excited about woodworking. Just like this one on top of the pile, in MY driveway... (pardon the ugly file name!)
Chris @ www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
(soon to be www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Hey, what happened to the attachment? Again...Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com(soon to be http://www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Hi Chris,
I've seen quite a bit of flame in the birch I've gotten over the years. Seems to be fairly common up here. Uncle Stewart had some curly that was to die for. If I didn't know better it looked nicer than curly maple!
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 1/14/2009 4:53 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
Birch, the forgotten wood
Nice collection of 'sticks'.. Forgotten? My local hardwood supplier sell ALOT of it. Goes pretty fast. However much of it is in the 6 to 7 inch wide range.
I for one have never used the wood for furniture. I have looked and thought of it but somehow I always went back to my old usuals.
Maybe next trip, I'll try some?
Hi Will,
I have some really nice offcuts from these sticks. They're about 2' long...... :-)
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 1/14/2009 8:49 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
The shop I worked in used birch and my boss was always kind enough to let me take home what I needed for personal use. This is an 8/4 x 10" x 4' long board I resawed for a project (as yet unfinished). I was quite happy when I saw this.
-philjohnwilliams
Bob,
That's a fine looking stack you've got there. I'd try to get out of using it for risers though. It deserves better than to be kicked in the head every time someone walks upstairs.
And speaking of Ethan Allen, my uncle was the foreman of a big EA furniture parts mill up in Maine for a long time. I visited him a few times, sometimes to work in the summer when I was a teenager.
They bought logs from local woodlots, pine and birch mostly, and hauled them to the milling yard. Sprinklers were going all the time on the logs to keep them saturated before they were sawn into boards. Once the boards were sawn they were wheeled in big carts - almost the size of railroad flatcars - into huge kilns. My job one summer was to paint the inside of one of the kilns with some special aluminum paint - with a brush. To make the work even more difficult, they couldn't turn the kiln heating plant off completely, so it was about a hundred degrees in there, the paint smelled awful, and the work simply would not end.
My uncle had a lot of stories about the mill and the guys who worked both in the plant and also as loggers up by where he lived. A different breed for sure. Tough men and hardworking men.
The fabrication part of the mill was what really fascinated me. Lots of big machinery going, planers, saws, big glue presses to glue up panels. Loud and dusty. And everything had that good, clean birch or pine smell.
ZoltonIf you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
Zolton,
Your reflections on that plant up yonder echo many past experiences of mine. Uncle Stewart used to work in the one across the river in the Peoples Republic of Vermont. You know, that state where they think they make the best maple syrup......... :-)
Have you ever read Spiked Boots, or Tall Trees, Tough Men by Robert Pike? An intro can be found at here. I remember the Androscoggin River being filled with pulpwood just above Berlin, NH.
This years crop should be interesting. The logs are being cut and yarded by a high school classmate of mine, with horses.
Regards, Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob,
That link to the Atlantic article from 1963 was a fascinating read. It reminded me very much of the way my uncle used to talk about the loggers he dealt with at the Ethan Allen plant he ran up around Bethel, Maine. Thanks for the looking that up and sending it. I'll look for a copy of the book you referred to at my library.
ZoltonIf you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
"one across the river in the Peoples Republic of Vermont. You know, that state where they think they make the best maple syrup......... :-)"
I guess that is the best we can expect from a flatlander!
Frank,
I guess that is the best we can expect from a flatlander!
Oh yeah. Well you guys may have Unharried Howard but we got Sister Shaheen! Gawd help us all, eh?
:-)
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
You know, that state where they think they make the best maple syrup......... :-)
Which is, of course, not true. Everybody knows the best maple syrup come from Quebec.
Though maybe I am a little biased
-philjohnwilliams
phil,
Got a summer place up there in Keebek and there's a sugarhouse just up the road a piece from us. Every spring they have an open house and brunch is maple glazed ham, French toast, pancakes, homemade Canadian slab bacon and all the fixins.
Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm good!
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Everybody knows the best maple syrup come from Quebec.
Yes, but you have to speak fluent French to be able to get it! :>)
phil,
Y'all only think that cause you have never had maple syrup from Highland County, VA, "America's Switzerland".
Ray
Ray,
Yeah well have yall had a French maid serve ye breakfast in bed?
Maybe we kin get that.... Oooops, the Knotty police are watchin. Gotta go now.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob, A local cabinet maker, (82 years young) just completed a chest in curly birch for one of the local church run schools.
It was truly beautiful!I have only used birch several times and once was figured veneer. Please keep the cold up your way,
ThanksRon in Peabody
Bob,
A French maid would be as scarce in Highland County, as several slices of fried Virginia ham in, oh, say, New Hampshire. Both look nice draped over the china on the breakfast table, though.
Ray
Bob
Being a true blue Green Mountain Boy, I can attest to the fact that our syrup is indeed the best available.
In fact, here in the people's cooperative of Shrewsbury (a bulwark of the people's republic) we've got an operation that produces nothing but organic maple syrup (!) I kid you not, Mr. Kidderville. They're mighty proud of it.....
Jest don't git no better 'n 'at!
Ron,
organic maple syrup
What no Ant Jemima!?
:-)
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
phil,
Now that's some purty wood. Mebbe I should have titled this discussion, Birch - a diamond in the ruff.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
One 0f my favorites.
After cutting all those dovetails, I'd be about ready for that case of Coors Light - or, actually, something stronger - visible in the background of your photo..
ZoltonIf you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
Holy flaming birch boxes Batman!
Those are something else. Thanks for the inspiration - gives us all something to shoot for.
Nice stuff,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Great load of secondary wood for drawer parts and case interiors you got there Bob...
Jimmy,
secondary wood for drawer parts, case interiors
Hrrrumph, I guess not. I think that's what EA was envisioning too.
Would ye be needin some help wid dat tongue ye got stuck in yer cheek?
:-)
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
How about a thread named "Lambada, The Forbidden Dance?"
The Forbidden Dance?" My wife and I did the Chicken Dance!
The wife used to do ballet but never dropped her hanky on the floor.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Those are some nice looking boards you have there. I have built a few things out of birch and I am always impressed with the way the birch looks after you finishing milling it up to size, here are a few pics of a blanket chest I am working on now it is made out of birch and I am not going to try and pass it off as anything but what it is.
Edited 1/18/2009 2:29 pm ET by mikeddd
Mike,
Ummmmm betcha had fun with all those dovetails. Gonna be a handesome chest when yer git 'r done.
Have you resawn any birch? Saw your bandsaw with what looks like a riser block. Gonna give it a go with some of the offcuts for bookmatching some panels.
Looks like you have a nice woodshop too.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 1/18/2009 9:54 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
Yes I had fun with the dovetails, I am a newbee to the furniture building so they where a challenge to say the least, I was thinking of doing something with the offcuts. The blanket chest is to go with a king size bed I built last winter for the lady of the house.
Ya i did resaw some birch turned out nice.
Edited 1/19/2009 12:18 am ET by mikeddd
hey mike,
isn't it nice that you can show us your unfinished work in progress? i, as a fellow wood worker, can see beyond, to it's finish, with ease. i'm making a very similar one. all dovetailed and such. the lid consists of four boards six inches wide, edge mitered at 221/2deg. im working up to cap the ends with pie shaped, long grain triangles which i aim to dovetail into the stave "dome" top. i'm looking to do it mostly with hand tools and to this end i made a shooting board ala d. cohen and i'll be cutting the pie wedges with a hand powered miter box. i don't have the same huevos as you do to post an early picture, but i will when done.
thanks for posting,
eef
by the way, i wish i had planned for a drawer, as you did...
Look forward to seeing the finished product, I will post some pic's of the chest I'm working on when I get it finished. Only get to work on that on days off from the job that pays the bills.
mike,
me too. time is so precious. and i'm doing the lion's share with hand tools AND much of that is learn as ya go. but oh the fun!
eef
I finished building my blanket chest and posted some pic's in the gallery, http://finewoodworking.taunton.com/my hopefully this link works.
mike,
when i click on the site you provided i'm asked to login. i did so but i don't know where to go from there. please do not laugh at me. my computer skills are sorely wanting.
eef
Here I wil try that again I think it is my computer skillls http://finewoodworking.taunton.com/item/7291/shaker-blanket-chest
Across the top is a list of selections. Click the "Gallery".Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
mike, frosty,
thanks you guys. mine is similar. my lid is four-sided stave constructed. i hope to cap the ends with dovetailed 221/2deg. pie shaped wedges. i'll post when done. hold not thy breath, however. it's slow going for this woodworker.
eef
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