Tom Checketts Lumber

***4/4 CURLY MAPLE***
What do you call it? Curly Maple is also known as Fiddleback Maple, Flamed Maple, Rippled Maple and Tiger Striped Maple. The first time I saw Curly Maple, I was in my mid 20s and was shopping for muzzleloader supplies at the Track of the Wolf store in Bloomington MN. They had one of the most beautiful custom made muzzleloaders hanging on the wall. The stock was Curly Maple. I fell in love with the wood. This was back at the beginning of my hobby woodworking career and it was before I learned about the joys of working with hardwoods.
Since that day, when ever I come upon a nice piece of figured maple, I usually buy it and put it on a shelf in my shop.
I just brought back over a thousand board feet of Curly Maple. As I was stacking in my lumber rack it was difficult to not take some of these boards home….. I took two!

Lots of Curly Maple to choose from. Come and take a look!

***MILLING UP ELM***

Last month Jim milled up some Elm. The planks that came from these logs are pretty ones. I seldom get Elm. Few people ever use it, but those who do, love it. It has an interlocking grain which makes it more difficult to work with hand tools, but it does well with power tools and it sands to a perfect finish.

These boards are currently air drying and will go into the kiln soon. I hope to have them in my inventory, ready for sale early this fall.

***Rubio Monocoat***
Everything you ever wanted to know about this finish plus a good chance to visit the newest store in Davis County that caters to woodworkers.

***ANOTHER FUN TRIP***
Kaylene and I are on our way home with trailer full of Curly Maple, Birdseye Maple, and Basswood. The back of the pickup is loaded with 3 different species of walking sticks. Our first stop was Forest Lake MN to pick up Diamond Willow, Basswood and Aspen walking sticks from John Krantz. I wish I had met John years ago. His knowledge of carving woods is very impressive. I learned several things from him that I hope to implement when preparing wood to sell at carving shows. Our next stop was to Component Solutions in Menomonee MI to pick up some Curly and Birdseye Maple. If I had a bigger trailer I would have bought more. Our last stop was Jim’s home in Clermont IA. He was out of town but graciously arranged it for us to be able to pick up a couple hundred bf of basswood. We will be home Saturday and the fun begins…….that was sarcasm. It is going to take a lot of work to find a place to unload everything in a way that all of you can sort through it when you stop by.

***4/4 LIVE EDGE BUTTERNUT***

I love working with butternut. Sometimes it is a little softer than I would prefer, but it sure is nice to work with. I like using it as a contrasting wood with walnut. It cuts like butter and is easy to sand. I like carving it. I like using it for plaques and bases to mount other projects on.

These 4 planks have a lot of character. Three of them are sequential pieces.

***CHEST BY DAN EVANS***
Dan made this Cedar Chest out of Walnut and lined it with Cedar for his daughter. He purchased the Walnut from me. Engraved on front is his daughters name on the left. His daughter speaks Chinese and the engraving on the right side is her name in Chinese symbols. The engraving on the inside of the lid is her favorite scripture.
A beautiful piece of heirloom furniture that will hopefully be passed down from one generation to the next.

***MEANWHILE……BACK IN IOWA***
Jim has been busy harvesting trees, milling logs, stacking lumber and getting it ready for the kiln. Earlier this week he was cutting up several White Oak logs into dimensional lumber. These will be stickered and air dried for a few months before being kiln dried.

***DENNIS MCKINNON – A FRIEND OF A FRIEND***

Ken Fonnesbeck is a hobby woodworker and woodcarver in Utah and has purchased wood from me. When he found out I was going to be in Eureka CA for a week he suggested that I reach out to a friend of his, Dennis McKinnon. I did, and I am glad I had a chance to visit with Dennis for a few hours.

Prior to visiting with Dennis, who is a Yurok tribal member, I stopped in at the Clark Historical Museum in Eureka to take a look at the exhibit, “The McKinnon Family: From Basketry to Bowls.” On display are baskets made by Dennis’s mother, grandmother and great-grandmother along with woodturnings by Dennis.

When I stopped by Dennis’s shop he showed me how he is trying to keep alive the traditions of his tribe through woodturning. The patterns and symbols that his mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother wove into the baskets are the symbols that Dennis is replicating in his segmented bowls. Each pattern has a special meaning.

Dennis is about 10 years my senior. I hope that in 10 years from now, I will have the same energy and drive that keeps him going. Woodturning, woodworking and woodcarving have given me some unique opportunities to meet and become acquainted with some very special people. I am very thankful for these opportunities.

If you are interested you can see more about Dennis and his family here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_ycVwVRPsw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0YH9gICBPQ

***WINDOW SHOPPING***
I am in Eureka CA this week. My wife is taking a painting class and each day I am left alone to explore. Yesterday I stopped at The Redwood Burl Source. I just wanted to look around and had no plans to purchase anything. I ended up buying the small stump in the last few photos and had them slice it up. The figure in those slices is unbelievably beautiful! Now I have to figure out how to fit it in the car with our luggage for the ride home. The sawmill these guys have is pretty ingenious. Fun to see it in action. I will post a video of it in action in the next few days.