What a waste!

[Jeff Horton]

http://www.kudzupatch.com/temp/maple.jpg

Found this at a job this morning. It's a crying shame too.That is a maple tree. I am guessing it was 40+ inches across. I don't doubt it was 48", I just didn't measure. Largest maple I have ever seen in south. Must have been well over a 100 y ears old.

Storm damaged and cut up to be hauled off by the city. It's to large for a bandsaw mill. Heck it's to large to load on my trailer or I might consider taking it to a mill. I couldn't find a piece I could pick up or I would have brought a piece home.

Thought I might go back with a chainsaw and get some turning blanks out of the smaller pieces. What a waste.

[Jim Becker]

Jeff, do try and get back there with your saw, especially for what appears to be in the base of that big tree... ;) You want the good stuff!

[Jeff Horton]

Jim, my saw wouldn't start to touch the base of that tree! I was standing there overwhelmed at the size of it. Still will try to get some of it.

[Mark Rios]

Can you ask anyone around there, the occupants of the house in the picture perhaps, for some help? Something like, "I'm really in need of some help and there's a 20 dollar bill in it for (each of) you if we can load up my truck" or something like that.

Just get the wood and figure out how to deal with it later. :D

I don't know where the "Kudzu Patch" is but if you were relatively close to me I'd help you out in a heart beat. That wood's just too great to just be ground up or whatever they do to it.

[Jeff Horton]

The wood is in Albertville AL and I am sure if you asked you could have it. I don't know of a mill around here that could handle it or I might see if the city would load it on my trailer rather than their truck. I can see some 20" wide slabs in that.

If anyone knows where it could be sawed and wanted I would be happy to work with them and save this wood. No way can I do it by myself and I don't know anyone that can mill anything that large.

[Mark Rios]

Can you rent a bigger chainsaw Jeff? I had two BIG walnut root ball pieces (ask Chris Padilla how big they were) and I had to have a guy with a tractor dump them in my driveway. I had to make a cut from each side with my 20" chainsaw to get it in half. I was able to quarter one piece and then slowly get it smaller from there. My old G0555 got the workout of it's life cutting that thing up. :D

There was a lot of waste from the large chainsaw kerf of course but it stll yeilded a snotload of material after getting it onto 2" slabs.

I just found out that the old "junk" tree on the other side of my fence is actually a downed walnut tree. It's been there for a lot of years but after cutting out a 24" long section of the upper trunk (with a Sawzall no less - YIKES:eek: ) there is still a couple of good sized projects worth of usuable wood there. The bottom of the trunk is approx. 30" in diameter. It's got a big hole in the end of it but it's still fairly sound. I'll be renting a chanisaw before it starts raining here to get it cut up.

Just a thought. Here's hoping you can get some of it.

[Al Killian]

I would check with a local rental supply house for a monster saw. I rented one with a 34" bar:eek: . It was needed to take down a poplar tree taht was 5' across. Hopefully you will be able to save it from the grinder.

[Paul Canaris]

I understand your grief. Still remember a time a few years ago up north, that a buddy offered me a load of free fire wood from a tree his neighbor just cut down. :) Turned out to be a cherry about 46" in diameter at the base. :eek: All cut up. Luckily I was able to salvage some and turn it into nice bowls. ;) Green wood turns nice.

[Ian Abraham]

Anybody local with a swingblade portable sawmill?

Unfortunately I'm a few thousand miles over the water or I'd love to carve that little thing up for you. :D

Thats pretty impressive for a maple, but only an average sized log in this part of the world ;) But you do need the right tools to saw that sort of tree.

Cheers

Ian

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Dang it, I'd have a go with the Tokyo Log hog!! :D

[Travis Johnson]

Oh they have bandsaw mills that can handle that.

Being a city tree, it would never land on my sawmill's brow though. I have a feeling it has been riddled with nails and the like from kids nailing up lemonade stand signs, or garage sale signs. Myself the only nails that get placed in trees on my property are alumimum nails and for that very reason. Along those same lines, the hunters are allowed to put up tree stands, but only portable ones.

I got struck in the chhek once by a broken tooth on our old Lane sawmill when it hit an old fence insulator that was buried in a Hemlock log. Call me gun shy...but...

Enjoy the picture gleaned from the Forestry Forum image archive...

http://www.railroadmachinist.com/images/Big_Log.jpg

[Charles McKinley]

Hi Jeff,

Since you may have trouble finding a log truck near you try a roll back wrecker with a steel bed. If you can find a private operater you may be able to get it moved reasonable if you have all the branches off of it and ready to go.

The site that sells Lucas mills in the U.S. has a list of people that will do milling for you.

[Chip Charnley]

Dig up an Alaskan type mill and do the first cuts. Even on a 48" dia tree, once you take some cuts to get the bark and sap wood off the tree, the size comes down quite a bit. Then, if it's still too big, go rent that 36" bar and take one slice down the middle of the pith and it should fit, if not, one more slice down the middle of the pith on the two new pieces and I guarentee it will fit that band mill. Max 8 cuts with the Alaskan. For the wood you are going to get, well worth the effort in my book. Just make sure you get at it with some anchorseal or similar product real soon.

But I agree with your original sentiment, it's a crying shame.