Replies

1. 
   Thorvald | Feb 13, 2009 12:51am | #1

   I found one of those in some poplar I was running through my planer years ago.  The good news was that it was a .22 so no jacket to ding the knives.  I used the piece for the back of a drawer carcass where it wouldn't show, but would be a secret novelty for the customer.   

   Verne

   If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to cut it up and make something with it . . . what a waste!

1. 
   oldusty | Feb 13, 2009 01:45am | #2

       There is this fellow I know who teaches the local Hunter Safety courses and is certainly a gun guy , maybe he would appreciate it as a placard sort of thing .

            this looks to be more then a .22 diameter but the tree could have flattened it out some

               regards   dusty

2. 
   joinerswork | Feb 13, 2009 02:00am | #3

   dusty,

   I'll see your bullet, and raise you a nail.

   The door is in the shop for repair (broken tenon), the nail in walnut I split out of a 12/4 plank that was sawn near where I live.  This was one of several nails in the tree, about as far apart up the trunk as, oh, say the steps to a tree stand.

    

   Ray

   
1. 
   oldusty | Feb 13, 2009 02:10am | #4

     O.K. Ray , I'll bite ,,, how'd the bullet get into the door ?

             very cool

                       dusty

1. 
   joinerswork | Feb 13, 2009 06:30am | #7

   dusty,

   I dunno, I wasn't there when it happened! :-)

   It is from mid 1800's, the owner claims it is a civil war ball.  Who am I to argue?

   Ray

2. 
   JeffHeath | Feb 13, 2009 02:19am | #6

   Deer stand spikes can really wreak havoc on bandmill blades, and the user.  Sometimes the bandmill blades cut the metal, dulling the heck out of the blade.  Sometimes, the bands just basically 'explode', sending shrapnel out into the close vicinity, usually near my arse.

   Jeff

1. 
   joinerswork | Feb 13, 2009 06:37am | #8

   Jeff,

   The sawyer spotted the black streak on the butt of the log, knew there was metal somewhere in the log.  He tried to sneak a board or two off the log, and sure enough hit one of the nails, just tipping it.  Decided to cut a 12/4 slab off, to get to the other side of the metal (it was a nice big log, but not too long).  I took the slab home and after drying it, I tried to work around the nail he'd tipped, and damned if I didn't hit another one about a foot away from the first.  They were completely out of sight, the wood had grown totally over.  You can see how the wood fibers bulge around the nail in the picture.

   Ray

1. 
   JeffHeath | Feb 13, 2009 06:43pm | #11

   There was a thread on the Forestry Forum a couple years back about where all the forum members were posting pics of the weird crap that they hit in trees.  Ceramics from lighting wires were quite frequent, and obviously, nails galore.  One posted a pic of an old metal tin, possibly an old coffee tin, that had stuff inside, that was completely encapsulated in the crotch.  Another was of a gym shoe that was also completely grown over.  There were pictures of tools, scissors, and sorts of goodies, always found in the crotches.  I guess it should be the first place to start checking next time I'm missing something in the yard.  Folks lay something in the crotch of a tree, and it's never found again until the sawyer cuts through it 50 years later.

   One of the best pics was of an old schwinn bicycle that was running right through the center of the tree, like a barb wired fence line.  Somebody leaned it there and forgot about it for at least 30 or 40 years. 

   Jeff

1. 
   joinerswork | Feb 14, 2009 04:49am | #12

   Jeff,

   My mom's uncle lived on an old homestead in the blue ridge mtns.  I remember visiting Uncle Maynard's and marvelling at a huge tree in his yard whose trunk was nearly 3' across.  It was growing up through the iron rim of a buggy wheel.  That would have been nearly 50 yrs ago.  That rim ought to be getting pretty snug by now.

   Ray 

2. 
   Thorvald | Feb 14, 2009 05:13am | #13

   You never know what you'll run into.  I've often found inspiration in a piece of wood! ;)Verne

   If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to cut it up and make something with it . . . what a waste!<!----><!----><!---->

3. 
   flairwoodworks | Feb 14, 2009 05:57am | #14

   Absolutely - that's what really gets me excited about woodworking.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

3. 
   JeffHeath | Feb 13, 2009 02:17am | #5

   I frequently find metal goodies in logs I've milled into lumber.  I'm no historian, but the soft lead stuff I run into on occasion is most likely from the 1800's, back when the bullets were very soft lead.  I had one that appeared during some planing, and it literally "smeared" into the face of the freshly planed wood.

   Jeff

4. 
   pzaxtl | Feb 13, 2009 07:10am | #9

   I ran into some lead shot in walnut I was prepping for table aprons.  Didn't trash my jointer blades, and figure was gorgeous!  Flipped the piece over and hid the stains on the inside of the aprons.  What I found particularly interesting is that the shot was fully contained in 4/4 kiln dried stock, with no indication of its presence on the rough sawn faces.  I guess the sawyer got lucky!

1. 
   Shoemaker1 | Feb 13, 2009 04:52pm | #10

   Hi
   I was splitting some out sole leather for some shoes. I saw a piece of metal on the leather and thought my blade was disintergrating! I looked at it and I had split some lead shot that was buried in old betsey hide. No trace on either side of the leather.
   Wonder how it got there?

5. 
   | Feb 14, 2009 04:43pm | #15

   Hello Dusty,

   I found a half of a Coke bottle in a piece of 12/4 once! Buckshot, slugs and bullets are very common. Make a frame for it and hang it on the shop wall.

   Bob, Tupper Lake, NY