Pictures any woodworker would appreciate

[myxpykalix]

This is how REAL MEN used to fell trees!

[myxpykalix]

taking them to precess

[harryball]

That's cool and sad. Amazing trees but they went so long without managing the timber.

I've seen the truck (or one like it) at a museum somewhere. It was very roomy inside.

/RB

[billp]

As Robert points out, the management of forestry in the US has a somewhat sordid past.
This seems like the perfect thread to ask this question;in the attached picture you can see the butt end of a 75 foot downed redwood tree which is located on the edge of Rancho Palumbo. As you can see by the hat I have hanging there for perspective, it's probably somewhere between 6-7 foot in diameter. The area was supposedly last logged in the 50's and the best guess is that this one was too unwieldy to get out and onto a truck.
My questions are;
after 60 years will there still be any viable lumber inside this beauty? Everyone keeps telling me that "redwood don't rot"....
Short of bringing in a MAJOR sawmill is there any way to slab something of this size?
OR should I just leave things as they are and have one of the largest, most beautiful hat racks in the area?

[dana_swift]

The excesses of the past in the logging industry have led to the excesses of the present in the EPA.

Blind progress in both cases.

Sigh..


D

[bleeth]

Take a look at the picture of me on the left. This was taken at one of the remaining protected redwood stands in Northern California a couple years ago. Walking around there gave us all the feeling of being closer to G-d. No replanted forest I have ever been in approaches that. When they tried to last conserve some parts of the Northwest in the 90's by not allowing new logging roads the skies were full of helicopters hauling out old growth Fir and Cedar. Frankly I believe we as a species have passed the point of no return in wasting natural resources and the planet is on a downhill slide that is irreversable as long as man exists.

[gene]

Jack,
Aint that you up on that ladder, :eek:

[gene]

Bill
They make a chainsaw attachment to slab trees . I dont know if it would work or not. Try googleing chain saw mills

[Brady Watson]

Short of bringing in a MAJOR sawmill is there any way to slab something of this size?

Stihl Da One (http://www.stihlusa.com/chainsaws/MS880.html)

121.6 cc / 8.6 bhp

RECOMMENDED RANGE OF GUIDE BAR LENGTHS: 17" to 59"

[billp]

Thanks guys,
Yup I had already (briefly) considered the chain saw mill idea and run into the limitations which Brady just posted about. Plus there was the additional factor that I REALLY don't want to be dragging a 72"( or larger) bar through anything! A band saw mill looks to be the proper answer, and I will have to do some scouting on my next visit to see if there is anyone (local) willing to give this a shot.
Either that or just rig a loooooong set of rails, an 8 foot gantry, and do a big ass redwood sculpture...!!!
Did they ever complete the "totem wizard" for Aspire ?

[chiloquinruss]

Bill, with your great contacts tell your wood suppliers that they can 'share' in the harvest of this wonderful wood if they of course do the harvesting. :D Russ

[myxpykalix]

If the wood is viable i would think that it is probably a valuable piece of wood.
However having cut down and processed several trees thru the sawmill in years past I have found that the wood is way less valuable until it is processed (dragged to the mill, cut, air/kiln dried cut to manageable lengths/widths.)

So do a search on Craigslist or other places for portable bandsaw mills. I know a couple guys who will bring their mills to you and cut. I doubt they could cut one that size. I think an experienced sawyer could figure out the best way to cut something like that with the least amount of waste.

Before i would waste a lot of time and effort on this i would go rent the biggest chainsaw i could find and try to take a section off the end to see how far up the rot goes, it could be hollow in the center.

If you can't find a long chainsaw go out and get you one of those 2 man saws like in these pictures and get some cheap labor to lop off the end for you.

[gene]

You can also look at a lucas saw mill. my father has a woodmiser band mill and they will not cut a log that big. A lucas mill will because you set the mill up around the log . look on utube or at lucas saw mills and watch their video. they look to be very efficient

[dmidkiff]

Bill,

I had a large red oak (54" at the base) that I wanted cut several years ago. Closest place to me was Penn. Don't remember the company name but found them from WoodShop News. $300 per hour plus blades if they found metal. Transportation was the obstacle for me. There are 2 ads in WoodShop News that may do this type of work. www.BerkshireProducts.com (http://www.BerkshireProducts.com) in MA and www.talaricohardwoods.com (http://www.talaricohardwoods.com) Hope this helps.

[myxpykalix]

Bill,
i forget where you live but here is a portable mill at $60/hr
http://brooksidefarmsawmill.com/index.html

http://www.hgwoodworks.com/hgwoodworks/index.html

Also there are organizations who band together to go out and reclaim wood that would otherwise be taken to the dump. I know you don't want to give this away but they may have contacts and an organization that can help you harvest it.

Also If you have a local woodturning club you might try to contact because when different wood was available a bunch of us would go out and pitch in to help that member harvest his bounty. These old retired farts love to bring out their big chain saws and toys.

[billp]

Gentlemen,
Thanks again for all the suggestions ! Unfortunately Rancho Palumbo is in the Mendocino CA mountains which makes most of the places suggested impractical.
Jack, again the log is OVER 6 feet in diameter.....This is NOT a job for hobby mills...
And one of the LAST things I'd want to do is invite a bunch of people with their "big chain saws and toys" to start hacking away at something this large.
I'm probably going to let it continue sleeping peacefully where it is, after all it obviously took a long time to get to that size so it deserves some respect...AND I'll always know where to look for my hat...

[srwtlc]

I think I'd just get hold of the biggest chain saw I could and start hacking off what I could and take it out "one piece at a time". At least you'd get some small stock.

http://youtu.be/rWHniL8MyMM ;)

[myxpykalix]

Well at least one thing you can be sure of is that LONG after you are gone, IT will still be there! :eek:

[harryball]

Easy...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XG8y5sPOFGM

But I get to watch... from a distance.

/RB

Watched a few more vids, Just get a 48" bar on a chainsaw and take your time. That's 8' of cut.

[myxpykalix]

I've often said, there isn't much that either a hammer or a little gunpowder wouldn't fix!:eek: