Harvesting Urban Timber
Review by Mark Gezella – May 2007
By now I should be accustomed to the generosity of you Guild members, yet I'm still amazed at what is offered to me almost every third Thursday. This month's article describes a donation earlier this year from Paul Hansen. The book was produced by Linden Publishing in 2003 and is in exceptional condition - I mean it still smells new! This kind of library donation really makes my day.
The first few pages double as an introduction to both book and author, and begins with an entertaining story of how he entered the field of woodworking. Picture a young lad constructing his first-ever soapbox derby car, built of 2-by's and scrap lumber, with a steering wheel that barely turned and a brake lever destined to fail at the most inopportune moment! Fortunately, he survived his foray into racing and retained his love of wood to boot. He fast forwards rather abruptly from boyhood adventurer to grown-up timber-harvester with a trip to Cincinnati to discover exactly how an urban tree is cut. But he doesn't work alone. Along the way he solicits the help of my personal hero, Norm Abram. The Author was actually instrumental in arranging this meeting; he put a bug in the ear of Russ Morash (producer of The New Yankee Workshop, This Old House, and many other PBS shows) about an event in the river town sponsored by Wood-Mizer Bandsaw Mills. Needless to say, Russ was very interested. The end result was a fortuitous gathering for all parties involved - Sam left an educated sawyer, and the session aired as a how-to segment on PBS some years ago.
Upon concluding his introduction, Mr. Sherrill delivers much detail about urban harvesting in five unique chapters;
From Wood Waste to Wood Resource
This is a great time to be reading about urban recycling, given the contemporary movement to be "green". Chapter one leads off with great reasons for harvesting urban timber. Foremost (as always) is money. It just makes good, economic sense to cut trees for use rather than expect municipalities to spend dollars removing them as waste. This obviates good wood from ending up in a landfill, producing a product for use as firewood, rough stock, or milled lumber. Another attraction is an individual doesn't need to invest in expensive equipment. Cooperatives now exist that loan sawmills and kilns for personal use. Bottom line - this greatly reduces private/public cost of tree removal.
From Trees to Logs
This chapter discusses how much wood really is available in our nation's metropolitan areas. This is quantified in a convenient chart with line items by state. Once his assertion on volume is over, the Author describes in great detail how a tree grows. He begins at the microscope with a description of cell function and finishes with contrasts between mature hardwoods and softwoods. He also describes how to develop an eye for quality trees. This encompasses many diverse talents such as spotting reaction wood, calculating yield from damage due to natural disasters, identifying insect and/or fungal infestation, locating embedded metal or concrete, etc. Quite a cornucopia of problems! His discussion wraps up with harvesting mechanics; e.g., limbing, bucking, and the "S" word (Safety) during all facets of operation.
From Logs to Lumber
"Skidding" and "yarding" ain't just for big industry anymore! It's actually possible to transport logs with nothing more than a "pipe buggy", or tubular contraption balanced on large wheels which enables a single person to safely move logs around for prep, milling, etc. As for milling, many options exist for cutting a log down to size. The Author goes to great length describing pro's and con's of chainsaw vs. circular saw vs. bandsaw mills. This chapter also includes how to scale and price lumber. Did you know there are several different methods developed for estimating yield? I was amazed. References include Doyle, Scribner, and International versions. And I'm sure you all realize wood has to dry before it can be used…Mr. Sherrill certainly does!
Who is Harvesting Urban Timber
In the mid nineteenth century, a riverboat captain named "Black John" (attributed to his lengthy, black beard) quit navigating rivers to take up farming. He chose a 180-acre farm with a massive Bur Oak that literally "anchored" him to the property. This tree lived to be over 500 years old, until it succumbed to a storm in the 1990's. When it met it's untimely demise, Mr. Sherrill was asked by Black John's great-grandson to come see the tree and consider if he could use what was left for a rightful purpose. Once again he called upon Normie to help evaluate the carnage (I'm really beginning to like this guy!), and eventually produced over 20 furniture pieces to pay homage to a tree so endeared by it's owners. This is a great lead-in to many more examples of both private and urban harvest; a Black Walnut from the Biltmore Estate used for nearby shop classes, hardwoods from the Indiana Governor's Mansion donated to build accessories for local schools, etc. Plus many more segments on organizations formed to seek out and mill wood for the same purpose.
Harvesting in Your Community
Three to four billion board feet of lumber are lost annually to urban landfills. The Author stresses that supply and demand are both present, yet a disconnect between the two fosters this travesty. To counter this waste, many suggestions are provided on how to take action. Recommendations include how to organize a HUT group, how to find sources of trees, how to locate local sawyers, tree assessment, safe removal and processing, etc. Sam wraps up this chapter with fifteen distinct suggestions for selling logs and/or milled lumber.
This is fascinating reading, accompanied by great color pictures and illustrations on high-quality paper. My thanks again to Paul for donating such a fine reference book. But I have to be honest; I didn't finish reading it when this article went to print. So, if I get done in time, it will be available for checkout at the next general member meeting!