Milling boards from an almond tree

[GarciaJ]

For clarity, what is the diameter of the trunk?

I'll post a couple of pictures soon... The tree is badly misshapen (probably been pruned to keep branches away from the house). There are two large trunks (limbs?) that come out of a short trunk at about 60 degrees to the ground... I'm guessing these are about 200 mm in diameter each. 6-8 of the limbs that come of those are fairly large (100-150 mm in diameter). It's all small after that.

The capacity of my band saw is only 150 mm or so - maybe 200 if I modify or remove the top guide.

[GarciaJ]

for bowls really just a squarish bit of wood eg 300 x 300 x 50 mm with ends sealed and grain running from one side to the other
can be any size

for spindle work would be long square bits with grain running from end to end eg 40 x 40 x 300 mm

this link might give you a bit of an idea

Hello Sawdust Maker. This tree is all limbs and no trunk. Rustynail - see elsewhere in this series of posts - thinks I may be wasting my time as the so called "reaction wood" that comes from limbs is very unstable and unsuitable for milling. I've confirmed this from other sources (you should always do that on the net)... My guess is that in the fullness of time, I'll find that turning bowls is the ONLY thing this almond will be good for.

There is no sense in asking for advice and then not taking it - So I guess I'll take it and get the person cutting the tree to cut a few 50 - 100 mm disks out of the bigger limbs. And then I'll just offer them up for free, swap or turned piece. I can either split or rip the bark off on my band saw.

My father volunteers at a St Vincent De Paul workshop in Gosford. They recycle waste material from kitchens and the like and turn the off cut material into saleable items. The proceeds go to charity. Perhaps there is an old retired woodturner at that workshop that could use some turning blanks cut from almond limbs that could be sold to help the poor and disadvantaged. Now wouldn't THAT be a fitting end for this old tree?

Don't you worry Sawdust Maker there is a LOT of wood in this tree.

Regards

Jorge "Not the Mama" Garcia

[Wood Collector]

I would be interested in a few bits. Even if they split a bit Icould always just add some ties to hold the bowl together or do a segmentedgoblet. If you wanted to know how many people wanted the blanks you could justtake an order and just get the number of blanks wanted cut plus a few extra. Asto me it would be a waste like you were saying to chip some of the branchesthat would be usable.
Cheers WC.

[dai sensei]

I'll be in Canberra with a decent chainsaw next week if you want a hand PM me.

[GarciaJ]

Sensei: That's very generous, but I think that the size of the tree makes it protected in the ACT - and I have literally only just submitted the Application Form to get Approval to fell it. Also I think I might wait until after summer, as the tree shades the western side of the house. That's one more hot summer worth of shade... So nowhere near ready to start.

Collector, Sawdust Maker: I agree about preserving some of the wood. perhaps I will ask for nominal donations to recover the cost of felling and stump grinding.

Rusty Nail: here are some pictures... From some angles it appears as though there is one large trunk leaning over, but its actually two limbs. Do you think that those two large second stage limbs are leaning too much to mill?. I figure they are at about 25-30 degrees from vertical. Some of the third stage branched are pointing more or less straight up, but are a bit narrow...

Whoever pruned this tree it in the past has a lot to answer for....

Jorge

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[cava]

Have you thought about digging/cutting some of the roots so that it falls naturally?

You might get more interesting wood from the rootball, and save the costs of getting a stump grinder in. Just saying....

[dai sensei]

That close to the house, you shouldn't need permission.

If you left that to fall naturally you might find your hot water service a foot higher, or worse still, your wall cracked due to root movement. Certainly have a dig around the base to see if there is any root ball worth saving though.

[MAPLEMAN]

Limb wood makes for poor milling timber. .

...If you dock the limb logs 'between' the branches as such you will reduce pull and tension dramatically when milling...try and keep billets straight too when docking to size!
Limb logs often produce beautifully figured timber but you will only recover short logs that are relatively free of knots
Most of the critical mass is in the head wood of the tree...and it will mill a treat for what you want it for
Given the tree is leaning all over the place there should be some nice compression grain throughout...MM

[Wood Collector]

I think that will be able to use a lot of the wood from the tree. If I was closer I would say that I would take a lot of the limb wood but distance and space is an issue for me. So I would only be able to get a few blocks. Cheers WC

[rustynail]

...If you dock the limb logs 'between' the branches as such you will reduce pull and tension dramatically when milling...try and keep billets straight too when docking to size!
Limb logs often produce beautifully figured timber but you will only recover short logs that are relatively free of knots
Most of the critical mass is in the head wood of the tree...and it will mill a treat for what you want it for
Given the tree is leaning all over the place there should be some nice compression grain throughout...MM

The OP was asking about milling boards,hence my reply. If he is happy enough with short bits and pieces for craft wood I dont have a problem with that.

[GarciaJ]

That close to the house, you shouldn't need permission.

If you left that to fall naturally you might find your hot water service a foot higher, or worse still, your wall cracked due to root movement. Certainly have a dig around the base to see if there is any root ball worth saving though.

CAVA: I imagine you are saying cut the tree down to the trunk and then try to dig it out by the root, rather than let the whole tree fall! I imagine my neighbour may be upset about what a tree that size may do to his half of the fence.... The other thing is, I dug out a deceased acacia which was much smaller than this and it nearly killed me! The cost of the timber, even timber as rare as almond is a fraction of the cost of a damaged back and limbs. I will not be pulling the stump out for the reasons that SENSEI mentioned.

SENSEI: I don't think that I will have any problems with the approval, under the circumstances. They are pretty reasonable here, and they are mainly interested in preserving substantial and native trees.

[GarciaJ]

...If you dock the limb logs 'between' the branches as such you will reduce pull and tension dramatically when milling...try and keep billets straight too when docking to size!
Limb logs often produce beautifully figured timber but you will only recover short logs that are relatively free of knots
Most of the critical mass is in the head wood of the tree...and it will mill a treat for what you want it for
Given the tree is leaning all over the place there should be some nice compression grain throughout...MM

Is docking "between the branches" all that's required to avoid excessive cupping and bending during drying following milling? If that is the case - there are several substantial straightish limbs that I could mill to yield board with enough length (600-800 mm) for several worthwhile projects such as guitars, ukeleles, small boxes, etc. I never said, but I never had any illusion that this tree would yield board of substantial length.

I am encouraged to persevere and see what happens.

[MAPLEMAN]

Is docking "between the branches" all that's required to avoid excessive cupping and bending during drying following milling? .

.

No....but will help enormously
Wax seal ends and stack away from direct heat but with sufficient air flow
You will recover some nice boards (try and quarter saw them) particularly out of the Butt section
Get rid of the sapwood and heart as you mill too!
I have probably milled more limbs than most people on this forum
Wish i could show you some milling 'tips and tricks'...MM

[GarciaJ]

No....but will help enormously
Wax seal ends and stack away from direct heat but with sufficient air flow
You will recover some nice boards (try and quarter saw them) particularly out of the Butt section
Get rid of the sapwood and heart as you mill too!
I have probably milled more limbs than most people on this forum
Wish i could show you some milling 'tips and tricks'...MM

I'll just muck in... In my experience care and enthusiasm make up a fair bit of lack of knowledge . And if it doesn't ... well at least the intention was right.