Thread: It talks before it breaks

Timber pit props were used to give a warning. Leastwise thats what I was told by the tour guide down an old silver mine.
Regards
John

You tease... And what did the tour guide say as to the kind of wood they used down there?

Yes, pit props. Father was an underground miner. I think they would have used any suitable local hardwood in the area, but I'm not sure what they would have used around Broken Hill. I don't think there is much big timber there.

I dont believe it is a particular species thing, it is more that timber will make some noises before it fails...... well at least most of the time.

I saw a big branch fall off a Redgum tree once and land on someones tent. It talked long enough for me to divert my eyes on it . My head was already facing that way. So I just saw the end of it hitting. A big snap and it hit the ground as fast as a mouse trap goes off. No one was hurt luckily . It was easy one ton of wood.
If timber under a 50 ton load was slowly creaking before it snapped and gave you time to run you would be just in a lucky situation that it did that I think . You couldn't rely on it doing that surely ?

"Has anyone heard of this and knows what species it might be?"
So Ive never heard of that .

Not really related but. I was told once that Oregon / Douglas fir, is a wood that when released from a load returns to / Springs back to its original form or shape. I don't know if that is correct though.

Originally Posted by auscab

If timber under a 50 ton load was slowly creaking before it snapped and gave you time to run you would be just in a lucky situation that it did that I think . You couldn't rely on it doing that surely ?

Agreed. I imagine any warning sound would be too short to act upon. Sounds like an old wive’s tale to me.

Yeah, could have been a general comment, rather than of a specific species. I gather Beech has the nickname widowmaker. They give no warning before dropping a branch.

all timber talks before it breaksits just how much time between the talking and breaking that actually matters

Originally Posted by auscab

I saw a big branch fall of a Redgum tree once and land on someones tent.

Almost the classic "widow maker".

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

Almost the classic "widow maker".

It was!
I was at a Down To Earth Confest on the Murray river near Walwa Vic. Thousands of tents under trees.
I started looking around at other tree / tent situations after seeing that and there another a large rotten tree with a big fork in it and a storm coming in. A family was setting up camp under it so I went and told the woman what I had just seen an hour before. She thanked me, they moved and the tree was still standing in the morning. Ive been keeping a closer eye on trees specially when camping, ever since.

Ive got a huge tree here that is so ready to come down with its massive lean to one side and rotten trunk down low, and roots lifting out of the ground on one side in the wind, and its still holding on years after noticing it. Every morning I look . Its in the middle of a paddock so no danger except for a few cows if they are unlucky enough to be standing under it when it goes. It amazes me. All these other unexpected trees keep falling and this one that looks so close to going keeps standing.

I was just commenting to my neighbor yesterday that a rearmost Eucalyptus in his yard up against his back fence looked dead.
He said the mob over the fence had poisoned it because it dropped leaves in their pool.
He said there was new growth down lower so he wasn’t doing anything about it except stay clear of the odd branch coming down.
My ute suffered a ding in the roof when my red cedar dropped a small branch on it.
I think the stuff it drops are the result of tip moth damage as we get a lot of smaller branch dropping but the tree itself is healthy.
H.

I chopped a small tree that happened to clip me as it fell. The tree was next to a fence. A rope had been attached to help direct its fall. I had the chainsaw. When it began to move I got out of the way smartly, as one does. But being next to the fence I couldn’t move away from it. I had to move sideways. I felt a hell of a whack on my back as it came down. I suspect that only a twig had struck me because others seemed to think I was well clear when it fell. No harm was done, other than a bruise, but the experience made me wonder what might have happened had a more significant branch struck me.

When we moved to southern WA we were made aware that a local tree, Wandoo or white gum (eucalyptus wandoo) was referred to as "widow maker" due to its propensity to drop limbs unexpectedly. There are a few big ones across the road and one of them shed a limb a couple of years ago. The crackling noise of it coming away lasted for what seemed a lengthy time, time enough for me to turn around and watch it come down.
Cheers,
Geoff.

Originally Posted by Boringgeoff

When we moved to southern WA we were made aware that a local tree, Wandoo or white gum (eucalyptus wandoo) was referred to as "widow maker" due to its propensity to drop limbs unexpectedly. There are a few big ones across the road and one of them shed a limb a couple of years ago. The crackling noise of it coming away lasted for what seemed a lengthy time, time enough for me to turn around and watch it come down.
Cheers,
Geoff.

Hi Geoff, I've never heard of the Wandoo being called a widow maker, although there are a lot of them out your way. The wood grain is always very interlocked and tough as it gets, which doesn't seem to accord with letting a branch go without warning. I always love looking at the wandoo / white gums on the Great Southern Highway as you come into York. The white trunks always catch the light nicely.

The WA tree I have heard called a widow maker is the Karri. Tall forest trees that let the limbs go at a great height.

Cheers, Zac.