Starting a new piece (WT #113) out of a really big chunk of really old “rich Lighter” ponderosa pine.

Starting a new piece (WT #113) out of a really big chunk of really old “rich Lighter” ponderosa pine.

Last fall I went up on the Uncompahgre Plateau to a friend’s place and managed to get this huge piece of “rich Lighter’d” ponderosa that I’ve been cutting up for the last few years into my truck ... it was about 7 feet long and probably weighed 800 lbs.  A winch and some ingenuity got it done.  The old tree probably fell over a hundred years ago and is really weathered as you can see on the outside but inside the wood is gorgeous.  It does have some decay and insect damage so it has plenty of places for mineral inlay work.  As you can see in the picture I have roughed out a roundish starting blank with the chainsaw that is about 18” diameter.  Not sure exactly what shape the final form will be ... but likely roundish.  I plan on turning it so the rings radiate out from the pith at the midline of the vessel horizontally.

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