Hidden things in wood

[Roger Chandler]

Well, this wasn't fun! I'm sure that some of you have no doubt found things in wood over the years that give you a bit of heartburn, but this is one that happened to me this morning.

This was from a large, heavy crotch piece, of that Red Maple Burl that I posted the small vase from last week. I knew it had some rot in it, but figured I could salvage enough of that highly figured wood that I could get at least a couple of medium sized platters or perhaps a couple of shallow bowls from it.

This took its toll on a couple of chainsaw chains on two different saws, but on the best chain it was only one cutter tooth that got the brunt of it, and it's fixable with a resharpening. I got some smoke and realized I wasn't cutting wood for some reason! I think this crotch had split many years ago, and someone tried to salvage the tree, which had to come down last year from a neighbors house.

What have you run into when cutting wood? Don't you just love surprises?!!!

IMG_wood hazards1279.jpg

[daryl moses]

Oh wow! I could see that wreaking havoc on a chain saw.
I've been pretty lucky, worse i've encountered are nails, barbed wire and lead bullets. The bullets don't do much damage to a saw chain or bandsaw blade but nails and wire do.
I generally steer clear of "yard trees" as they are prone to having nails in them from people hanging birdhouses, signs etc. But i'm often contacted from people who want something from a tree that has sentimental value so I usually oblige.
Just an occupational hazard i suppose.

[John K Jordan]

The various sawmill forums have some great stories and pictures. I saved this one:

bike1.jpg

I hit a railroad spike once with my Woodmizer once. I recently sawed through a 1/2" steel bar in a cedar log when I didn't take time to use the metal detector. Even a metal detector can't catch a ceramic electric fence insulator - I can tell you that will ruin a blade just as quick as steel. Cut through 12' gauge copper wire (with insulation) in some bradford pear. Found lots of nails, a screwdriver, and walnut blank with bullets - I kept taking off slices with my shop bandsaw to get through the bullets and found they were all the way through a 12"+ blank with evidence that the same tree was target practice for at least 20 years. Fortunately lead does nothing to saw blades or turning tools. I saved the slices to make some boxes with some day. I wish I'd known, I'd have turned a bowl or something from the blank!

A friend asked me to cut a tree in his back yard, said it might be good for wood. Turned out the three grown boys in the family had been pounding nails into it for steps to reach various tree houses they built. The tree was hollow for at least 10' from the ground. Looking down the inside it was like looking at a porcupine turned inside out. There had to be 100s of nails protruding into the hollow. I wish I'd save part of that trunk - might have made a nice pedestal for a glass-topped table with a light down inside.

Another fun thing to cut into is a root "ball" or manzanita root burl. The root burls often have rocks inside. The saw and tool don't like rocks.

JKJ

Well, this wasn't fun! I'm sure that some of you have no doubt found things in wood over the years that give you a bit of heartburn, but this is one that happened to me this morning.

This was from a large, heavy crotch piece, of that Red Maple Burl that I posted the small vase from last week. I knew it had some rot in it, but figured I could salvage enough of that highly figured wood that I could get at least a couple of medium sized platters or perhaps a couple of shallow bowls from it.

This took its toll on a couple of chainsaw chains on two different saws, but on the best chain it was only one cutter tooth that got the brunt of it, and it's fixable with a resharpening. I got some smoke and realized I wasn't cutting wood for some reason! I think this crotch had split many years ago, and someone tried to salvage the tree, which had to come down last year from a neighbors house.

What have you run into when cutting wood? Don't you just love surprises?!!!

IMG_wood hazards1279.jpg

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

Not sure how true. An acquaintance relates that he went out on a cold day to the wood pile and came back to his lathe with a piece wood that had a yellow grain. He thought probably mulberry. Well he starts turning and suddenly hit a hollow spot in the center and carpenter ants are being spun everywhere. The giant big black monsters are now crawling all over the floor, the wall, his clothes, arms and hands. Even falling off the ceiling. Well he freaks about insects anyway. His wife says the shop was never so clean before or since as that day after the "invasion."

[Rick Brantley]

My old detector was collecting dust in the closet, and now it gets used more than ever.IMG_20180930_150622597.jpg

[Randy McCreight]

Not very dramatic here. I found some pebbles embedded in the root of a small maple tree we cut down during my first woodturning class. The bowl is thicker than I intended. Frequent tool sharpening was necessary.

[Randall Pitts]

A live snake, didn't phase the chainsaw.

[Randall Pitts]

A live snake, didn't hurt the chain saw, did get a little bloody.

[Reed Gray]

I got a myrtle tree that was in a barn yard once. Never again.... All sorts of spikes, nails, brads and other 'stuff'....

robo hippy

[David Hill]

The requisite nails, wire— but have also gotten arrowheads (flint and metal) , bullets, some rocks, and even found concrete in a crotch section.

[Alex Zeller]

There use to be an old thrift/ antique store near me. They had a wooden ladder that was leaned against the front of the store and a tree started growing through the rungs. This would of been about 100 years ago. As a kid the tree had gotten to the point where the space between the rungs was no longer large enough so started growing around it. By the time they took it down (it's roots had destroyed the foundation for the building being so close to it) the tree had at least two rungs inside it. It's one thing to see pictures (like the bike inside the tree) but another to slowly watch it happen. I don't know of anyone who will take a tree from a residential lot for lumber. They go directly into the chipper. The power companies will cut a tree up into firewood sized chunks out in the rural areas to leave by the side of the road but even they will not risk a chain by making extra cuts from city/ suburbia trees.

[roger wiegand]

Porcelain electric fence insulators make a mess of a chain saw blade pretty quickly.

[John K Jordan]

...I don't know of anyone who will take a tree from a residential lot for lumber. They go directly into the chipper. The power companies will cut a tree up into firewood sized chunks out in the rural areas to leave by the side of the road but even they will not risk a chain by making extra cuts from city/ suburbia trees.

Even trees from out in the middle of the woods in rural areas are suspect below 4' or so due to the possibility of barbed fencing wire since it may have been part of a farm long ago. Sometimes you can see a bit of wire coming out of a tree and sometimes there is evidence of the barbed wire on the surface from when the tree grew around it, usually several horizontal bands of on the bark, but often nothing.

I've sawn plenty of yard logs but with caution - I use a Lumber Wizard metal detector. It won't check very deeply so the check needs to be repeated as wood is removed. Steel can leave dark spots or streaks around, above, or below the metal so that's something to look for.

JKJ

[Dale Dumond]

In the 40s and 50s my grandfather had a landscaping/tree service. They would use 3/4" all thread to pull opposing limbs of a crotch together that was splitting. Also they would fill rotten voids with chicken fence and a thick mortar. Back then it was common practice to paint the cut area from limb removal with tar. This was prior to boom trucks and work was done from a "saddle" that the guy sat on at the end of his climbing rope. Not much more than an oak board.

[Kevin Beitz]

I'll take any wood like walnut yard trees. The tree is still worth more
than a few band saw blades. Once I hit a bunch of bullets in a walnut.
I said to myself... Now what can I make from this. I turned a bullet
around the bullet....