What parts of my neighbor's tree do I want?

[Sam Shankar]

tree.jpg Hi folks,

My next-door neighbors are taking down this dying maple tree that is literally 50 feet from my workshop. The base is rotted (which is why it's coming down) but there appears to be an upper section that may be sound. Picture below.

The neighbors have offered up anything I want from the tree but here's the catch - it's coming down today. Like: today Feb 8. And I'm not there to supervise or be picky.

This isn't a good spot for a chainsaw mill; it's an urban neighborhood and running a chainsaw for hours straight on a weekend is likely to get me some irate calls. Plus I don't have a ton of space to air-dry big planks.

What I do have is a lathe, bandsaw, sledge, wedges, jointer and planer. I can borrow a chainsaw. I was thinking of trying to get a couple of bowl blanks, some turning blanks, and some short pieces that I can dry to eventually turn into cutting boards for the neighbors with the tree. So I was thinking of asking for a couple of ~18" diameter by 36" long logs from the upper area and then trying to split them in half right away. Does that make any kind of sense?


Attachment 515239

[Richard Verwoest]

The base may contain some nice spalting, so I would retain that. In actuality, I would probably retain all the way maybe 2-3 past the crotch. You may also want to consider loading it into a truck, and taking it to a mill, if you are worried about the neighbors. I have had a mill come to my house in the past to mill a tree. Only took a couple hours, and actually most people in the area showed interest, not anger.

[Dave Sabo]

The base may contain some nice spalting, so I would retain that. In actuality, I would probably retain all the way maybe 2-3 past the crotch. You may also want to consider loading it into a truck, and taking it to a mill, if you are worried about the neighbors. I have had a mill come to my house in the past to mill a tree. Only took a couple hours, and actually most people in the area showed interest, not anger.

Where’s your house ???

You can add your location to your profile.

Think it’s safe to assume there ain’t a lot of portable mills in the Washington D.C. area where Sam is located.

[Steven Cooper2]

Eh, i live in a suburban neighborhood and mill a tree or two with a chainsaw per year. Neighbors seem to think it's interesting as long as it's not an every week thing.

plus it's an excuse for a giant chainsaw.

[John Pendery]

Get some Anchorseal and coat the end grain generously to help reduce splitting. If you can borrow a chainsaw to cut out the pith that would help too. If you cut out a center slab to get rid of the pith you’ll be left with a couple of short but nice quarter sawn boards on either side of the pith that you can dry in your shop and do something with down the road. Hope you wound up with some nice free wood!

[Richard Verwoest]

Dave,

I live in a suburb of Sacramento. Plenty of neighbors. Why would that be safe to assume? Woodmizer seems to sell a lot of mills! And in reality, sawmills are really not that loud. Not much difference than someone letting their truck warm up or revving their Harley.

[Mark Wedel]

When I had an ash tree removed in my yard (I live near San Jose, CA), I looked into portable sawmills. They certainly are available in the area, but they are not cheap - for a single tree (unless really big or a valuable wood), the cost of hiring one out might be more than the wood is worth (what it could cost to buy a comparable amount at a lumberyard). And of course the lumberyard has taken the care that it has been kiln dried, etc.

In terms of noise, the wood chippers that tree services use are really loud - I think in comparison, a chainsaw would be quiet in comparison. Sure, don't do it at 6 AM in the morning, but at least in my neighborhood, there are still lots of gas lawnmowers being used, and a chainsaw isn't much worse than that.

[Nick Crivello]

People should be used to arborists working in the neighborhood during daylight hours. I'd think a one time occurrence with a chainsaw mill should be a non issue.

[Sam Shankar]

I do have access to a chainsaw mill but the neighbors with the tree were not interested in the mess. It wasn't really an option. Also, moving full sized logs would have been a nightmare in a small fenced-in backyard.

Here's what I do have now: 3 logs, ~18" diameter and 3' long. I think my next move is to split them lengthwise so they're light enough to move. I'll try to make a few bowl blanks and rive out some planks and material for spindles. I've never done anything like that before so...wish me luck.

tree3.jpg

[Richard Verwoest]

nice. I hope you post a photo once you split them open.

[Jim Dwight]

I don't know how far out of the ground your lowest log starts but the most interesting grain is in the crotches and in the stump. Even the part in the ground is interesting but unstable wood with wild grain. I had a large oak fall over in my yard into my neighbors yard. The main trunk was hollow and I paid a wood removal firm to remove it from my neighbors yard. But I had them leave a bit of the tree where it broke including the stump. I then cut that up crudely with a chain saw and then slabbed it on my bandsaw. No large pieces but I made this stock for one of my air rifles and have a few other small pieces.