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I found this tree on Craigslist from an arborist in Portland, OR. It is unknown as to when or why the tree was taken down. Originally, the arborist said it was Cedar, but after carving tables for weeks, I discovered it was actually Oak!
The products made from this tree are numbered T-0, although many pieces are too small to engrave.
My very first projects have been some of the hardest carving I have ever done! I decided to make furniture:
Raw Timber
Raw Timber
This tree came to me as very large rounds. Approximately 3ft in diameter and 6-8in thick. They had been outside for at least a couple of years and had severe checking.
Carving Process
Carving Process
Originally thinking it was cedar, as the arborist claimed... I decided to make side tables for the bedroom. They needed to be light enough to move around (and up a flight of stairs) so I carved out the bottom/inside with an angle grinder chainsaw attachment. It took weeks!
Legs and Drawers
Legs and Drawers
After making them light enough, I made a section for a small drawer. Drawers are always a pain, but I managed to do it!
I also attached live edge log legs from a miscellaneous log I found in the shop. They make a special drill attachment for this purpose, but it was $200 so I went the hard way using tennons.
I attached some Eastern Red Cedar fronts which are also live edge on the top to match the live edge sides. They are finished with a paste wax to give them a silky soft feeling
Made from only one round the matching side tables were coated with spray-on shellac. Not a high gloss but mild protectant. Sadly, a year later the pieces have formed large cracks due to drying stress. I don't mind though. Perhaps I will fill with epoxy in the future, but hey, it's still a great addition to our bedroom.
This is actually the first piece of furniture made from the oak, I just happened to have better process pictures for the above project. I made an end table for my couch out of this 8in slab, also carving the bottom to make it manageable. It has triangle stool style legs made from an oak banister that we removed from out house. It was coated in polyurethane. Let me tell you, this was an aweful experience. I used brush-on tripple-coat and it was uneven, streaky, and dripped though the cracks of the wood. It took like a week to get this to a place that was presentable. I filled the cracks with epoxy and recoated with poly. Now it is holding all the misc. things that we keep by the couch!
I tried making oak bowls, but they had checking. They are still beautiful and very heavy, perfect for keys and crafts etc.
In 2025. I experimented with making mallets and various other small items.
The mallets would perform fine but they had large cracks making them undesirable for sale. I personally use one in my kitchen lol.
So... I cut even smaller and used some of the sticks for bottle opener handles. Not all of the items pictured above are oak, although a couple of them made it through the process of turning! I plan on making more if these become a popular item.
After this experiment, I made some wine bottle stoppers from even smaller chunks. They turned out alright and are going on sale this winter for Christmas gifts.
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