Boyce Beauty

A pile of Sissoo (Dalbergia Sissoo, AKA Indian Rosewood) sourced from Boyce Thompson Arboretum yesterday. The big piece on the top is actually a big crotch piece.









The butt end of the crotch piece. I assisted taking this tree down, sectioning it up, and cleaning up the mess yesterday. It had some frost damage (yes, it does sometimes get below freezing in AZ) and the Arboretum decided it needed to be removed.








Tonight I ripped the crotch in half to prepare it for turning. I was not disappointed with what I found. I'm now thinking about ripping a platter blank off of the face of this blank to best preserve this amazing grain. The bowl made from the remaining wood would be shallower and slightly smaller diameter but the spectacular platter would be worth it.

There's 1 more piece at the arboretum with my name on it. Their chainsaw broke down before the last cut could be made. There's also 5 or 6 pieces about 8" diameter and 4' long but I'm not as interested in them. Lastly there's another very similar tree that they plan to take out soon. I'm already on the short list to help them take that one out.

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Roadkill

I spotted a wood pile beside the road on Wednesday while driving between dental appointments (long story).  The pile was mostly Pine and Eucalyptus but there were a few chunks of Mesquite mixed in.  I don't want or need any Mesquite but I picked it up for fellow club members, likely to be part of the 50/50 meeting next month.  It was already cut pretty much how I would cut it, slightly longer than the diameter (9-10" diameter, 14" long).  Got to love free wood.