Thread: Apple Wood Scales

did someone say apple smoked ribs...

Originally Posted by bwknight

With all those pictures, I cant believe that I didnt take any "profile" shots of the blocks, they are all wedge shaped, 3 to 4" on one side, and about 1" on the other.

I asked about the tree that was cut down, and the apple tree had been cut down for quite some time. My dad helped cut the rest of the stump out of the ground with a chainsaw. The stump of the tree was about 2' tall or so, maybe 8" in diameter.

The wood is bone dry, no moisture at all, and I'm sure the tree has been dead for a year or more.

I'm afraid that a lot of the wood has split, but I still think there is enough left in solid pieces to get several usable chunks out of to make scales.

Even kiln dry wood is at 3-5% moisture content. However, if it has been air dried for a year or more, simply give it a week or two in your shop to acclimate before trying to mill it. If those chunks are an inch or more on the narrow end, you've got enough wood for a bunch of scales. I can typically get 3 sets of scales out of a 1 inch thick board that is 6" long and 1.5" wide. Find someone with a good bandsaw and ask them to resaw bookmatched 1/8" thick slabs.

Congratulations on the find...I've always found the project to have more meaning to me when I've taken it from the stump to the finished product.