Basses from trees - version 2

[Jisch]

Ok this one will be nowhere near as exciting as the last one.

I'm an avid mountain biker and I maintain a network of trails in the local park. After a recent storm a huge oak tree fell across one of the trails - it's pretty close to 24" in diameter

So a big oak tree, nothing unusual here, we have mostly oak in our forests and I am not really interested in making an oak instrument, maybe sometime, but that's not the point of this.

As you can imagine a huge tree like this creates some serious collateral damage as it falls (I wish I could have been there to see and hear this thing come down!). As we were clearing the area preparing to cut the tree my friend noticed this maple that got sheared off:

The whole tree has this figuring throughout. Ok, it's soft maple, not hard and it's not a very big tree (9" diameter or so), but I am certain I can get a few good boards out of it.

I cut a couple of logs that were small enough to move and carted them out on my bike. It's a bit sketchy as these log weigh close to 100lbs, but it was only about 1/4 mile to the car and mostly downhill. I didn't ride the bike, I walked beside it with my hands on the brakes :-D

Here's a small piece that I brought home last night

My brother still has access to a wood mill. I have to see if he can cut it into boards for me, then the waiting starts. Realistically I can get probably two 3/4" x 5" x 4' boards out of this along with some other smaller stuff. I don't know how I'll use it yet - it may just end up being cutting boards.

 

[bholder]

 

[GMC]

You'll need to air dry the wood for about a year before you can use it in a musical instrument. You can do it quicker with a kiln, but it's less likely to stay stable.

 

[T_Bone_TL]

As you can imagine a huge tree like this creates some serious collateral damage as it falls (I wish I could have been there to see and hear this thing come down!). As we were clearing the area preparing to cut the tree my friend noticed this maple that got sheared off:
View attachment 2965033
The whole tree has this figuring throughout. Ok, it's soft maple, not hard and it's not a very big tree (9" diameter or so), but I am certain I can get a few good boards out of it.

Being there when it comes down is a great way to get killed, speaking as a person who grew up in a logging area. Yeah, sure, you would have liked to be in a "safe place where you could see it" but you don't know where that is or which one will let go ahead of time...

Looks to me like you might want to harvest some of the "split out for you" shards/boards from the trunk as well as your log. Or perhaps you did, looking at what's on your bench.

 

[charlie monroe]

I grew up in Canada and am very familiar with Bruce's work. At the time I was very much a rocker and not so much a folkie.

We used to have a laugh or two at his expense regarding this song. We changed the chorus to "If a tree fell on Bruce Cockburn, would anybody care?"

 

[Jisch]

You'll need to air dry the wood for about a year before you can use it in a musical instrument. You can do it quicker with a kiln, but it's less likely to stay stable.

Right. I've dried quite a bit of wood at this stage and have an attic full all stickered and stacked. This will add to the pile.

 

[Jisch]

Being there when it comes down is a great way to get killed, speaking as a person who grew up in a logging area. Yeah, sure, you would have liked to be in a "safe place where you could see it" but you don't know where that is or which one will let go ahead of time...

Looks to me like you might want to harvest some of the "split out for you" shards/boards from the trunk as well as your log. Or perhaps you did, looking at what's on your bench.

Yep. I'll go back and grab more of the split up stuff as well. I only grabbed one piece of split up stuff last night.

I've been in the woods on my bike and heard big trees go down, I love that unfettered crashing sound, but you're right, you can't guess about when/where stuff will fall.

 

[bholder]

I grew up in Canada and am very familiar with Bruce's work. At the time I was very much a rocker and not so much a folkie.

We used to have a laugh or two at his expense regarding this song. We changed the chorus to "If a tree fell on Bruce Cockburn, would anybody care?"

Yeah, he's a bit too much of a liberal tree-hugger for some (not me), but he's an excellent guitarist and songwriter regardless. Didn't mean to sound "accusatory" posting that, just reminded me of it...

 

[D-Smith]

That oak will make a sweet skinny! Where do you ride mostly? I was hoping to get to Case Mt. this Saturday if the trails are free of snow.

 

[bholder]

I wish I still had working ACLs and could risk real off-road trails. I'd best stick to the rail trails, though. One bad fall and I'll need knee replacements.

 

[Basshappi]

That maple looks fantastic, Congrats!
Do everything right and in a few years you will have some beautiful wood to build with.

 

[Jisch]

That oak will make a sweet skinny! Where do you ride mostly? I was hoping to get to Case Mt. this Saturday if the trails are free of snow.

I've made a few skinnies at this park, but this tree is in an awkward position and huge, it would be very hard to make it rideable just from a trail alignment perspective. Not to mention the fact that it's fairly near the road and hiking trails, probably too much risk.

I ride Hale, Case, Crandall (that's where this picture is from) and a lot of other places in the area - I'm lucky in that there are more than a dozen riding areas within a 45 minute drive from my house. I have heard that Case was good to ride, with only a few mud spots you have to walk around. What time are you riding? I normally ride on Saturday mornings, but I'd probably have to go fairly early due to family being around.

 

[Jisch]

I wish I still had working ACLs and could risk real off-road trails. I'd best stick to the rail trails, though. One bad fall and I'll need knee replacements.

I was going to hit "like" on that post, but it didn't seem appropriate, ouch!

 

[overit]

Nice Fatboy. I had one of those - great for East Coast trails. That wood looks like the back of my Prats neck.

 

[bholder]

I was going to hit "like" on that post, but it didn't seem appropriate, ouch!

Yeah, collapsing your knees 90 degrees sideways and landing on the inside edge is a really bad idea. Ow.

 

[KJMO]

That wood reminds me of a lot of the silver maple Godin uses for it's guitars. I think they even make some necks out of it.

 

[Fender_Bender]

You sure it’s soft maple?, in that area of the country?. It might just be more useable than you think. Take a sharp chisel to a piece that’s dried for a week or so to get a better idea. Make sure you coat the end grains to slow the rate of drying. I used to slop on some cheap white glue or paint for that. Many of the smaller pieces could be incorporated into the body of a bolt on in hippie sandwich fashion.

 

[Jisch]

I've never seen anything but soft maple around here (silver maple and sugar maple), but I'm no silviculturist, I could be wrong. I'll grab as much as I can. My wife make cutting boards so if i don't use it, she will

 

[T_Bone_TL]

Sugar maple and hard maple are generally one and the same. Silver, Red, Norway, etc. are another matter.

Of course, that's also hoping that the common name is being applied to the same actual species (as far as I know, there's something like 70+ species with a common name of "ironwood" - the one here is also "blue beech" or "muscletree" but it seems to be whatever the hard/heavy wood of an area was got called that, in many cases.)

 

[Thumpin6string]

I'd love to see some of that sanded smooth. Looks like some crazy grain.