Thread: Large spotted gums coming down

Things made from spotted gum I have milled.

Planter box made by a bloke from the mens shed.
Box2.jpg

From stuff I milled some 8 years ago that was left out in the weather
IMG_6603.jpg

Made by a young bloke who outfitted his coffee shop with 4 tables and 2 bars made in this fashion.
This was one the two stand up bars
IMG_2326.JPG

Cant find the final product but these two were turned into coffee tables by the blokes that purchased them
Slabs1.jpg

Spotted Gum can be a fabulous timber although it is not without some difficulties being quite a dense timber. You can use it for just about anything particularly if you are prepared to persevere with it. It is one of the best timbers for handles, particularly those requiring impact resistance such as hammers, axes etc.. It is also incredibly strong and for those that wish it is one of the best timbers for steam bending. If you are really lucky with your trees it will also display a wonderful wavy figure.

Please don't burn any of it other than the waste trimmings.

Regards
Paul

Spotty is good durable timber and well worth the trouble to mill. The size trees you are suggesting make the exercise even more interesting. This stuff is heavy and without appropriate lifting arrangements you may find relocation after milling a difficult proposition. It may be a better option to mill to smaller timber sizes that can be manhandled more easily as they come off the saw.
Be it slabs or boards, you will need to sticker it all out for drying. This needs to be done correctly to prevent degradation during the drying process. Be sure to seal the log ends before milling to prevent too rapid drying that can cause end splitting.

Originally Posted by rustynail

Be it slabs or boards, you will need to sticker it all out for drying.

What do you mean by this?

There is certainly going to be much more timber than I can deal with here. The tree dude said that one of the trees would have to be the biggest he has ever handled. We reckon it is around 60m high. We're trying not to feel guilty removing them - the previous owner had the house for 50 years and we don't understand why he didn't remove them 50 years ago being right next to the house.

Do you reckon it is worth contacting a local woody group to see whether they can use any?

Once the tree is cut down and can no longer draw it's sustenance up from it's roots it will start to dry. Due to the cell structure to allow sustenance to flow along the trunks and branches, it will dry, shrink and crack much faster at the fresh sawn cuts than between them. To prevent this, all cut faces need to be coated with a moisture resistant barrier coating, (paint, wax or similar) to maintain uniform drying and minimise cracking at the cut faces.

When the tree is milled into timber, it will be quite wet/moist inside and will need to dry naturally for considerable time or be placed into a kiln for less time before becoming truly stable and usable. A typical natural drying time for a variety of timbers is one year per inch of thickness. As the moisture level reduces in this process,the timber will tend to warp, twist, cup or bow. To prevent this, the timber is stacked on a flat and fairly level surface with consistently sized sticks (stickers) placed at regular points between each layer. The entire stack is then either strapped up or weighted down to limit the amount of movement possible. By having a consistent gap of around 3/4in between each layer of timber ensures that the upper and lower surfaces of each layer have fairly even air exposure to provide consistent drying. The stacks are often outside for a fair amount of the drying time, typically covered with something waterproof on top and wrapped with shade cloth or similar around the sides to allow airflow between layers and prevent drying too quickly from solar exposure.

Note that the true value of the timber won't be realised until it has completed the drying process. Effectively, the standing tree is a liability rather than an asset, particularly if it is a big tree a metre from the house. Once felled and milled, it has limited value, but it won't develop full value until it is dried and ready to use. If your family were to proceed to have the trees milled, they need to have a very clear understanding of the the costs and time lines to cost recovery before agreeing to engage a miller, to avoid getting burned. On site millers tend to have a variety of ways of calculating the fees, some charge by the hour, some charge by the recovered volume of timber, sometimes they may be willing to work for a mixture of money and a proportion of the sawn timber, which they will then dry and onsell when it is ready for use.

Jane

Your tree sounds exceptional by any standard. I didn't think there were any trees that size left. There may be some degradation in something that big, but there should be a huge amount of timber in it. Probably a lot more than you can use: The good news is that it is a resource and you should, if you wish, easily be able to recover your felling, removal and milling costs, which themselves can be substantial.

This thread may help to give some idea of the air-drying process, but it is a bit long winded so make sure you have plenty to drink: I don't mean water .

Bandsawing a Spotted Gum

Just on the slabs, with a big tree you can saw quarter saw boards directly towards the heart. Difficult to describe the process here, but they will be far more stable and less likely to cup as they dry. Froma tree this size you would still get something approaching 600mm wide. To get wider boards they would have to be back sawn. Remember that the heart (middle of the tree) in a hardwood is useless. The heart could be almost 300mm diametre in a tree this size.

One thing with Spotted Gum and slabs is that there is a thick sapwood if you are retaining the natural edge. This must be treated for the Lyctus beetle.

Could we see some pictures of the tree please?

Regards
Paul

Thanks for the responses. There is a bit there to digest and consider. I'm thinking of taking some wood for turning and maybe get some quarter sawn for our own personal use. Then make the rest available to others if I can find folk who want it. I have sent an email to the Eurobodalla Woodcraft Guild to see whether they have any interest.

The only photos I have available are these atm as I am back in Canberra. The photos don't do them justice! The largest tree is the one at the back and the front one the smallest. Tree #2 is on the other side of the house.

IMG_6286.jpgIMG_6287.jpg

Gorgeous looking trees. There is a HEAP of timber in those trunks. Enough to keep several dozen turning clubs going for a lifetime.

Astounding!

Outstanding trees and much too good to go to firewood. Definitely worth cutting into boards, slabs or turning sections. There is probably some useful timber in the larger branches and after that there is a lot of firewood in the smaller branches. Good luck with the project.