Rube Posted September 11, 2017 Report Share Posted September 11, 2017 Howdy Folks, I just got my hands on some olive wood and want to make a jewelry or make-up box for my wife. What would be a good accent wood to go with that? THis is my first project that will not involve rebuilding the fence or wood from the box stores. Wish me luck. Rube Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted September 11, 2017 Report Share Posted September 11, 2017 Got a pic? Olivewood can vary quite a bit from board to board. My gut says that walnut would be a nice pair with the creamy color of the olive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rube Posted September 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2017 I'll have to cut it up and make boards out of it first before taking pictures. My Woodcraft was selling logs of olive wood and cut one open to share with everyone. I was thinking the same thing about the walnut, though. I'll try to get it cut up in a day or two and post pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted September 11, 2017 Report Share Posted September 11, 2017 Walnut, maple, Holly ? Wenge or ebony are also possibilities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rube Posted September 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2017 2 hours ago, Eric. said: Got a pic? Olivewood can vary quite a bit from board to board. My gut says that walnut would be a nice pair with the creamy color of the olive. Here's the only pic I have of it now. Not that much to look at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rube Posted September 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2017 1 hour ago, wdwerker said: Walnut, maple, Holly ? Wenge or ebony are also possibilities. Wenge. I didn't think about that. I'll have to see the walnut and wenge inking with the olive to see how they look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted September 11, 2017 Report Share Posted September 11, 2017 Do you know the MC of that log? You may get a few unpleasant surprises if you go hacking on it willy-nilly and it's not dry. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted September 11, 2017 Report Share Posted September 11, 2017 The twist in that log could make cutting it tricky. Perhaps diagonal slices ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted September 12, 2017 Report Share Posted September 12, 2017 +1 Eric - It is unlikey that that log is as dry as you want it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted September 12, 2017 Report Share Posted September 12, 2017 Slice off a piece and weigh it on an accurate digital scale. Record the weight and check it every few days/weeks. When the weight stabilizes it's reached an equilibrium and it might take heat to dry it further. Even if the weight of the piece stabilizes quickly that doesn't mean the center of the log might not still be wet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted September 12, 2017 Report Share Posted September 12, 2017 With that collection of hand planes, those must be pretty nice fences you're rebuilding! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rube Posted September 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2017 4 hours ago, Eric. said: Do you know the MC of that log? You may get a few unpleasant surprises if you go hacking on it willy-nilly and it's not dry. I do not know what MC means, sorry. Still a bit of a noob to some of the acronyms here. I do plan on getting a metal detector and moisture meter done though. Ahhhhh! Does MC mean moisture content? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted September 12, 2017 Report Share Posted September 12, 2017 Moisture Content 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rube Posted September 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2017 1 hour ago, Ronn W said: +1 Eric - It is unlikey that that log is as dry as you want it. I was planning on letting it sit for a while until I get my moisture meter. That will be at least another two months so I can take advantage of some Black Friday sales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rube Posted September 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2017 13 minutes ago, K Cooper said: With that collection of hand planes, those must be pretty nice fences you're rebuilding! It is a pretty nice fence. All I had at the time were a bunch of hand planes (Stanley 3-8 with Hock blades), hand saws, and joinery planes. I made it using all hand tools. Took me months. Now I have a full shop so getting the rest of the fence done will be much faster and easier. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rube Posted September 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2017 1 hour ago, Ronn W said: +1 Eric - It is unlikey that that log is as dry as you want it. I didn't think about that when I originally posted the cutting into it comment. I'll let it sit a while before I do. One of my wish list items is a moisture meter. I'll try it then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted September 12, 2017 Report Share Posted September 12, 2017 5 minutes ago, Rube said: I didn't think about that when I originally posted the cutting into it comment. I'll let it sit a while before I do. One of my wish list items is a moisture meter. I'll try it then. I'd coat the ends heavily with Anchorseal (or better yet...wax) then mill it into fat 4/4 boards. You'll have to cut it up into smaller pieces if you wanna work with it this century. Olive is very dense and will take forever to dry in log form like that. The key is sealing the ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rube Posted September 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2017 11 minutes ago, Eric. said: I'd coat the ends heavily with Anchorseal (or better yet...wax) then mill it into fat 4/4 boards. You'll have to cut it up into smaller pieces if you wanna work with it this century. Olive is very dense and will take forever to dry in log form like that. The key is sealing the ends. I've got plenty of wax. Would I be able to just mill it after that then? That would definitely make it dry quicker since we still have a few months of this Texas heat before winter gets here in February. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted September 12, 2017 Report Share Posted September 12, 2017 7 minutes ago, Rube said: I've got plenty of wax. Would I be able to just mill it after that then? That would definitely make it dry quicker since we still have a few months of this Texas heat before winter gets here in February. Winter would be better actually. The goal is to dry it as slowly as possible. It's not drying at all in log form (or at least extremely slowly), but drying it too quickly will tear it apart. It's gonna be a gamble to cut it into boards but if you don't cut it up you'll never be able to use it. Moisture escapes fastest from end grain, which is why you almost always get checking at the ends of boards...and why you want to seal the ends. You're at a disadvantage with such a small piece because there's not much room for waste if it does check or split. I would expect checking near the pith for sure. You probably won't yield a ton of usable material but maybe enough for a jewelry box or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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