Not the way I wanted to get some free wood but what the hey......

[john davey]

Was working from home today and heard this loud thump. Looked out the back window to find this:

241409

My Harley is in that shed and the house is where I am standing to take this so it could have been much worse. It did crush the fence and is in my neighbors yard. Hopefully no damage over there I have not seen them yet and no lights on so maybe they are away. I don't know them.

It's a maple tree so I will get some bowl blanks out of it when I cut it up. I would love to play around with bandsawing a few boards out of it as well but the trunk was a pretty twisted mess. I am not going to be able to get to it until Saturday.

Will maple be ok down like this for 4 days? I ask because I know nothing about trees. My brother owns a tree company in Florida and I have cut my fair share helping him out but I know nothing about making blanks for turning..... John

[Jake Helmboldt]

It'll be fine for a few days. Likely there is some rot where it split from the trunk, and that wood will be damaged anyway from tearing out. Once you cut out the splintered pieces and cut it into blanks seal the end grain to reduce checking. Anchorseal is the best bet, and I suggest the original formula. The new formula definitely isn't as good. A couple heavy coats of latex paint can do in a pinch, as can melted parafin wax. Anything to slow the moisture loss through the end grain. If you cut/split down the middle remove the pith. That is where your cracks originate.

[Thom Sturgill]

Ah, my old home town. I grew up in the old Hollywood section, lived there until I was drafted for Viet Nam and haven't been back since except to show the old house to the kids, and once (2001) for a HS reunion.
As to the tree, it will be OK, but you might need to get the weight off the shed and fence.

[Robert Henrickson]

And I lived just down the road in Takoma Park for 14 years.

[Mike Cruz]

Funny how and where this thread is going...

I spent 5 1/2 years in College Park...UM!

[john davey]

Well good to see all the College Park people here. Thom, I am in Hollywood myself on Iroquois Street. The fence is shot and there isn't any weight on the shed so I am good there. Robert I was stationed at Walter Reed for 4 years and walked to the Takoma Park metro many times. Mike, good job on 5 1/2 years. I am on the 20+ plan myself but i still take a few classes a year :)...

As for the tree thanks for the help. Yes it is rotted at the bottom and I will cut away from that. I have a half can of latex paint from the trim paint on that shed so i will just use that on the blanks (and to touch up the shed). I only have a rockwell 46-111 so I am not cutting huge blanks and will just paint them with a few coats.

[Reed Gray]

The wood should be fine for a few days. It really looks rotted at the bottom, and there might not be much good wood in it, but you won't know till you cut it up. Most of the time, at least out here, the rot seems to start from a broken branch, and work its way down the trunk.

robo hippy

[Jamie Donaldson]

It's very interesting that Takoma MD is not spelled Tacoma? I was born there during the Big War, WW II, when my Dad was a naval engineer, and have spelled it Tacoma all these years? Maybe I should find my birth certificate and check?

[Norm Zax]

Cut up the tree, make them a nice bowl and fix their fence ... before they return and start talking damages.

[Mike Cruz]

Takoma PARK, isn't it?

[Jamie Donaldson]

The Park is correct, and I do know how that is spelled! I've never been back in that area, but understand it's a sort of artsy/craftsy area now?

[Mike Cruz]

I grew up in Montgomery County. Avoid it and PG Counties like the plague. Nothing is as it was...and I don't mean in a good way. Across the street from where I went to High School, I wouldn't get out of my truck now... I used to hang out there as a teen. As a child, we were members of the Country Club that backed up to the shopping mall in question. If that CC were still around today, there is NO WAY you would let your 10 year old out on the course by him/herself...not when it goes right by that shopping center!

[john davey]

I am really not sure who owns the fence. The entire neighborhood is divided by these chain link fences that were put in when the houses were built. Basically my house backs to this guys house and he faces one street and I face the other. and a chain link fence runs the entire block separating all of the yards. The same type of fence runs to the back of all of our houses fencing in the back yards. the front yards were note fenced in. So it is kind of a mutual thing as I see it. Now don't get me wrong it was my tree and i am going to fix the fence but oddly I do not think the laws would require me to. I know if it hit his house it would be on his homeowners insurance. i went through that in Florida during Hurricane Charlie. Insurance does not pay for any tree removal but pays for any damage to the house and it's property. The fence would fall into that but after they depreciate it and remove the deductible it is not worth it.

[Robert Henrickson]

The Park is correct, and I do know how that is spelled! I've never been back in that area, but understand it's a sort of artsy/craftsy area now?

A strong art tradition, ethnically very mixed, and a distinctly liberal bent. The last few decades I heard it called variously "where tie-dye never died", "where the old hippies go", and most extremely "The People's Republic of Takoma Park" several decades ago. A population with many, many causes. It was great place to live (I moved away ten years ago after my wife died). Our house was 4 blocks from the metro (subway) station, and a block from the commercial center of town (all of two blocks along one street) -- mostly restaurants and small businesses. A town of 16000 which blends into surrounding towns since it is well within the Beltway (Yes, I was one of those people who live inside the Beltway!). When I worked in the town library, I was told that speakers of nearly 100 different languages lived in Takoma Park. At the circulation desk the range of accents was astounding.

[Pat Scott]

When my fence needed replaced, my insurance company said if I share a fence with a neighbor (the fence separates our yards), then it's a 50/50 split and they would only cover half of the cost under my policy. I live on a corner, and my side fence that faces the street is not shared and they covered 100% of it.

[john davey]

Hmm, thanks for the info Pat.

To really throw a monkey wrench in this it seems the house is abandoned. I tried to talk to people there but no one around. I peeked in and it is just junk in there. Looked at the front of the house and the city had posted warning abandoned dwelling sings on it. I called the city and they are trying to find out who owns it but obviously if they think it is abandoned they most likely will not find out. I am Leary of going in there and cutting the tree. My guess is if something went wrong I could get sued big time. Plus my chain saw was seized up when I went to start it. I think I'll start a new post on chain saws as I guess the turning forum is the place where there is allot if chainsaw knowledge.