Spalted Apple Wood Clasp And Pin
This winter a woodworking friend of mine invited me to go with him to an apple orchard where the orchardist had just pulled out a hundred apple trees. It was in Fawn Grove, Pennsylvania just over the Maryland line.
When we got there the field was littered with apples and uprooted trees. It seems that the farmer had lost his contract with Motts and had no sale for his red delicious apples. There they were just rotting on the ground. You could not walk without stepping on several. The uprooted trees were not so large. My friend and I salvaged what wood we wanted and then had a look at his trash pile.
This consisted of a mound of partially dirt-covered stumps of several years accumulation. We rooted around and found a few that seemed to offer possibilities. As you become more experienced in wood working you begin to look for wood of unusual grain and appearance. Stump wood is often interesting.
Stump wood is a bit of a pain to work as the imbedded stones and mud quickly dull the band saw blade. However, I cut up five of these stumps of partially decayed wood and was rewarded with some of the most lovely spalted apple wood I have ever seen.
This clasp is one such example of which there are several more in this section.
So the junk pile turned out to be of greater interest to us than the newly felled apple wood. Things are not always the way you expect them to be so it is good to be alert to the unexpected.