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Advice wanted on picking the "good bits" from a tree that's coming down!

John Erickson

John Erickson

Joined
Feb 25, 2023
Messages
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Location
Louisville, KY
Hi all! On Wednesday of this week, I'm unfortunately having a large maple (Water maple) taken down. Hate to do it, but it split in a storm and exposed a rotted out trunk at the base. Anyway, there will be TONS of healthy wood, and I'm going to save as much as I can cut up and store in the garage. So, my question is, what are some of your learnings around picking logs most likely to have figure? Crotches, heavy bends, etc.? I'm going to bury several in the back with shavings and a beer spray hoping for some spalting (had good luck with that the last time I had water maple).

What do you all look for in a log or tree section? I can't store too much, so I really want to pick the most interesting sections. It's hard to tell in the picture, but the trunk is 3-4 feet in diameter, I'd guess.
IMG_3091.jpeg
 
Don't waste your beer. You want the fungi to feed on the wood, not your free beer. Just keep the wood covered with a tarp to retain moisture and maybe a little soil rub to aid the fungi transfer. Maple spalts (decomposes) quickly so keep an eye on your stash.
Crotch wood is most likely to have figure but I wouldn't get too concerned about figure if you are chasing spalt.
 
Dwayne Watt said:
Don't waste your beer. You want the fungi to feed on the wood, not your free beer. Just keep the wood covered with a tarp to retain moisture and maybe a little soil rub to aid the fungi transfer. Maple spalts (decomposes) quickly so keep an eye on your stash.
Crotch wood is most likely to have figure but I wouldn't get too concerned about figure if you are chasing spalt.
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Thanks for the reply, Dwayne. I've read differing opinions on the beer usage. David Ellsworth told me that's what has always worked for him--I've never tried it, but thought I'd take his suggestion. That'll just be a couple logs, though. Most of the wood I plan to process and move into the workshop for rough turning.
 
I was passing along the advice provided at the AAW symposium from Dr Seri Robinson. Seri is THE expert on spalting from Oregon State University. The advice was to avoid the home brew recipes (beer, urine, chicken soup, whatever) because all they do is slow the spalting process by providing an easy food source for the fungi. You want the fungi to attack the wood so maintaining a humid environment is beneficial.
 
John Erickson said:
What do you all look for in a log or tree section?
Click to expand...
Crotch Wood, Burls, Lower heavy limbs (They sometimes have heavily off center grain patterns, which can bring some interesting looks to turned pieces) trunk sections (Straightest and thickest grain for large bowls) and if you had a power washer handy and they dug up the stump, Root Ball can have some very interesting stuff, only problem with root balls is the dirt & rocks you find in the middle... I'd also save back a lot of the smaller limbs (Natural edge birdhouse ornaments, and the like) and after that, I'd take as much of the longer straighter pieces as I could manage (curved pieces can be difficult to deal with, and get good balanced grain bowls & stuff.)
John Erickson said:
I can't store too much, so I really want to pick the most interesting sections. It's hard to tell in the picture, but the trunk is 3-4 feet in diameter, I'd guess.
Click to expand...
I would take as much as I could stash in my yard, I wouldn't bother stashing it in the shop -unless of course you live in some sort of HOA or zoned area that neighbors (or HOA) can be super-finicky about your wood pile out back.... Take them in the longest sections you can for outdoor stashing, cover with tarp out of the sun and off the ground (except pieces you want to spalt) then cut off sections as needed, minimizing your losses to end cracks, and just process those shorter pieces as you cut them off (cut out pith, roundover and/or end grain sealing, etc.) - only as much as you can rough out in the next few days session...

At least, that's what I would do....
 
Their should be some good spalting close to the rot. Look carefully.

"V" crotches have included bark and sometimes split after processing. "U" crotches usually have the best figure and stability. I define a "U" crotch as one I can put my foot in clear to the bottom.
 
Brian Gustin said:
Crotch Wood, Burls, Lower heavy limbs (They sometimes have heavily off center grain patterns, which can bring some interesting looks to turned pieces) trunk sections (Straightest and thickest grain for large bowls) and if you had a power washer handy and they dug up the stump, Root Ball can have some very interesting stuff, only problem with root balls is the dirt & rocks you find in the middle... I'd also save back a lot of the smaller limbs (Natural edge birdhouse ornaments, and the like) and after that, I'd take as much of the longer straighter pieces as I could manage (curved pieces can be difficult to deal with, and get good balanced grain bowls & stuff.)

I would take as much as I could stash in my yard, I wouldn't bother stashing it in the shop -unless of course you live in some sort of HOA or zoned area that neighbors (or HOA) can be super-finicky about your wood pile out back.... Take them in the longest sections you can for outdoor stashing, cover with tarp out of the sun and off the ground (except pieces you want to spalt) then cut off sections as needed, minimizing your losses to end cracks, and just process those shorter pieces as you cut them off (cut out pith, roundover and/or end grain sealing, etc.) - only as much as you can rough out in the next few days session...

At least, that's what I would do....
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Thank you for the great advice, Brian. I’m going to follow it!
 
Larry Copas said:
Their should be some good spalting close to the rot. Look carefully.

"V" crotches have included bark and sometimes split after processing. "U" crotches usually have the best figure and stability. I define a "U" crotch as one I can put my foot in clear to the bottom.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Larry!
 
I look for bumps that make nice Hollow form rims or contours for NE bowl rims


This bowl is from the base of a large beach the opening is in a groove like your tree shows
IMG_0318.jpeg

This maple HF has the opening in a healed over limb scar (cat’s eye)
IMG_8321.jpeg

Many maples will have some curl near the ground
IMG_0395.jpeg
 
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John Erickson said:
Thanks, @hockenbery ! This is very helpful.
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I should have added - if you are in a turning club,
Invite a few club members over to share both the labor and the bounty.
Club members often learn a lot about cutting blanks when working with other turners.
 
Tree guys tend to cut off branches very close to the trunk, but it can cause checking too close to the good stuff. If you can get them to cut further away. (like leave 6" to the crotch) it doesn't stack or roll as easily, but yields better opportunities for interesting blanks.
 
hockenbery said:
I should have added - if you are in a turning club,
Invite a few club members over to share both the labor and the bounty.
Club members often learn a lot about cutting blanks when working with other turners.
Click to expand...
And find a club member who is knowledgable and skilled at safe chainsaw operation (and, in this case, additionally skilled in felling trees, unless you're hiring a pro to do that). Combine the "tree day" with chainsaw safety instruction and mentoring.
 
Dave Landers said:
And find a club member who is knowledgable and skilled at safe chainsaw operation (and, in this case, additionally skilled in felling trees, unless you're hiring a pro to do that). Combine the "tree day" with chainsaw safety instruction and mentoring.
Click to expand...
Good point! In this case, the pros are doing it. Too close to neighbors, my house, power lines, etc. there will be a crane and a full crew. I just need to tell them what sections to set aside for me.
 
While I agree it is better to leave wood longer, weight can make that difficult. I transport a lot of wood and need it smaller. Even going to the backyard may be difficult with larger logs without a tractor. If you do cut it up into smaller pieces, make sure you still make it longer than your blank size and then seal the end grain (I use thinned PVA glue).
 
Arborists call figured wood "reaction" wood. Trees develop 'reactions' to stress, and this resorts in different types of 'accordion' grain figure. I got a branch once, about 18 high, 12 wide, and 10 feet long. It was growing totally horizontal. Under any branch there will be reaction wood. The buttress part of the tree usually has bunch of figure in it as well.

If you ever get a chance to see Seri Robinson (the only person that calls me Sara is my mom) do go see her! Part of what was most interesting to me was that every thing I knew about spalting was wrong....

robo hippy
 
A tree cutting crew is there to MOVE the wood and get to the next job. This usually results in odd angle cuts as an expedient way to get through the job. Ask them to make relatively square cuts wherever possible. This will allow you to get more usable pieces out of the tree. Can't say how many times I've had to lop off 6 or 8 inches of a log just because it was cut at an angle. If they need to use a bit of the wood as a cut through chopping block, they only get one piece. This will help avoid collateral chainsaw damage to many otherwise usable timbers

Also give any crotch wood a wide berth. Leave minium 4-6" of limb on all sides. Any checking that occurs before you get it processed will happen in the limb instead of your valuable figured wood.
 
Thank you for all the great replies, everyone! I’ve processed tons of logs—just never had the opportunity to start with a whole tree—it’s always been me picking from whatever’s left on the ground.

@Dwayne Watt and @robo hippy , thank you for the recommendation on Dr Robinson. I’ll check that out before wasting any beer.
 
Thanks, @Steve Chaplin ! I’ve been processing logs for a long time, and learned from this exact video, among others. I’ve never had a chance to pick what I wanted from an entire tree, though! Thanks for the reminder—Robo Hippy has helped a lot of us.
 
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