End Cap

[LURCHWV@BJS]

 Has anybody ever turned an endcap from a tree limb?  I figured the rounded shape would be an easy way to get started on a lathe.  JW


    Rich

[Tim Crosby]

 Do you mean as base plug for a horn? If so yes they will work, so will a split piece of fire wood.

 Tim C.

[rich pierce]

Many homemade 19th century horns used "rounds" from tree limbs etc. My first horn was sure enough done that way.   I am sure that if for some reason a butt plug failed in the field, a section of tree limb would have been whittled... probably.

[Ky-Flinter]

For a horn end-cap, should these "rounds" be worked green or allowed to dry first?

The crabapple tree in my front yard just fell over yesterday.  Rot in the trunk, but the limbs were still alive and solid, nourished by about a 1/4" layer of healthy wood under the bark.  @!*% tough old tree.  I saved 2 fairly straight sections of 4" diameter limbs and painted the ends.  Appears to be heavy, dense wood.

-Ron

[Larry Pletcher]

I have some apple and pear branches set aside for butt plugs too.
Regards,
Pletch

[Tim Crosby]

For a horn end-cap, should these "rounds" be worked green or allowed to dry first?

The crabapple tree in my front yard just fell over yesterday.  Rot in the trunk, but the limbs were still alive and solid, nourished by about a 1/4" layer of healthy wood under the bark.  @!*% tough old tree.  I saved 2 fairly straight sections of 4" diameter limbs and painted the ends.  Appears to be heavy, dense wood.

-Ron

  Preferably dry, as in fire wood dry but you could rough turn them to help with the drying process. I like big pieces that you can qtr, let dry and still get a good sized base out of. A lot of mine come from gun builders scraps. I have also raided fire wood piles and stopped where a tree is being cut down and gotten pieces.

 Tim C.  

[Ky-Flinter]

Thanks Tim.  Up in the rafters they go.

-Ron

[T.C.Albert]

On wood left in the round, even small stuff, as the outter rings dry, they shrink more than the inner rings, and to make up the difference the wood will usually check...you can relieve some of this shrimkage stress by drillling a hole down the center of the of the branch, but that may ruin it as a horn plug unless you fill it...in my experience, "most" big branchs of hard wood, even those cut when the sap is down in February eventually check during drying. Now and then a branch cures with out cracking, but by using splits from bigger stock to begin with you may fare better?
TCA

[LURCHWV@BJS]

  Thank you all for your input.
  Glad to hear I actually had a thought that will work.  Now one more question.  What wood should we use?  What should we steer clear from?  Yesh I know, that was two Q's


   Rich

[Elnathan]

On wood left in the round, even small stuff, as the outter rings dry, they shrink more than the inner rings, and to make up the difference the wood will usually check...

Even if it is debarked and painted on the ends? I just finished up a couple of apple limbs that way.

[Tim Crosby]

[/quote]

Even if it is debarked and painted on the ends? I just finished up a couple of apple limbs that way.
[/quote]

 Let it go, see what happens. If the piece is "big" enough (key word) to start with you will get something to work with.
  I know some people will disagree with this but you have to try some stuff yourself. There are many factors involved in not only drying wood but any operation performed on it, how it is dried, cut, split, length, diameter, tools used,etc...

 Tim C.   

 Tim C.