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robutacion
30th November 2008, 02:26 AM
Hi everyone,

Remember, on the 18 of this month, when I went to take my vehicle for service to my mechanic, drop a load of firewood and get the rest of that unusual timber that I believe was Cork Tree? .
Well after I done all that, The mechanic asked me if I would cut a medium gum next to the fence where vehicles are parked, this gum has been dead for at least 3 years, and was braking appart dropping dead branches on parked vehicles. Was another tree that he had asked me to cut on the back of the working shed, which did grow to wide having plenty of big branches hitting on the tin roof all the time. This tree was healthy very green and as heavy as lead, they call it the platypus gum, and everything in these trees is super heavy, even the leafs.
Coming back to the original subject, the dead gum called yellow gum up-here, as in pretty bad shape, and after I cut it all in small logs for firewood, I kept the three butt for myself (about 2x feet tall, and 1 1/2 foot across with a fork starting low from the ground. After I cut it, i decided to slip is down to the middle for easy handling, and I cut it so that I had the "V" shape of the fork on each half. The timber was very dry,and no signs of any cracks at all, even on the small logs cut for firewood. Took then home with the intention to cut a large round blank from each half, so i didn't paint or sealed it anywhere. The half logs were dropped under cover nearly in front of the entrance of the main shed so that I would organise to have them round, painted all around and put away to dry. I had no chance in the first week, but on the second week, there is last week, I notice splits appearing on the half surface and on the end-grain, so I though is time, get them done quick..! yeah, sure, even with the cool weather we have been having these last few weeks, and being under cover, didn't change the fact that this 2 half's just cracked and slipped like a Swiss cheese, every 24 hours the cracks are nearly doubling in size and in depth, so I'm not going to wast my time trying to salvage pen blanks out of it, it will go the firewood pile, but I keep it a little longer just for curiosity sake. I have plenty of yellow gum, nothing ever like this!

What you're reckon...?

Cheers
RBTCO

artme
30th November 2008, 04:55 AM
Ouch and other unpleasant utterances.:((:((:((

OGYT
30th November 2008, 08:46 AM
If I needed the wood, I'd fill the cracks with Epoxy and Turquoise, let it harden, and cut a blank out of it, and give it a try. If I didn't need the wood, I'd split it into firewood. :D
Pity it cracked so much. I can feel your pain. :U

Ed Reiss
30th November 2008, 01:10 PM
Whoa....some of those cracks look big enough to drive a Yugo through!!!:o

Manuka Jock
30th November 2008, 01:16 PM
Stack it up for winter , you will be cheesed off if and when it flies apart on the lathe

echnidna
30th November 2008, 01:51 PM
I'm in sw Vic, Your tree is not yellow gum. YG doesn't behave like that.
I dropped a tree a couple of months ago that I thought was a swamp gum and it did the same as your tree, so its just firewood now.

robutacion
30th November 2008, 11:52 PM
Hi everyone,

I invested my time and equipment only to get this piece, as the rest, my vehicle mechanic wanted it for firewood. My goal was the get 2 round blanks at about 40cm (16") x 5", and the log (butt) would give that, no problem. The person who planted that gum (mechanic) said it was a yellow gum (known as such locally), I saw it as a yellow gum, the outer skin (no bark left) did look like yellow gum, the timber inside looked like yellow gum, another 8 gums that I cut not far from this one, looked exactly the same, and they were yellow gum. With this said, I should also say that, all other yellow gums were cut (split/prepared) for blanks the same way as this one, with painting if green, and none of them, did this trick on me, not in such way, or in so short space of time.

Whatever killed this tree, made a mess out of the timber structure and timber cells, but what I can't understand is why the timber had absolutely no cracks when I cut it, has been dead standing up for 3 years, at least, plus the time it took for the tree to die from the inside out, and then certainly, after 1 week of being cut and stored under cover, decide to open "gullies" the size of a Kenyon, all in less than a week (time I took the pics), and is still opening...!:oo:

Like any other timbers I bring home, I do it because, I want them. Do I need them?, yes and no...! between turning timber and firewood timber, not much goes to waste, in this "neck of the woods" or with this "persona". Sometimes, you game some, you lose some, huh?:D

Cheers:2tsup:
RBTCO