I am not an expert with guns, nor with ammo. But I believe I recognize a bullet when I see one.
I was getting some sycamore and walnut ready for resawing, with all the boards destined for a bunch of small boxes I am making. I had already machined the boards on the jointer and on the planer; left to do was to square the ends, and trim to width prior to resawing. I have done this many times; it is easy, and totally routine. I started to cross cut the ends, to minimize the risk of surprises while resawing. I always square off the ends for resawing.
Routine stuff. Except this time I heard a loud noise as I cross-cut one of the walnut board ends; it was a muffled, but loud noise. It was muffled because I was wearing hearing protection. At the same time I saw a chunk of walnut fly off toward the back, and to the right of the table saw blade. I didn’t now what to make of it; I stopped everything, took a deep breath, and took my time to inspect things.
I did not find anything on the walnut chunk that flew off. It just seemed odd. Next I checked the blade; one of the carbide teeth had an irregular leading edge, but it was not chipped. So I checked the end of the board I was squaring. This is what I found:
Shop safety is not optional.
Fortunately, I was wearing goggles, to minimize the risk of eye injury in the event of flying debris at the table saw. This is the *one* time I was glad that I put on the goggles routinely. A close-up look shows the following, in the photo below – is it a 22-caliper bullet?
Bullet in walnut board.
I never found metal in any lumber I buy at the local saw mills. I bought a metal detector years ago, so I can inspect lumber I suspect of having nails or other metallic debris, such as the boards I kept from the old deck we removed recently. Those will get 100% inspection.
I will also conduct 100% inspection of the remaining 4/4 boards, and all the 8/4 boards I bought during my last trip to the saw mill.
— Al Navas
If the colors in the picture are accurate, that looks like a .30 caliber steel jacket bullet. That’s a military issue hardball round. Possibly fired from an M-60 machine gun or a mini-gun. I guess it could be a civilian armor-piercing round but I think those are illegal in most states.
It also appears to have entered the wood backwards like it was spinning before it hit the tree. That would mean it probably struck something else before it hit the tree.
Thanks for the info, Michael. It is interesting to read about all the possibilities!
At least it was a spent bullet. Glad that you’re okay!
Thanks, Wilbur – nobody is more glad than I am!
Interesting, Al. As everything I buy comes from locally harvested stock, this encourages me to start using the metal detector. Thanks for the heads up. Odd for sure!
Vic,
The odds are slim we will find metal, but one never knows. Better safe than sorry.
Now I’m sure that Walnut tree was just minding it’s own business and not bothering anyone. Why did someone have to come along and shoot it. I tell you this world is gone nuts! Interesting post Al, thanks for sharing and glad nothing was damaged and you weren’t hurt.
Thanks, Shannon! From now on, I will inspect every board; most of the lumber comes from private property around here (huge quantities).
Caliber is measured in 1/10″ increments. So a 22 caliber bullet would be .22″ wide. What you have there looks more like a 30 caliber round, and most 22 rounds I have seen are round nosed, or hollow points.
While hitting metal with an tool is bad, the good news about most bullets is that they are copper and lead, which are very soft. Most military surplus rounds on the other hand, have soft steel cores which are not a forgiving on tools.
By the way, glad no one was hurt. It is never fun to get a surprise when working with power tools.
Thanks for the information, David. Once you hear the noise, you are not likely to ever forget it.
Lucky that thing did not cause more damage. Reminds me to always wear eye protection – I can get lazy from time to time.
Jeff,
I am glad, too. Ever since my days as a Class A machinist (metal) I make it a point to wear eye protection.
Al,
Glad to hear that you are safe and were not injured. It is interesting to think that had you made that cut 1/2 inch away on either side, you may have never found that and it may have ended up in your finished project. Have you showed it to your hardwood dealer ? I say they owe you a new blade ?
Thanks, David.
I would not want this left in any project 🙂 – but the blade is OK, and still cuts perfectly! I will be showing this to the guys at the saw mill, though.