Rebuild of a 20-year-old Jonsered 2071W chainsaw This saw was a workhorse at a sawmill for many years and then later used by faller’ in the interior forests of BC. It was “well” used! I was gifted the saw by my cousin, Lance, who is a mechanical wizard. Lance repaired/replaced engine components and had the saw running great after someone else discarded it as being dead. But it needed to be cleaned and new life breathed into it. It was completely dismantled into hundreds of pieces and then lovingly bathed, repaired and rebuilt from the workbench up, including new high-heat paint. Now it runs like a top again, and is more powerful than ever. It’s used weekly to harvest woodturning blanks from fallen urban hardwood trees in the neighbourhood.
Rough-turn a red elm bowl, then wait approximately one year for it to dry (lower moisture content)
Rough-turn a cherry burl into a hollow form and then wait one year for it to dry When harvested, timbers have an intrinsic moisture content of approximately 35%. This is why “green” wood with all its water content is so heavy. As the timber dries over time and moisture is lost, the wood becomese lighter. And distorts as internal forces and fibres cause movement in the wood that change its shape. Woodturners must wait for moisture content to drop to levels of 12-15% before the timbers are stable enough to produce stable pieces. So, fresh blanks cut to approximate size are mounted on the lathe and turned down to a shape and size close to the finished piece. The rough-turned size must be gauged to allow sufficient distortions from water loss to happen and still have sufficient wood to complete the perfectly round piece when it is finish-turned. The process in these photos is to reduce the bulk of a cherry burl timber to initiate drying. Reduction of moisture to 12-15% in this piece will take approximately one year.
Wood Bee Turnings 