Huge Redgum log

**DJ’s Timber** · 1st June 2007, 10:48 PM

Starting a new thread here to tell the story on the Redgum log that Tonto wanted to know a bit about. This is the log we're talking about.

To start off with, this tree was on my Uncle's farm near Benalla which he bought about 11 yrs ago. It was still standing and dead when he bought the place.

After having some discussions with the local Mill owner here where I live, it was decided to harvest some logs as some were beyond my capabilities.

We spent half a day trimming the head off the tree as it could not be felled in one go due to it being close to the fence which just happened to be the boundary fence.

It took Tim (bloke on the right) an hour just to climb the tree, but once he was pass the first fork which was about 10 or so metres up it was easier going for him. He then proceeded to lop off the head. Most of the main branches were in excess of 600mm dia. Could feel the thud off the branches hitting the ground from 100 metres away

.

Anyway once the tree was down, it was then a matter of getting the bits on the truck and back to the yard. This picture is of the top half of the trunk being winched on to the truck.

The top half of the trunk was from memory 4.5mt long and about 2.2mt in diameter. The lower half was 3mt long and just over 2.4mt in diameter. Had to use the winch off the cruiser to stop the log rolling as it was being winched up onto the tray. The top half was estimated to weight around about 10 to 12 tonne, with the lower half about 15 tonne.

Getting the lower half on a few days later was a bit more hair rising. Had to use the tractor that you can see in the back ground to help nudge it on to the tray, the winch on the truck could not pull it up completely. Once the log was on the tray, Ken (truck driver) then started to pull the tray back up and once the tray came off the ground the whole front off the truck lifted about a foot off the ground I kid you not.

Anyway we finally got them back to the yard. Our problem now was how to cut the suckers up. The Dedicated Lucas Slabber could only cut up to 1.6mt. In the end we bought a bigger bar and I modified the slabber to take the new bar. We could now cut 2.4mt wide slabs

. Also had to raise the frame of the mill to start off the first few cuts. So over a period of week or 2 we then slabbed them all up.

This one is a grainy picture that I took with my Phone of the lower half that has been slabbed.

The slabs are now air drying down at the yard. And I will see if I can get some more pictures from Tim from when it was being cut down.

**Wood Borer** · 1st June 2007, 11:03 PM

Wow - DJ that is one decent tree.

**keith53** · 1st June 2007, 11:07 PM

Great thread DJ.

Puts a lot of things into perspective. i.e. At the Brisbane WWW show, I've seen red cedar slabs for $750. When you consider the amount of time, machinery etc. in getting them there, they're not that expensive after all. That's a couple of 'mean' logs.

Cheers,
Keith

**Tonyz** · 1st June 2007, 11:27 PM

F...........A................R............T..............

Tonz

**Gra** · 1st June 2007, 11:29 PM

nice stick DJ

**Burnsy** · 1st June 2007, 11:42 PM

Originally Posted by djstimber

The slabs are now air drying down at the yard.

I am not familiar with slabbing and drying at all. If the tree had been standing dead for so long, is the drying process different to when it is green? Are you just allowing the timber to acclimatise more than actually drying?

Some great timber, I would love to see some more photos. Did you trade timber with the mill for their time or pay outright?

Cheers,
Mike

**DJ’s Timber** · 1st June 2007, 11:56 PM

Originally Posted by Burnsy

I am not familiar with slabbing and drying at all. If the tree had been standing dead for so long, is the drying process different to when it is green? Are you just allowing the timber to acclimatise more than actually drying?

Some great timber, I would love to see some more photos. Did you trade timber with the mill for their time or pay outright?

Cheers,
Mike

Even though the tree has been dead for a long time, it can still hold a lot of moisture in the log. Once we had cut them, we run the meter over different sections and there was still a fair bit of moisture in the logs. I think it was somewhere around 25 or 30 %, can't remember now.

Doing a trade with the mill, I get to keep a certain percentage of it.

**Wongo** · 1st June 2007, 11:59 PM

Bloody hell.

**BobL** · 2nd June 2007, 01:04 AM

Great Story DJ!

Love to see the timber grain if you have a shot of it!

**martrix** · 9th June 2007, 12:35 AM

That is an awesome stick of redgum! Must be about as big as they get?

Did you have someone sharpening full time?

Did any of the slabs have heaps of Birdseye in them?

**DJ’s Timber** · 9th June 2007, 01:26 AM

Certainly the biggest I've ever handled.

Before we start slabbing we normally start off with enough sharp chains to keep us going for either ½ a day or the full day, so as one gets blunt swap it over then spend ½hr or so resharpening at lunch time or at the end of the day or first thing in the morning.

Really depends on how many chains are left before we have to buy a new roll.

Some of the slabs have some wicked fiddleback and some have birdseye. Also some with crotch like figure through the main trunk as well, due to the age and size of the tree there is some extreme figuring.

Will take some pictures of the first slab on top of the pile when I get down to the yard again, haven't been down since I slabbed up the smaller log that I did the other week.

**slabber** · 9th June 2007, 07:31 PM

would kill for a red gum that big on my property

**weisyboy** · 10th June 2007, 06:51 PM

i want one

**BobR** · 10th June 2007, 09:21 PM

Weisyboy, you will know that you are alive taking that on with a 20" bar.

**The Bird** · 26th August 2007, 07:03 PM

Could not believe how difficult it was to get up the 2500mm Diam Butt.
Now I remember why I stopped climbing trees.
The moisture content was 35% a month after we slabbed it, Made a table from some the other day.... came up orlright I reckon.

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Huge Redgum log

Yeah all of the above and I climbed it.

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