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Joe A Faulkner
08-09-2011, 9:01 PM
After one of the hottest, driest summmers we've had in a while a thunderstorm rolled through today and dumped a good amount of rain. The high winds took down part of an old maple tree. The good news it, it didn't hit the house - the playset took a beating, but the house was spared.

I thought I'd seek advice from the Creek.
1) Is any of this worth saving for lumber? As maple goes, I'm fairly certain this is a soft variety.
2) How big of diameter do the branches need to be to make it worthwhile to try to havest lumber rather than firewood from this?

I won't be able to get to this for at least two weeks.

3) If I am going to "cut lumber" from any of this, what's the best approach? Is it okay to simply cut logs, paint the ends, then cut lumber later?
Or should I cut the logs, paint the ends, and cut the lumber fairly soon?
Or should I just turn the whole mess into firewood?

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ray hampton
08-09-2011, 9:19 PM
the diameter of the branch are not important to everyone , what is more important is "how straight the branch is ? how big of a branch do we need to turn a PEN or a bottle stopper ?

Bill Moser
08-09-2011, 9:20 PM
My (completely uneducated) opinion is that there's not a lot of straight trunk there, so maybe not so great for board harvesting. I am, however, a top expert on play, and I have to say, get rid of the playset, and just leave the tree in its place :D

jason wilson
08-09-2011, 9:47 PM
Being a sawyer for 10+ years I would say not much straight bdft in that tree.But I see alot of crotch slabs altough with the soft maple I get down here not much figure in them.I would shy away from sawing branch's do to stress.Jason

Johnny Kleso
08-09-2011, 11:17 PM
I'd make some turning blanks and sell them local..

gary Zimmel
08-09-2011, 11:47 PM
Joe if you don't have a lathe put it in the turners forum. It will be gone in a couple of minutes....

David Keller NC
08-10-2011, 10:20 PM
I saw a fair amount of my own lumber with a chainsaw lumber mill. The branches aren't suitable for lumber of any sort, and it could be downright dangerous to saw a board made from one of the branches on a table saw. The branches are reaction wood, and they are full of stress. Even when completely dry, the kerf will invariably close when sawn, and the risk of kickback on an electric saw is extreme. If you use a handsaw, you're unlikely to be injured, but there's a high probability of kinking the saw when the kerf closes.

The butt log may be worth saving - you can usually get usable wood from about 1-1/2 feet up from the root flare to the point where the first branch begins. If that section is too short to make boards out of, it would be excellent turning wood for small bowls, etc...

David Nelson1
08-11-2011, 4:00 AM
Would any of the branches yield good chair parts if broken down and shaped by hand?

Tony Shea
08-11-2011, 8:46 PM
As has already been stated, your trunk is about the only potentially good furniture grade lumber. Mr. Keller is right on the money as far as stresses in branches, and any other portion of a tree that has a lean one way or the other. A good simple way of picking up on stress wood is to look at where the pith is located on a sawn log end. Look for the pith to be perfectly centered. If it is off center then chances are very high that there are stresses in the wood and you will want nothing to do with them. Not sure how this reacts on a lathe as I have zero experience turning.

Chris Fournier
08-12-2011, 9:22 PM
Turning stock or a cheery fire.

harry strasil
08-13-2011, 12:21 PM
that kind of maple made a nice table for a preacher I liked.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=204943&thumb=1&d=1313252313

Ryan Mooney
08-13-2011, 12:44 PM
I'm a certified wood hoarder so take this with whatever size grain of salt you want...

I'd probably try to salvage a bit of boards out of the two straighter looking pieces. The rear piece before the crotch looks potentially interesting for that and maybe (good suggestions above on how to tell) bits of the front piece (although the salvageable section there looks like it might be pretty short which the splitting before it). The rear crotch piece is also potentially interesting, it could be a total loss but you won't know unless you try. I'd try cutting it along the crotch (wood pattern like a Y) and see what it yielded. For any of that make sure you cut off _all_ the splintered bit, the cracks will just follow along and ruin any chance you had.

For the rest of it, if you're interested in playing around, I'd suggest trying to rive some pieces out by splitting. Depending on how well that goes you may end up with some decent furniture splits (like you said for chair legs/backs) or you could pretty definitely use some for little carving bits like some long handle spoons, etc.. :D You might also be able to rive out some more rustic slabs, etc.. but I wouldn't hold my breath there, shorter and "flowing forms" are likely your best bet.

The advantage of trying to rive some pieces out is that you will:
- get some experience with it
- already have it all split into firewood when it doesn't work out :D
- maybe acquire some cool new tools
Good overview of riving here (random google search) http://www.greenwoodworking.com/RivingArticle - don't expect to get anything useful, but hey.. split wood is fun to try..

Unless of course you're a turner, then you have a long weekend ahead of you :D

Joe A Faulkner
08-14-2011, 11:21 PM
Thanks Ryan. We've been in the current house for 19 years. All of my kids (six in all) have enjoyed playing in the shade of this old tree. It had a tire swing that they all enjoyed. I'd like to salvage some lumber, if for nothing else, to make a few picture frames or small boxes or something (cutting boards) for each of the kids. The riving process looks interesting. I just might have to give that a try.

Joe A Faulkner
11-21-2014, 8:29 PM
Though hard to see from the original photo, there was one 10" branch that ran somewhat straight for about 14' or so. I cut four 3' logs from it, painted the ends and let it dry in my shed for the past three plus years. I decided last month to resaw one of the logs on my bandsaw and was pleased to find some nice spalting. Just in time for Christmas, I'm making a few simple boxes for girls. Not sure yet what to make for my son.

Ryan Mooney
11-21-2014, 11:37 PM
Looks like it ended up being a worthwhile save! Pretty looking stuff anyway.

Jim Koepke
11-22-2014, 12:25 AM
I got almost all the way through the thread before realizing it was started three years ago.

Nice looking boxes from what you saved.

I tend to go the other way around and pick pieces out of my firewood pile to make into things.

jtk

Craig J Brain
11-22-2014, 7:19 AM
Joe if you don't have a lathe put it in the turners forum. It will be gone in a couple of minutes....

Yes!

Lathe owners are the tree pirannah of the woodworking world :)

Craig

Jonas Baker
11-22-2014, 12:41 PM
I would totally make something with it, especially being that it was on your property that your kids grew up on. I've used branch wood to make spoons, chisel handles, and small boxes, and it works great for that. The key for me splitting the wood, which makes the wood you end up using be more stable. Maple is not easy to split, and branch wood is even harder to split, but it does split well enough.

Best,

Jonas

Stew Denton
11-23-2014, 2:48 PM
Hi Joe,

It is obvious you made the right decision, beautiful lumber, great job!

Stew

Chris Hachet
11-24-2014, 8:00 AM
Neat looking project!

Prashun Patel
11-24-2014, 8:49 AM
Nicely done!
Branches are hit or miss on some trees. Looks like a hit.

Don Orr
11-24-2014, 11:38 AM
Nice work on saving some of the wood from your tree and making something beautiful from it.

Just curious-why wouldn't your son like a beautiful box from a family tree ?

Joe A Faulkner
11-26-2014, 5:41 PM
Don, I asked myself the same question about a week ago; after pondering other options, I decided to go ahead and make him a box as well. While I'm at, I'm making one for my wife too. I've got all of the parts cut out and things are in various stages of assembly. I plan on making trays as well. Will post more pictures once I make a bit more progress. I'm finishing with Danish Oil.

Don Orr
11-28-2014, 12:55 PM
Very nice! I'm sure they all will love them.

Looking forward to photos.