Timberturner + Bowlwood Woodturning: August 2013

Woodturners have an inherent affliction. We're wood hoarders. I think it's a function of the same gene that makes us woodturners. Pity us, we can't help ourselves. Well, that's not exactly true; we do help ourselves-- to as much free wood as we can haul home!

So, even though I knew better, when wood hound and craigslist crawler Bob Labrecque called the other day asking if I was interested in picking the bones of a huge fallen Butternut tree, I said "of course!". Another road trip! Breakfast out. Chain saws. Sawdust 'n' sweat. Male bonding. A sunny day outdoors. All that good stuff.

Butternuts

So how did it all pan out? Ok, so the breakfast was, um, awful. Next time Bob talks me into getting the waffle topped with mixed frozen berries, I'll do as he does and get eggs. (When the waitress asked how my waffle was, and saw the look on my face, she said "nobody gets the mixed frozen-berry waffle, but as a waitress I couldn't tell you that").
The road trip was only about 5 miles, and in local traffic. Bob's big-boy chainsaw threw the chain and chewed it up shortly after starting. The wood had to be hauled uphill.

But none of that stopped us. I survived the breakfast. We had other saws. And Matt Collins, in whose backyard the Butternut behemoth lay, turned out to be a great guy who brought the wood up the hill for us.

Matt and his family live on an attractive piece of land in western Massachusetts. The ample, grassy backyard slopes downhill to a relatively wet, lowland wooded area.

The fallen Butternut

The plentiful ground moisture helps grow a pleasing mixture of New England hardwoods, such as Black Cherry, Sugar Maple, Silver Maple, Catalpa, Red Oaks, and, until recently, a grand, double-trunk spreading Butternut.

A storm last October toppled the smaller, 3-foot diameter half of the duo, then April brought the demise of the larger twin, which measures in the 4-foot range at its base. That's the largest Butternut I've encountered, and I'd much rather have seen it standing proudly than lying prone. According to

Matt, topside, while Bob explains...uh .... something important, I'm sure!

Matt, it was the most prominent feature of his landscape, and his family is saddened by the loss of this familiar old friend. He now wants to see the tree's wood put to good use, and has offered it to any woodworkers who can create something with it. Matt would like to have a keepsake in memory of the cherished Butternut, so we'll see to it he gets a nice bowl or two.