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Oneway 2424 - 4650

Not trying to be obtuse. Doug is correct - a large mesquite sphere.
The tree was in Karnes County, a bit east of the King Ranch. It weighs a bit over 1000-lbs and, right now, is about 36" diameter.
As of right now, the lathe mod is done and a little walnut test log (26", 350-lbs) is on to find the Achilles heel(s). If nothing breaks or presents problems, the mesquite log goes on tomorrow.
Mistletoe-burl is special stuff just as mesquite is special stuff - there are minimal ring-shakes. My biggest concern is nails or screws - the tree was in the front yard of the ranch house - who knows what lurks beneath. I can deal with 16-penny - lag screws are challenging.
I've attached a pic - hopefully it survives.
 

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John Tisdale said:
Not trying to be obtuse. Doug is correct - a large mesquite sphere.
The tree was in Karnes County, a bit east of the King Ranch. It weighs a bit over 1000-lbs and, right now, is about 36" diameter.
As of right now, the lathe mod is done and a little walnut test log (26", 350-lbs) is on to find the Achilles heel(s). If nothing breaks or presents problems, the mesquite log goes on tomorrow.
Mistletoe-burl is special stuff just as mesquite is special stuff - there are minimal ring-shakes. My biggest concern is nails or screws - the tree was in the front yard of the ranch house - who knows what lurks beneath. I can deal with 16-penny - lag screws are challenging.
I've attached a pic - hopefully it survives.
Click to expand...

A few years ago, I got a once-in-a-lifetime mesquite log that was about 34" diameter and about 36" long. Being really dumb at the time, I cut it into a bunch of smaller pieces. It wasn't a burl, but it did have "character". Feel free to come over and shoot me for this unspeakable crime against woodkind. The bed of my pickup has about a 2" swale created when the tractor dropped it from a height of about four feet.
 
Bill, the second step is taking off the bed and putting it in your front yard.

Next to the tire flower planter.

😀
 
Whatever was posted on Tuesday is lost due to the hack. The thread had gotten sidetracked, but several posts were made after we got it back on topic. If you recall what you posted, we can sort of reconstruct what was lost.

NOTE TO EVERYBODY: Change your password. I suggest using a mixture of letters, numbers, and symbols.
 
Mike: Shoulders more than elbows but it's only been two days.
Olaf: I understand love/hate stage - I've done over a dozen mistletoe burl mesquites - they beat you up. But never one like this.
I'm adjusting how I present the tool to allow a more relaxed left hand - pain avoidance is becoming the issue during this initial rounding stage. I'm turning at about 120-rpm - kerchunking twice per second makes for a hard day.

I'm doing some experimenting with gouges - I've been using a Glaser 3/4" Red-Handle and Thompson 3/4" - both with shot-filled handles - both work but they seem to transmit the shock back to my 70-year old anatomy. I have also tried the D-Way 5/8 in a shop-made, unweighted handle - maybe it's because I tend to finesse it more but it seems more tame - because I stay around 1/2" to 1" between log and toolrest, I plan to try a D-Way 1/2" and see if its smaller size is a plus. The jury is still out on which gouge..

Attached is the Day-2 pic - the Southern Hemisphere is peeking through. Hopefully after I find the equator and Norther Hemisphere I'll be able to crank up to 200-rpm.
 

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I find that gouges are tough on transmitting shock. And I use the Thompson 1/2 and 3/4" ones, with the biggest handles and yeah, they beat you up.

However, my 3/4 scraper on a 24" Kelton handle is much easier. I move the tool rest as close as possible, the clamp the end of the handle under my armpit and just use my body weight to move it around. I've also got a tool rest with pins in it, like for metal spinning (takes the strain off your forward hand).

The other, more effective method is a 30" long drill rod, with a 1/4" insert, for really tough jobs. Its not subtle, just rips off chunks. But at this stage, who cares? You can clean it up later.
 
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Pic: Day-3a - third day - able to see Northern Hemisphere. It's easier now - I'm mostly past the chainsaw flats on all but the middle 8".

Next is finding the optimum axis - don't want to cut too much into one side before engaging the other. Mistletoe burl needs to be balanced with similar ratios of finished to negative space which requires adjusting the axis on the drive, the live-center or both. Only then can the tenon for the faceplate be surfaced and the faceplate attached.

After axis comes the equator. Currently I'm about 42" between centers - best guess is the circumference will be 30" to 31". Need to bring in one or both poles to achieve a globe.

Fortunately mesquite has a 3.2% radial and 1.6% tangential shrinkage factor which means I can cut to almost finished dimensions on the first pass - when dry, it should only need minor tweeking. I did a 18" walnut globe a couple of years ago - had to plan for 7.8% tangential shrinkage / 5.5% radial shrinkage - recutting at 6% MC got a bit dicey.
 

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John Tisdale said:
Pic: Day-3a - third day - able to see Northern Hemisphere. It's easier now - I'm mostly past the chainsaw flats on all but the middle 8".

Next is finding the optimum axis - don't want to cut too much into one side before engaging the other. Mistletoe burl needs to be balanced with similar ratios of finished to negative space which requires adjusting the axis on the drive, the live-center or both. Only then can the tenon for the faceplate be surfaced and the faceplate attached.

After axis comes the equator. Currently I'm about 42" between centers - best guess is the circumference will be 30" to 31". Need to bring in one or both poles to achieve a globe.

Fortunately mesquite has a 3.2% radial and 1.6% tangential shrinkage factor which means I can cut to almost finished dimensions on the first pass - when dry, it should only need minor tweeking. I did a 18" walnut globe a couple of years ago - had to plan for 7.8% tangential shrinkage / 5.5% radial shrinkage - recutting at 6% MC got a bit dicey.
Click to expand...

hollow it now leave some bark .....course it would not be able to very thin......but with that size.......thanks for sharing
 
In one word, "carefully".
The diameter is currently about 31" - the ends are over 40" - a big, ugly football.
Bringing the ends in - to continue the reference to topography, I need land masses to connect the two poles.
Imagine the earth with no center - only the outer crust and the center being water - you could deep dive to China.
In this case no ocean, only ether - the population on the underside of the crust depend on centrifical force - us good folks on the outside on gravity.
A friend of mine that is known to take an occasional "toke" would reply "wowwwww".
I'll start another thread titled Planet Mesquite - fair warning to the sober few who have better things to think about.
John
 
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