It’s funny how you can see fallen trees and other huge piles of wood on the side of the backroads all the time. At least until you buy a lathe and realize that it’s a great source of free material.

Fortunately, I was able to find some of this fine free wood nearby where they’re working to expand a two-lane country road to match up with a six-lane divided road. It’s sad to see so much torn out, but it’s all part of the planned suburban growth.

While I was hoping for some of the wild cedar that was growing along that stretch of road it looks like most of it has already been cleared away. I was able to pick up several pieces of what looked to be ash. I’m not 100% sure. Cleaning off some of the mud looks like the wood has some interesting fungal staining in it, so turning it should produce some fun surprises. There is also some beetle activity that already damaged the trees before they were cut down, but that will mostly clear off when I turn it. Any deeper holes I’ll just fill with superglue and shavings as I go.

As if that wasn’t enough wood to keep me turning for a while, they’re removing a large amount of hackberry and ash from a common area in our neighborhood. Of course, I had to go ask for a few pieces so I could make something from our neighborhood. I was hoping for a few smaller logs, and make a crotch or two. Instead, the crew loaded up the back of our truck!

I’ll turn a few pieces of this while it’s still super fresh so that I can learn more about how it dries (sure, I’ve read about it, but nothing beats seeing it for yourself). The rest will be sitting out back, slowly drying, as I work my way through it.

Now I just need some warm, sunny days to get working.