MLBob Furia
Well-known member
I went over to the high school I used to work at to use their planer & jointer this morning. It was time to replenish my stock of hardwood keel material, and I recently dragged a few rough sawn pecan boards out of the "wood library" - boards which needed more equipment than I have.
While I was at it I used their table saw to rip all the planed boards to the size I needed as well (saved me the trouble of doing it in my shop and having to clean up afterward). They just recently installed one of those new-fangled table saws that will stop on a hot-dog --- but I didn't ask for a demonstration or volunteer my fingers for demonstration purposes!
View attachment Lewspecan 001 (600 x 384).jpg
Anyway, most of the birds I am hunting over have keels made of this pecan -and it has a story. Years ago, I trained dogs with a gun dog breeder & trainer by the name of Lewis Craig. He operated a kennel on a farm that was a licensed dog training area. Lew was one of the most knowledgeable outdoorsmen I ever knew, and was a fine gun-dog pro ( ....as in it was his only occupation and he did it for a living).
View attachment Lewspecan 002 (600 x 399).jpg
Out in back of his house, stood a pecan tree that Ohio State University had once recorded as Ohio's oldest, largest pecan tree. That was in 1971. The measurements taken at that time show the tree was: 96' high.; had a 110' crown; and was 5' in diameter at a point 4.5' up the trunk. In 1973, the tree was hit by lightning, and shattered. Lew had it cut into timbers & boards at a sawmill and stored it in the barn on his property. He had some beautiful furniture pieces made from it; and every once in a while, he could be talked out of a board or two for use on a special project I was working on (mostly calls, picture frames, or bases for carvings). Unfortunately, Lew is long gone, but my "wood library" still holds a few of these beautiful rough -cut boards.
View attachment pecantrio 001 (600 x 396).jpg
I do have a nice slab of it that measures 3 1/2" x 13" x 34". I have a friend who runs a gunstock manufacturing operation, and I'm thinking I'll see if he can re-stock the SXS I use for all my waterfowling with it. Now that would be something to pass down.
While I was at it I used their table saw to rip all the planed boards to the size I needed as well (saved me the trouble of doing it in my shop and having to clean up afterward). They just recently installed one of those new-fangled table saws that will stop on a hot-dog --- but I didn't ask for a demonstration or volunteer my fingers for demonstration purposes!
View attachment Lewspecan 001 (600 x 384).jpg
Anyway, most of the birds I am hunting over have keels made of this pecan -and it has a story. Years ago, I trained dogs with a gun dog breeder & trainer by the name of Lewis Craig. He operated a kennel on a farm that was a licensed dog training area. Lew was one of the most knowledgeable outdoorsmen I ever knew, and was a fine gun-dog pro ( ....as in it was his only occupation and he did it for a living).
View attachment Lewspecan 002 (600 x 399).jpg
Out in back of his house, stood a pecan tree that Ohio State University had once recorded as Ohio's oldest, largest pecan tree. That was in 1971. The measurements taken at that time show the tree was: 96' high.; had a 110' crown; and was 5' in diameter at a point 4.5' up the trunk. In 1973, the tree was hit by lightning, and shattered. Lew had it cut into timbers & boards at a sawmill and stored it in the barn on his property. He had some beautiful furniture pieces made from it; and every once in a while, he could be talked out of a board or two for use on a special project I was working on (mostly calls, picture frames, or bases for carvings). Unfortunately, Lew is long gone, but my "wood library" still holds a few of these beautiful rough -cut boards.
View attachment pecantrio 001 (600 x 396).jpg
I do have a nice slab of it that measures 3 1/2" x 13" x 34". I have a friend who runs a gunstock manufacturing operation, and I'm thinking I'll see if he can re-stock the SXS I use for all my waterfowling with it. Now that would be something to pass down.
