Using Hemp trees instead

[big_gumbo]

What's everyones opinion on using Hemp instead of pine in chipboard, MDF and paper products.

You obviously still need pine for boards and planks for solid timber projects and house frames but i'm sure you can use hemp trees in chipboard, MDF and paper products.

Hemp trees dont produce a high (THC levels about .3% as against marijuana’s 3% upwards)
Hemp was the main source of paper until the 20th century. Hemp fibres make paper superior in quality to that produced from wood
In a warm climate, hemp crops can be harvested at four months, whereas trees grown for pulp take 20 years to mature. Also, the ratio of production of hemp to wood is 1:4, that is, one hectare of hemp to four of wood. So, with wood plantations that take 20 years to mature, hemp is 80 times preferable to wood for paper making. Added to that, wood plantations require high subsidies to establish and maintain.

It has way more uses than what i just mentioned and it's environmentally friendly.

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ockham/stories/s838434.htm

And i'm NOT a pot-head hippy if your wondering:U

[Harry72]

In this day and age it is totally environmental stupidity that hemp fibre is not the main crop of this country, its easy to grow uses little water needs no man made chemicals... list goes on
But we can thank a certain plastics/chemical company one of the greatest environmental mistakes ever.

[echnidna]

Mdf can be and is made out of wheat straw as well as from wood so theres no reason you couldn'y use hemp. But why bother with hemp, theres plenty of straw each year

Or are you trying to justify mary jane?

[big_gumbo]

Mdf can be and is made out of wheat straw as well as from wood so theres no reason you couldn'y use hemp. But why bother with hemp, theres plenty of straw each year

Or are you trying to justify mary jane?


No i already said i dont smoke it.
You can't get high off hemp

Besides it has alot more uses than wheat. It has over 25,000 uses including oil for plastics and fuel

[Ianab]

One problem with hemp and other annual plants is that they generally have to be harvested on a seasonal basis.
Where as if you are running a paper mill you want raw stock fed in consistantly all year round. So either you have to store 9? months worth of stock, or only run the plant for a short season. This may be less of a problem in the tropics, but in any temperate climate it's an issue.

Another advantage of trees is that you have the ability to adjust the harvest rate to cover extra demand or a slower market. The Hemp HAS to be harvested wether it's needed or not. Trees can be harvested slower if the market is slow, or a little earlier if there is heavy demand.

Trees are also multi purpose, a pine tree may produce a prime saw log, a lower grade saw log, and a couple of pulp logs which all go to different destinations and uses.

Not insurmountable problems, but they do make a big hit on the overall economics compared the paper figures.

Cheers

Ian

[Harry72]

I think(err unsure:) )that hemp can be cultivated a couple times a year.
And it could be processed into raw fibre and stored... a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things.
Can you make plastics from trees?

[journeyman Mick]

...............Can you make plastics from trees?...........

Harry,
they make "plastic" shopping bags and "styrofoam" burger trays, plates etc from potato starch.

Mick

[DavidG]

Makes nice rope. Strong, soft, easy to work.

[journeyman Mick]

Makes nice rope. Strong, soft, easy to work.


Unfortunately it rots fairly quickly,:( unless you tar it, which makes for a rope that's messy to handle. (I'm currently involved with a replica of a 17th Century ship)

Mick

[Ian Wells]

It makes the most beautiful paper and because of its long fiber length it can go through the recycling process more times without becoming dusty
Ian

[HappyHammer]

So what's the answer why aren't we cultivating it?

Would the processing plants need major re-tooling to handle hemp versus timber for paper production?

HH.

[Ch4iS]

I always thought that hemp was pot --> reason for not using it. Guess im wrong.



Its surprising to know what some things are made from.

[Gra]

So what's the answer why aren't we cultivating it? We were up until WW2, then certain industrial superpowers who had a replacement product pressured Their Govt to ban it, that Govt then pressured other govts to follow suit.

From interest George Washington farmed hemp


I always thought that hemp was pot --> reason for not using it. Guess im wrong.
Its surprising to know what some things are made from.

Pot is a form of Hemp, but the hemp used in the manufacturig process has a low THC content. THC is the stuff that gets you stoned..

[Gra]

Oh I forgot, Ford in south America in the 60's made a car body out of a hemp/fiberglass mix. They also made one out of banana skin/fiberglass mix wierdly

[journeyman Mick]

Oh I forgot, Ford in south America in the 60's made a car body out of a hemp/fiberglass mix..............


Didn't Cheech and Chong make a movie about it?:D:oo:

Mick

[bsrlee]

Silliness aside, a few years ago now, I saw an article that the CSIRO was doing a breeding program with hemp trying to make a more commercially viable product precisely for paper (and MDF) production. Seems the resin in hemp is an impediment to making nice paper and has to be extracted during processing, which increases costs. Low resin = low THC as well.

Now all you have to do is convince Gunns to grow hemp instead of clear felling & chipping native hardwood forests.

[Harry72]

Watch this

And here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUBxHgWuVs4&feature=related)

[Johncs]

Watch this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2M8c-cNPIM)

And here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUBxHgWuVs4&feature=related)

Those have been removed "because of terms of use violations."

[corbs]

Whats a terms of use violation?

I used to have a pair of hemp jeans which was the best pair of jeans I ever owned. Came straight off the clothes line after being washed nice and soft rather than like the cardboard of denim:2tsup:

[matildasmate]

Wasnt that company Mons----- .Cheers MM

[Wongdai]

Wasnt that company Mons----- .Cheers MM

I am in busselton on hols atm and I just bought 2 shirts and a jumper made from hemp from a store in Margaret River that only sells products made from hemp

I must say that so far I am very impressed with the robustness and wearability of the clothes

I will definitely be buying more even though they are slightly more expensive

[glenn k]

On the doco I saw on the telly they said hemp production was stopped before the second world war; but they couldn't produce enough nylon for ropes for the war so they started growing it again then after the war burnt the crops that were left.

[Pagie]

I have a pair of trousers that I bought in Target about 12 years ago. made in China of Rame, Rana or some such name. Apparently another name for hemp. Can't wear them out and very soft to wear.
I have been trying to buy more.:)

[Rattrap]

I love hemp clothing they just won't wear out, they just get softer with age.

[weisyboy]

waht about jute.

[glenn k]

Jute fibre is often called hessian; would you want to wear potatoe sacks? But it does have many other uses, maybe it could be used for paper aswell.

[Cruzi]

The only problem with hemp is many people automatically connect it to the drug as shown by some posts here.

It has as much to do with the weed people smoke as poppy seeds on your bread has to do with heroin.
They are from same family and they do contain levels of the drug, but its at levels so low as to be negligable.

The half named company is not the only culprit, the cotton industry as a whole worked hard to ensure that hemp was connected to the illicit varieties in order to wipe out the competition.

Hemp is far less evironmentally damaging and more versatile than cotton, clothes made from it last far longer so many companies will not use it (it lasts too long) and it makes good paper as already mentioned.

[Wongdai]

The paper labels that came on my hemp clothing, said that the THC content is 3% (i.e. the stuff that people smoke Mary's Pajamas for).

So I was wondering if I went to the airport clothed in my new hemp jeans and shirts, would I be attacked by a pack of voracious Beagles?

[Harry72]

They banned plastic shopping bags with no environmentally responsible replacement to make up for it... hemp fibre would make nice cheap bio-degradable/recyclable paper bags, probably make good compost too!

[Rattrap]

you're spot on with all these positive comments, but you just watch the look on a dedicated anti pot smoker when u mention cannabis for clothes or paper - you can see them trying to remember the dob in a druggy hotline. And yet these same people will love poppy seeds on their bread rolls, they could well have poppies growing in their gardens - with some beautiful flowers i might add. Here in tas they think nothing when they drive past hundreds of acres of poppies - the real deal poppies too.
Cannabis has been demonized by scum bag politicians & god botheres for too many years, the yet poppies produce a drug that is by far more addictive, more damaging to your health & society - it just happens that it also makes an excellent acute pain releiver & extreem pain is something that a large percentage of the population will need suppressed at some time in their lives.
So we go on with cannabis in all its forms still illegal in most parts of the western world all the time using products from alternate sources that are vastly inferior & are much less enviromentally friendly & producing far more waste as well as ignoring its medicinal benifits to the terrible detrument of sufferes of debilitating diseases such as MS & glucoma just to name a couple.

[glenn k]

you're spot on with all these positive comments, but you just watch the look on a dedicated anti pot smoker when u mention cannabis for clothes or paper - you can see them trying to remember the dob in a druggy hotline. And yet these same people will love poppy seeds on their bread rolls, they could well have poppies growing in their gardens - with some beautiful flowers i might add. Here in tas they think nothing when they drive past hundreds of acres of poppies - the real deal poppies too.
Cannabis has been demonized by scum bag politicians & god botheres for too many years, the yet poppies produce a drug that is by far more addictive, more damaging to your health & society - it just happens that it also makes an excellent acute pain releiver & extreem pain is something that a large percentage of the population will need suppressed at some time in their lives.
So we go on with cannabis in all its forms still illegal in most parts of the western world all the time using products from alternate sources that are vastly inferior & are much less enviromentally friendly & producing far more waste as well as ignoring its medicinal benifits to the terrible detrument of sufferes of debilitating diseases such as MS & glucoma just to name a couple.

I think growing Hemp for fibre is a great idea but I know a few people that are near brain dead from smoking dope. Can't remember yesterday or last week but can still function from knowledge learnt years ago when they had proper brain function. I don't think morth does this to you.

[Manuka Jock]

A BRIEF HISTORY OF HEMP

Archaeological evidence proves Hemp has been cultivated since prehistoric times with the earliest at the Neolithic site, Yuan-Shan in Taiwan carbon dated to be from 12000 BC. The first known fabric dated from 7000BC -8000 BC was woven from Hemp fibres.

16th Century England relied so heavily on Hemp cultivation and importation that farmers were fined if they did not grow it. During the Tudor period the British Navy was dependent on Hemp for rope and canvas. In the 18th Century full British Citizenship was bestowed on foreigners who would grow Hemp and fines were levied on those who refused. The war of 1812 involving America and Great Britain was sparked by the desire of each country to dominate Russian hemp supplies.

Russian Hemp production was the primary reason Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812. Queen Victoria’s physician prescribed cannabis as treatment for menstrual cramps. The Gutenburg Bible is written on Hemp paper as were Thomas Paine’s pamphlets and Mark Twain’s novels. Benjamin Franklin started one of America’s first paper mills with Hemp. This allowed America to have a free colonial press without having to beg or justify paper and books from England. Australia grew Hemp prior to the USA prohibition, we then follow their political ‘war on drugs’.

In the 19th Century in Australia starvation due to famine was stopped by the use of Hemp as food. In 1937 Dupont Industries and newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst had significant interest in the synthetic fibre, logging and paper industries. They launched a successful campaign against Hemp as a potential competitor for their new industrial materials. In a major turnaround the USA in 1940 launched their WWII campaign demanding the growth and use of hemp. Farmers were fined for NOT growing Hemp. After WWII Hemp was outlawed. In 1941 Henry Ford made a car using Hemp composites and bio plastics
which was so strong that an axe bounced off the car.

1961--Under the United Nations Single Convention on Drug Use Hemp has been excluded for industrial and horticultural cultivation. Article 28 Section 2 reads, “This convention shall not apply to the cultivation of the cannabis plant exclusively for industrial purposes (fibre and seed) or horticultural purposes.”

Industrial hemp has been LEGALLY grown in Queensland since 2002.

http://www.puredelighthemp.com.au/History_Hemp.htm

[Cruzi]

This thread perfectly demonstrates the power of propaganda.

Some one mentioned hemp and everyone started thinking drugs.
Do you look at the poppy seed on your bread and think drugs?
Do you see poppies in a garden and think of opium?
Do you see a chilli bush and think drugs?
Do you drive past a field of barley and think about drugs?

Hemp has nothing to do with drugs, the sucessful linking of it was caused by the cotton industry seeking to destroy its major competitor.

Hemp has as much to do with getting you high as Coke (the softdrink) has to do with getting you drunk. You can, only after ingesting ridiculous quantities.

[glenn k]

This thread perfectly demonstrates the power of propaganda.

Some one mentioned hemp and everyone started thinking drugs.
Do you look at the poppy seed on your bread and think drugs?
Do you see poppies in a garden and think of opium?
Do you see a chilli bush and think drugs?
Do you drive past a field of barley and think about drugs?

Hemp has nothing to do with drugs, the sucessful linking of it was caused by the cotton industry seeking to destroy its major competitor.

Hemp has as much to do with getting you high as Coke (the softdrink) has to do with getting you drunk. You can, only after ingesting ridiculous quantities.

Why do you think Coke is called Coke?

[Manuka Jock]

This thread perfectly demonstrates the power of propaganda.

Some one mentioned hemp and everyone started thinking drugs.
Do you look at the poppy seed on your bread and think drugs?
Do you see poppies in a garden and think of opium?
Do you see a chilli bush and think drugs?
Do you drive past a field of barley and think about drugs?

Hemp has nothing to do with drugs, the sucessful linking of it was caused by the cotton industry seeking to destroy its major competitor.

Hemp has as much to do with getting you high as Coke (the softdrink) has to do with getting you drunk. You can, only after ingesting ridiculous quantities.


"" Hemp (from Old English (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/wiki/Old_English) hænep, see cannabis (etymology) (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/wiki/Cannabis_(etymology))) is the common name for plants of the entire genus (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/wiki/Genus) Cannabis (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/wiki/Cannabis), although the term is often used to refer only to Cannabis strains cultivated for industrial (non-drug) use.""

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp

[Ratbag]

Yes, I know tis is an older thread, but I'm bursting to have my say.
I think, after all the dust and emotive arguments are over, that the major impediment to commercial hemp production in this country is plain and simple economics.
Broad-acre hemp production is viable only in certain circumstances. It's already been investigated in limited scale production in Tas., where a few hectares are quietly, and perfectly legally, grown each season, out of sight and out of the public's emotive eyes.
To date, production has proved to be both successful and viable as an industrial source of fibre and non-psychoactive cannabinoids. It has proven to be more climatically appropriate, and kinder to soil microbial life, than most alternative fibre crops.
However, Tasmania is able to produce another fibre crop, on a similarly sustainable basis, for a mere fraction of the overall cost of production of cannabis. That fibre is, of course, Eucalyptus.
Commercial producers of Cannabis in Tasmania require a farm gate price (according to DPI experts) of some $200 to $300 per tonne (per annum) to viably grow Cannabis. Trees produce fibre at a significantly more cost and environmentally efficent rate than this.
As a competitor to cotton: I don't know, and lack the figures to back up any comment I might make, but hemp fibre cannot compete with tree fibre in a free market, meaning it's usefulness is therefore restricted to the industrial, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. I would even suggest, that as a nation we now lack a viable textile, clothing and footwear industry. Ergo, you can't sell fibres to an industry that no longer exists.

[corbs]

Ratbag,
Does this information refer to the two fibre crops only as a source of chipping to make paper? If it does, then I think you would also need to compare similar break even prices to wool, cotton and other textile costs to get a real idea of its viability. Do you know what the Farm Gate price is for Eucalyptus? Not trying to stir the pot, just interested in answers:2tsup:

Corbs

[Ratbag]

In Tasmania, as I'm sure holds true for other areas, the vagaries of supply, demand, fibre type, quantity and quality would affect the "wholesale" price. Suffice it to say that the price would fall somewhere between $10 and $50 /tonne.

[Ratbag]

Corbs, perhaps i should add that the figures are supplied by a registered grower of hemp fibre. He was commenting on the available markets for proposed broadacre production of hemp in Tasmania. He is quite dismissive of the viability, now or in the future, of hemp as a source of paper pulp and construction materials.
Might I also add my personal belief that all other factors being equal, intensive agricultural production places far higher demands on water supplies, soils and wildlife than Silviculture has traditionally done in Tasmania.

[Christos]

Even on this thread there is difference of option and people are always going to have an opion. I would not discourage this butt encourage this. If we were to make something from something then please do. It does have to be sold and purchased.

This is what guides our society.

Now please note that I said guides not govens our society.