"Desert Storm" ~ Gum Burlwood
"Flame" ~ Red Maple Burlwood
"Calypso" ~ Red Oak Burlwood
Ray Rountree
Following
Hurricane Isabel in the Fall of 2003, woodlands and timberlands lay
in broken
and twisted piles throughout the Tidewater area. Due to
a sudden and extreme demand for loggers’ services, securing a
professional logger to clean up so much damage while the timber was
still in marketable
condition, was near impossible.
On his farm in Suffolk, Virginia, Ray Rountree decided to tackle the
work himself. (And being recently retired from the Naval Shipyard as
a sheet metal fabricator,
he was ready for a new “job”.) Working alone, with only his small
tractor and chain saw , he began to “unravel” and sort through the
massive, jumbled piles of fallen and broken timber spread all over the farm.
Within four months, laboring every day weather allowed, he harvested several
tandem-truck loads of downed-trees. Most went to market locally; but a few large,
oak trees were shipped whole (for veneer) as far away as Japan! Some trees were
too storm or insect damaged to be useful for anything except pulp wood. However,
Ray knew that such damage can produce distinctive wood grain patterns—highly
desirable for woodturning, a new hobby he was anxious to try in his “retiring
years”. So, he began to stockpile these “ruined and imperfect” trees
in the yard.
In December 2003, Ray commenced to “play” with his wood lathe and
his ruined trees. From the first “turning”, it was evident to his
family and friends that this new hobby had promise! Today, feeling thankful that
he is able to salvage and to share Nature’s beautiful creations with
others, Ray is happily turning one unique bowl after another.
Visit Ray's website for more info: www.bowlsbytree.com
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