Timber Movement in Rustic Furniture

[echnidna]

I have thought of doing some rustic furniture for years and just finished a coffe table - the pics are in another thread.

I have access to a few stumps some going back to the ash wednesday bushfires. They range from 2 to 4 feet diameter.

I think if I was to make table pedestals from them I would need to remove the centres of the stumps to reduce movement and so minimise splitting.
I expect a stump should have an average wall thickness of say 1 1/2" to 2".

Apart from doing a lot of plunge cutting with a chainsaw any suggestions on how to remove the guts of the stumps.

[Exador]

I have thought of doing some rustic furniture for years and just finished a coffe table - the pics are in another thread.

I have access to a few stumps some going back to the ash wednesday bushfires. They range from 2 to 4 feet diameter.

I think if I was to make table pedestals from them I would need to remove the centres of the stumps to reduce movement and so minimise splitting.
I expect a stump should have an average wall thickness of say 1 1/2" to 2".

Apart from doing a lot of plunge cutting with a chainsaw any suggestions on how to remove the guts of the stumps.

Come up here to Brisvegas and leave them on the ground for a while - cut end down of course. I guarantee the stump won't have any guts within a couple of months :D.

[echnidna]

Its interesting that they've been ignored by our local termites too

[Iain]

Do you have a drill attachment for your chainsaw, thinking of the big bit that our local fencing bloke uses, reaches in a couple of feet and is about 2" diameter on the big one.
A few drives with that could make an impression then you could rasp out whats left.

[Ianab]

I think sharpening up your chainsaw is the best bet....

You probably dont have to make the walls that thin unless you are trying to reduce weight. I'd just bore out a square / octagon / ??agon and leave 6" or so of wood around the outside. That would greatly reduce the chances of splitting

Cheers

Ian

[Different]

Might sound a bit dramatic but having used this technique for other things I know it can work.
set a fire in the dead centre beneth the stump having first drilled (or whatever) a "chimney" throught the centre of the stump from top to bottom. If you control the abbount of fire the chimney will simple get bigger thus slowing the speed of the gas and it will burn slower as it goes.
You might have to stop the process a couple of times to see how things are going. Oh and if it gets a bit out of control and you burn through one side of the stump it will only add to the whole effect.

Also this technique will work best on a dry stump as a green one will crack and split in the heat.

Ross