A piece of the past

AUBURN, Maine — To many of you, this is an ash stump that should have met its end in the fires of my ancient wood stove.

To me, this heavy lump of rock-solid ash, which I rescued from the wood pile, is another masterpiece produced by the creative genius and earth's resident artist - Mother Nature, who continues to amaze us all.

This stump is from an ash tree that has been around for about 100 years. It has weathered numerous storms as it slowly stretched its long limbs toward the sky. But my neighbors had it removed after its size posed a threat to their home. 

The 50-pound log was used as a chopping block for nearly a year. It served me well as I split hundreds of pieces of wood with a 15-pound maul. It survived the elements and the constant pounding of my devastating blows. We got to know each other well, and I found the stump to be a trustworthy companion in the summer heat and winter's numbing cold.

With nearly all the wood gone, I was about break apart this two-foot chopping block, which would have provided four to five hours of warmth on a cold spring day. But I recently ran across an article about converting quality stumps into tables. And the more I looked at the log, and the way it was cut, I knew that this piece was candidate to become a rustic table. It is a really unique stump with a beautiful top and would look good outside or inside my home.

It will become a lasting tribute to my indomitable spirit and soar back. I removed nearly 4,000 pounds of solid ash from my neighbor's property in the searing heat. I chopped wood for most of the year. I figured I had two cords of wood at my disposal. That would have cost me nearly $400.00.

I tackled this uncomplicated project with zeal.

I peeled away the thick bark with a heavy-duty wood chisel. I scraped it all off while my orbital sander was waiting in the bullpen. I began with a medium coarse of sandpaper and finished off my sanding using a more fine brand.

The whole project will take about eight hours to complete.

During the sanding phase, I discovered tiny lead pellets on embedded in the face of the stump. I am assuming these minute chards came from a shotgun blast, which would not be out of the question. Before dozens of homes were built, this was the perfect hunting ground. I sanded over the pellets and made them shine.

I am at the point where I will apply at least three coats of varnish to make the stump stand out. When the varnish dries, I will sand by hand with fine wet-and-dry sandpaper to smooth out the rough finish.

Next comes the furniture polish, which should add a nice sheen to the wood.

My new table will serve as a conversation piece, a spot to place my hot coffee, and a fond memory of summer and winter spent chopping wood.