Sugar Maple Branches Firewood or WW useable?

[Joe Mioux]

The other day, we had a large Sugar Maple branch break out of the tree and we also had two others cut out on the opposing sides to shape the tree a bit.

These branches were the lowest branches on the tree, so i don't feel bad about them being gone. It makes mowing a lot easier. Anyway.....

The branch are probably 30 feet long and at the base measure close to 24 inches diameter. the other two branches are not quite as large, but still big and long.

The tree is 48-50 years old.

Can this wood be slabbed/resawed for woodworking apllications or should it go towards firewood?

thanks
Joe

[Terry Sparks]

If you have a band saw, put it to use, you won't get a lot of usable wood out of it, but you will get enough to make it worth your time if you dry it correctly.

[Frank Drew]

Joe,

Branch wood is often more suitable for bowl turning than flat work; due to the way it grew, it tends to be what's called reaction wood, with built-in stresses that can manifest themselves by warping when the wood is cut. Small boards would be less problematic than wider and longer ones, so the wood might work for things like boxes, etc.

At the very least, it's safe to say that branch wood from most species is less predictable than main trunk wood (itself not always a model of predictability.)

[Gary Herrmann]

I agree with Frank. I don't recall, Joe. Do you turn?

[Joe Mioux]

I agree with Frank. I don't recall, Joe. Do you turn?

No, but two of my kids really really want me to buy a lathe. ;)

[Jim Becker]

No, but two of my kids really really want me to buy a lathe.


That tree is sending you a message, Joe.... LOL :D

[Wade Lippman]

Have you ever made lumber? If not it is kinda fun and this is an opportunity.

I would cut them pretty thick so when they warp you will have some extra wood available to remove to make them flat.

If you have made lumber before, then they are good firewood.

[Gary Herrmann]

No, but two of my kids really really want me to buy a lathe. ;)

Head on over to the turning forums. We can make lots of suggestions...

I've got two - a Fisch and a 3520b. If you ever want to come by and check them out, let me know.

[Joe Mioux]

Have you ever made lumber? If not it is kinda fun and this is an opportunity.

I would cut them pretty thick so when they warp you will have some extra wood available to remove to make them flat.

If you have made lumber before, then they are good firewood.

that is quite a concept. lol.... I do have a bandsaw capable of handling the job. Even though sawing logs on a bandsaw might be a challenge for one person.


Head on over to the turning forums. We can make lots of suggestions...

I've got two - a Fisch and a 3520b. If you ever want to come by and check them out, let me know.

Gary, I might have to do that sometime. Thank you for the invite.

I remember about a year and half ago, I was out at the airport picking on some flowers on a Sunday afteroon. While in STL, I stopped in at WC. This was the last Sunday of the month and the StL woodturners were about to start their meeting. One of the guys invited me in, but I had to decline because I needed to get back home.

I have remembered and always thought his gesture was very kind.

Joe

[Robert Chapman]

If all else fails the branches or their remnents will make very good firewood.

[Loren Bengtson]

If you have made lumber before, then they are good firewood.

Joe,

I agree with Wade. The reaction wood in a branch is caused by the stresses that build up as it grows. A trunk does not have these stresses because the trunk is not always holding itself up against the pull of gravity.

Reaction wood is unpredictable. Any lumber you get from a branch will almost certainly warp dramatically as it dries. After that, it will warp as moisture content changes with the seasons.

As much as I hate to see good logs go to firewood, my policy is that any branches or leaning trees are firewood.

You can still try your luck, of course. Whether it's worth your time and effort depends on what else you have going on, and naturally that decision rests with you.

Good luck with it.
Loren

[Homer Faucett]

Reaction wood is unpredictable. Any lumber you get from a branch will almost certainly warp dramatically as it dries. After that, it will warp as moisture content changes with the seasons.

As much as I hate to see good logs go to firewood, my policy is that any branches or leaning trees are firewood.

Perhaps I have simply been lucky, but I've used maybe a hundred board feet of Silver Maple and Cherry that were milled from 20" diameter logs that were branches. In both cases, the base log would have been practically unusable due to likelihood of metal and a large amount of rot in the main trunk.

Some (maybe 10%, tops) did twist while drying, but the vast majority has made great lumber, and the projects made from them have not shown a tendency to move any more than other air dried lumber that I have used. I even resawed a portion of the maple to make a humidor for my father, with no problem with reaction wood. I still have about another 2-300 bf left to use, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. My total cost after paying the sawyer was about $.30 per bf.

Maybe I'm just lucky, but to get two trees milled up without getting the "almost certain" warp seems to be incredibly lucky. If there was ever going to be a reaction, resawing would have made it impossible to make the six 1/2" pieces that were resawed from 7/8" rough lumber into a dovetailed box.

Just my experience, so YMMV.

[Loren Bengtson]

Homer,

You are right. Reaction wood is more complicated than I originally stated.

A branch will not be comprised entirely of reaction wood. In hardwoods, the reaction wood is called "tension wood", which is found on the upper part of the branch. Softwoods are just the opposite, with "compression wood" instead on the bottom.

The part of the branch that is not reaction wood (the bottom of hardwood branches and the top of softwood branches) will behave normally. You must have gotten lucky, because I would expect only about 50% of a branch to behave properly. Also, if a branch log is sawn in a manner that includes reaction wood on part of a board, you never know what you might get.

It is possible to cut the log in two lengthwise, discard the reaction wood half, and saw the remaining half into lumber. Some branch logs may be sufficiently valuable to make it worthwhile in some cases. But not often.

Loren

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

limb wood is usually so loaded with stresses from hanging that it makes horrible lumber and likes to unload that stress as you saw it.
However it does make fine small handles and wood for short pieces.