# This is what I call a big log!



## Ron in Drums PA (Mar 23, 2007)

I get a call from a friend today "Hey Ron, We're cutting one of the big logs today, Want to check it out?" 

Like I'm going to pass this up!

It is 7'10" at the widest point! It had to be cut in half so it can fit into two containers on its trip from Africa. This section in the top half. Total length of the two logs is 36 FEET!!













This amazing quilted figure goes all the way though the log. I can't wait to see what it looks like with an oil finish.










I wonder how many pen blanks I can get out of this one?


Can anyone guess what type of woo this is?


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## arioux (Mar 23, 2007)

Hi,

I would go for bubinga

Alfred


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## Dario (Mar 23, 2007)

Bubinga is my guess too.

Major drool.


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## jthompson1995 (Mar 23, 2007)

All I can say is, WOW!!!!![8)][]


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## Ron in Drums PA (Mar 23, 2007)

> _Originally posted by arioux_
> <br />I would go for bubinga



You are right, this log is being slabbed for 2" thick table tops.


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## CaptG (Mar 23, 2007)

I am hyperventilating, my imagination runs wild with all the pens and stuff a person could make with that.  Wow.  That is one neat log, thanks for showing us.


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## Ptolemy (Mar 23, 2007)

Unreal.  An absolute thing of beauty.  Thanks for sharing.


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## thewishman (Mar 23, 2007)

Gorgeous!

Chris


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## wudnhed (Mar 23, 2007)

I have never seen such a thing before...........WOW!!!!!!!!!!!


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## thetalbott4 (Mar 23, 2007)

[:0] I've seen centerfolds that didnt get me that excited! That thing would make a bishop kick out a stained glass window. The only pictures of me and that log would be of me trying to drag it away.


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## Poppy (Mar 23, 2007)

Awesome! I wonder how old that tree was?......and what its monetary value would be?[:0]


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## Nolan (Mar 23, 2007)

And I thought I had an exciting day[:0]

Nolan


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## alamocdc (Mar 23, 2007)

OMG!!! That thing is GORGEOUS! The first thing I thought was, "WOW, that would make some great tables... or cabinets, or night stands, or dressers, or...!!!!!"

Oh, and, Scott, you and I think too much alike![:I]


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## Ron in Drums PA (Mar 23, 2007)

> _Originally posted by thetalbott4_
> <br />[:0] I've seen centerfolds that didnt get me that excited! That thing would make a bishop kick out a stained glass window. The only pictures of me and that log would be of me trying to drag it away.



ROTF, too funny! 




> _Originally posted by Poppy_
> <br />Awesome! I wonder how old that tree was?......and what its monetary value would be?[:0]



It's hard to tell with a tree that has a full year as it's growing season, no annual rings. We guessed it was about 500 years old when it died an estimated 60 years ago. 

As to the value... big. Transportation alone was several grand



> _Originally posted by alamocdc_
> <br />OMG!!! That thing is GORGEOUS! The first thing I thought was, "WOW, that would make some great tables... or cabinets, or night stands, or dressers, or...!!!!!"




It's being slabbed for 2" thick table tops


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## DocStram (Mar 23, 2007)

Dang, Ron!  I wish I had friends like yours. Mine are a bunch of losers.


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## GaryMGg (Mar 24, 2007)

Waterfall Bubinga. Badda bing, badda boom! Woohoo, that's some pretty stuff.


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## johncrane (Mar 24, 2007)

WOW that is AWESOMEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! is that you Ron or your mate in the photo also could we get a group buy going for a slab of this [:0][][][]


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## Ron in Drums PA (Mar 24, 2007)

Hi John. Yes that is me in the photo.

He plans on selling the wood as table tops. He hasn't settled on a price yet bet he knows he has something special and will set a price on what the market will bear.

For mooks like us, we would need a group to buy a slab.


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## LEAP (Mar 24, 2007)

There is a piece of waterfall bubinga about 2' x 3 1/2' x 1 1/2" thick at the local Rockler going for about $1000. It has similiar figure to the pictures Ron posted. Some how I don't think I could afford the scraps from that log.[] One can only dream. 
Thanks for sharing.


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## Ron in Drums PA (Mar 24, 2007)

That price is about right Phil


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## Dario (Mar 24, 2007)

> _Originally posted by LEAP_
> <br />There is a piece of waterfall bubinga about 2' x 3 1/2' x 1 1/2" thick at the local Rockler going for about $1000. It has similiar figure to the pictures Ron posted. Some how I don't think I could afford the scraps from that log.[] One can only dream.
> Thanks for sharing.





> _Originally posted by Ron in Drums PA_
> <br />That price is about right Phil



[:0][:0][:0] Okay, the closest I can get to that wood is through these pics and in my dreams then.

Still a very nice dream. [^]

BTW, I wanted to hold on it so much...I saved the pics in my computer [8)].  It really is a first class wood porn [}]


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## airrat (Mar 24, 2007)

get a buyers list and beg them for the scraps


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## GBusardo (Mar 24, 2007)

WOW  [:0]     As Tom said,  beg.....................


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## arioux (Mar 24, 2007)

Hi,

I knew it was bubinga because there was a slab like that in my father's shop three yars ago.  He had an order for a conference board meeting table for a company that is base in Montreal but do it's business in Cameroon.  That's why he tough about bubinga.

If i recall he paid the slab somewhere over $7,000

Spent 3 weeks, sanding polishing sanding polishing, had one of his friend make up some great stand (i would'nt called them leg, they were 3 feet by 3 feet block at each end) in black wood and all engrave with african pattern.  He sold it for 27,000 and seeign the time he spent on it, that's not expensive.
They loved the table so much that they sent it to their head office in Yaounde and ordered him an other one.  Unfortunately, he had an healt issue and had to stopped work..  His friend took over the order.

It's one of the nicest piece i saw him made in the 45 years he worked wood. 

Those slab will end up the same way.  So if you have a little cash and a lot of time and elbow oil, go for it[]

Alfred


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## johncrane (Mar 24, 2007)

That could be $100 grand or more tree your standing next too Ron! its just awesome, l would like to see the saw thats used to slice this big mother up'[]


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## btboone (Mar 24, 2007)

Wow.  Just figuring out pen blanks: at 3/4" x 3/4" x 6", you could get 15 x 2 x 15 = 450 blanks per cubic foot, and the tree is maybe an average of 6 feet across x 36 feet long = 1018 cubic feet, so around 458,000 blanks or so.  Assuming a volume discount of $3 each, that's around $1.3 million worth of pen blanks, with a conservative market value of $30 each or $40 million worth of pens!  Sounds like someone needs a bigger shop. []


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## Ron in Drums PA (Mar 24, 2007)

> _Originally posted by johncrane_
> <br />That could be $100 grand or more tree your standing next too Ron! its just awesome, l would like to see the saw thats used to slice this big mother up'[]



Today we squared off the log. Rolling a 25 ton beast is fun work.
Luckily I was on hand to help supervise
As it sit right now, 60" x 60" x 18 feet = 5400 board feet






Next week the log will be moved to a band saw.


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## Dario (Mar 24, 2007)

Talk them into selling us the natural edge SCRAP piecess [}][][]


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## Ron in Drums PA (Mar 24, 2007)

> _Originally posted by Dario_
> <br />Talk them into selling us the natural edge SCRAP piecess [}][][]



The scrap will be cut into gun stock. 
The scrap of the scrap is the best we can hope for. 
I have some from the last log he cut and it's to die for


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## Dario (Mar 24, 2007)

I would like a USPS flat rate box full of scraps (of scraps)...please ask them how much. []


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## johncrane (Mar 24, 2007)

Count me in Ron, Thats also a great set up and photo thanks for sharing with us.[]


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## btboone (Mar 24, 2007)

Great stuff Ron.  It's hard to imagine having to use a bandsaw that travels along the work rather than the work traveling on the bandsaw!  Neat stuff.  I'll bet there actually would be a lot of the outer "scrap" pieces that would be useable for pens.  It's an amazing sight.  Thanks for sharing.


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## BigRob777 (Mar 24, 2007)

Drool!!!!  I love bubinga.  I'd love the scraps of that thing.  Hmmm, you're not that far from me.
Rob


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## Grizzlyss (Mar 25, 2007)

That is beautiful, I have a hand made knife with Bubinga handles that look a lot like that. Boy all of a sudden the 370 Deutche Marks I paid for it sounds like a steal. LOL. I would love to own a slab like that, I would give a few body parts for that. Being married you don't use some of them anymore anyways. LOL

Sheldon


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## Blind_Squirrel (Mar 25, 2007)

If we get enough people to ask for scraps will Ron be running a "group beg"? []


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## Ron in Drums PA (Mar 25, 2007)

> _Originally posted by btboone_
> <br />Great stuff Ron.  It's hard to imagine having to use a bandsaw that travels along the work rather than the work traveling on the bandsaw!  Neat stuff.  I'll bet there actually would be a lot of the outer "scrap" pieces that would be useable for pens.  It's an amazing sight.  Thanks for sharing.



Bruce, I guess I should have explain the photo better, especially knowing the type of equipment you use.

The machine is called a Domar. Itâ€™s a large chainsaw powered by a volkswagon bug engine. It is mounted on the ceiling and lowered down, leveled and clamped on the log. 

The cut is amazingly good, but the kerf is Â½" thick. So 8 cuts blows away a table top to saw dust. Do the math and you will understand.

Although itâ€™s hard to see, behind the log in the back ground is the bandsaw. This is one amazing piece of equipment. Half of it is below ground. The blades are 10" wide and 3/64" thick (actually it metric, but this is close). The teeth are 1.5" apart and can cut up to 60" wide.

The log is loaded on to a carriage, dogged down and fed into the blade. This machine is so accurate that it can take 1/8" slices so perfect that the slice feels like the wood has been sanded to 100 grit. I have a 14" band saw with a 3tpi blade and takes me about 2 minutes to slice a 6" wide by 18" long piece of bubinga. This bandsaw will cut 60" wide by 18 feet board in about the same time.

I'll get pictures of the bandsaw in action and post them as soon as a can


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## btboone (Mar 25, 2007)

Darned amazing.  How do they find their end market of consumers?  Do they sell it themselves or go through distributors that do that sort of thing?


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## Ron in Drums PA (Mar 25, 2007)

Both.

He's been in business for 40 years, everything is word of mouth.

Here is his one of the cut offs from the big log


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## Jim in Oakville (Mar 25, 2007)

still just speachless Ron[:0]


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