I’ve got a turning demo coming up and needed material for a natural edge bowl, which means I needed a log, which you can’t buy at the lumber yard.  Luckily, I’ve got an endless supply of wood that is readily available right in my back yard in the form of downed trees and limbs from winter storms.  The nice thing about fallen wood is that its usually been dead for awhile, so there’s no waiting for it to season.

So I ventured out on this winter evening, braving wind chills in the single digits, chainsaw in hand, to find a suitable chunk of log.  I returned with a half-dozen logs, ready to split-cut on the bandsaw and prep for turning.  I felt good about my find….

…until I remembered that I haven’t yet wired the 220V circuit for my 21″ bandsaw, and my little 14″ doesn’t have the vertical capacity for anything larger than a loaf of bread.  I’m still building out my shop after our move, and don’t have a 220 circuit to wire up.  Soon, but not in time for the demo.

I ended up going back out for a set of smaller logs for the demo that my smaller bandsaw could handle.  For the larger logs, I dug out my portable carving clamp/sawhorse and was able to secure them for cutting with the chainsaw.  It was a safe process, but I really prefer the stability and accuracy of the bandsaw.

I’m going to put together a tutorial on log preparation, including how to mount them for turning.  But first, I think I’ll get the electrician in to run my new 220 primary feed to the new shop panel.