How to Mill Curly Snake Maple

[Bree]

I have been fooling with wood for over 30 years. I don't do it full time but I am actively engaged and have been for a long time. I have seen a lot of odd wood in my time but I saw a first today. I saw a curly maple board with a 4 foot long "snake" in the board.... Curly Snake Maple.

It simply stunned me and I grabbed the board. If something is unique, I grab it since I know it won't be there the next time I come back. So now I have the snake by the tail and I don't know what to do with it.

How the heck would you mill this board to capture the uniqueness of the snake??? Maybe this is great for pen blanks. Maybe it would be great box top wood. Or maybe mill to 1/8" veneer for a furniture bookmatch. What do you guys think?? Have you ever seen this before? What the heck would cause this inside the tree?

Front view of the "snake"

Back view of the "snake"... it goes all the way through the board.

The head of the "snake"

Close up of the "snake" (no flash)

Looking down the "snake" from the top

Closer view

So how do you mill this thing for best effect??
:befuddled::befuddled::befuddled:

 

[hewunch]

I doubt you would capture it in a pen. I would do the box or something of that nature. BTW, I think it looks more like a spine than an snake.

 

[rjwolfe3]

That is so cool looking but I have no idea how to mill it. I have a hard enough time with a burl, lol.

 

[les-smith]

Two thoughts came to my mind. 1) Make a pen from the snake portion of the board that runs the full length of the pen and see how it looks. That'll let you know if the curl will show up or not. 2)Make a pen with the snake portion perpendicular to the pen, a piece for the top and bottom. This way may really shown the curl.

If you mill up the snake into blanks and don't like them let me know, I'll buy them from you.

 

[Marc]

I know less than everybody about wood, maybe it was a lightning strike? lol

 

[Bree]

Two thoughts came to my mind. 1) Make a pen from the snake portion of the board that runs the full length of the pen and see how it looks. That'll let you know if the curl will show up or not. 2)Make a pen with the snake portion perpendicular to the pen, a piece for the top and bottom. This way may really shown the curl.

If you mill up the snake into blanks and don't like them let me know, I'll buy them from you.

LOL!! I told the guy at the wood place that I could always mill out one pen straight down the snake's body and if it didn't work out the way I liked, that the pen turners would almost certainly take the rest of the board off my hands to take their crack at riding the snake!!!

Seriously though... I think if I cut a blank right down the backbone of the snake or on the bias that either one would be killer because the core of the snake is bigger than a cigar tube... so a cigar or similar sized pen should show both the curl and the core. A bias cut certainly will show both but not as much of the core.
:wink::wink::wink:

 

[Bree]

And did ya notice the other beauties that I picked up... 2 more curly maples... one with crotchwood in it that you can't see... the other with heavy curl and two tone color on the backside... plus a nice piece of Cocobolo which will make some nice pens. I love shopping!!
:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

 

[leehljp]

I can't tell you haw many strange pieces of "what should be beautiful wood" I have ruined because the turned pen blanks were too small to reveal the beauty.

Having said that, why don't you study it, cut 3 to 5 1/2 inches off of one end and make either a Sierra or other larger diameter pen (larger than slim) with that one piece. That will be one of those blanks that you study and think about before just throwing it on the lathe. I did notice the other boards too! NICE looking wood. That is the kind of wood that I hold onto, put back and wait for the right project to find it!

Beautiful wood!

I recently saw an 18 in wide by 30 in long by 1 1/2 in thick piece of Japanese elm in a store and bought it for an approximately 8 in round section that I made into a plate here:
http://www.penturners.org/photos/images/940/1_ValleysRunThrough_1stPlate1.jpg

Wood with character has its appeal to some of us! :biggrin:

 

[Bree]

I can't tell you haw many strange pieces of "what should be beautiful wood" I have ruined because the turned pen blanks were too small to reveal the beauty.

Having said that, why don't you study it, cut 3 to 5 1/2 inches off of one end and make either a Sierra or other larger diameter pen (larger than slim) with that one piece. That will be one of those blanks that you study and think about before just throwing it on the lathe. I did notice the other boards too! NICE looking wood. That is the kind of wood that I hold onto, put back and wait for the right project to find it!

Beautiful wood!

I recently saw an 18 in wide by 30 in long by 1 1/2 in thick piece of Japanese elm in a store and bought it for an approximately 8 in round section that I made into a plate here:
http://www.penturners.org/photos/images/940/1_ValleysRunThrough_1stPlate1.jpg

Wood with character has its appeal to some of us! :biggrin:

Hank that is AWESOME elm!! GREAT JOB!!

On your comments... I was thinking exactly the same thing. Cut off a few inches and make a Sierra out of it right down the axis of the snake to see what happens. I still have several feet of snake left. Plus the board is fully curled so it will make a lot of nice pens!!

My other thought was that since the wood is very well planed, I could resaw the snake, use my drum sander to surface the other side so I get very little loss of material to milling. Then make some boxes with the snake running all the way around the box. Put a wenge or ebony top on it with maybe some turned ball legs under it of the same wood as the top. Put a maple handle on the top and it might make a very nice set of boxes with contrasting wood and the more or less solid dark top and feet directing attention to the snake.

Tung Oil the snake to pop the hell out of that curl and it should look pretty cool! But I have to try at least one pen out of it. I would feel like I betrayed my lathe if I didn't do that!! LOL!
:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

 

[leehljp]

My other thought was that since the wood is very well planed, I could resaw the snake, use my drum sander to surface the other side so I get very little loss of material to milling. Then make some boxes with the snake running all the way around the box. Put a wenge or ebony top on it with maybe some turned ball legs under it of the same wood as the top. Put a maple handle on the top and it might make a very nice set of boxes with contrasting wood and the more or less solid dark top and feet directing attention to the snake.

Tung Oil the snake to pop the hell out of that curl and it should look pretty cool! But I have to try at least one pen out of it. I would feel like I betrayed my lathe if I didn't do that!! LOL!
:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

Bree,

Keep us posted on the work and how it turns out. That is a VERY interesting piece of wood!

 

[low_48]

I would think that it is more likely the edge of crotch figure, compared to a lightning strike. Lightning strike wood can have lots of color and figure, but always has checking and cracks. All that energy just destroys the cells. That one pic seems to show something like a bark inclusion.