Pepperwood/ Calfornia Laurel harvesting

[Geoff Siemering]

I've got a friend who is going to have to remove a fairly good sized pepperwood/ California Laurel from their yard because it died about a year ago. It is mine if I want it and they will even have an arborist take it down safely and then leave pieces in the sizes that I want.

The main trunk is about 20 feet tall and between 18-24" in diameter. It is covered with burls along the entire length of the trunk. I know that there is the possibility of metal inclusions, but despite that would this wood be worth trying to harvest?

It has been dead about a year already, so what kind of precautions do I need to take when harvesting to minimize warpage. I was thinking that my likely plan would be to leave it as thick planks that could air dry for a couple of years.

[Mike Mastin]

Your California Laurel is more widely known as Myrtlewood :-)

It can offer beautiful arrays of olive green, gold, black and orange hues, but this usually in much bigger and older trees. Your tree is not that old actually, but it might offer some nice wood none the less. The cluster burl along the truck is a real plus, especially if they are plentiful and clustered close together. Sometimes Myrtlewood burl has large eyes in them and these will tend to open up (like small cracks) as they dry.
If the eyes are small and tight, you have a real nice chance of pretty slabs. Myrtle air dries very nicely though and I would say take the chance to have it milled.
2" slabs will dry very well typically if you sticker them at 18" intervals and make sure that the stack has a good solid foundation to rest upon. If your foundation for the stack is not level this will transmit through your entire stack and the wood will not dry flat.
Give the stack good airflow, but not allow it to get excessive winds. This will dry the surface to quickly and case the wood to crack. A garden mesh type of netting makes great "drapes" for the sides of the stack that get the most wind. This will allow air flow, without excessive amounts of wind and sun to reach the stack. Keep the sun off of the lumber at all times and in about 18 months, it will be ready to work, if all goes well.
Myrtle is a good wood to try to air dry, so I would give it a shot. Your reward might be some really highly colored slabs!

Best of luck to you.

[Jamie Buxton]

You need a tree surgeon to take down the tree, and you need a portable mill to slice the log into slabs. You can get both in one outfit: Saratoga Tree Service. They're in Campbell. 408.982.0106. Blair Glenn is the owner. I've no affiliation with the company -- I've just bought lumber from him. He can probably also give you some tips on drying Bay (yet another name for the tree).