Shaken Trees: Ship Building vs. Furniture Building

[JimD]

I don't think I'd want root ball wood for structural applications but fancy wood stocks for rifles often have a butt stock from the root area with beautiful grain.

 

[danmart77]

I don't think I'd want root ball wood for structural applications but fancy wood stocks for rifles often have a butt stock from the root area with beautiful grain.

Here's a half stock harvested from a root system from a sugar maple in NH. We dug away the dirt with shovels and did the rest with water hoses. Pulled the stump up with a tractor and finished up with a pressure washing. Had to really get it clean to get any sawyer willing to cut it. I had to pay for the blade before hand and luckily I got 15 slabs. Sold half and broke even then waited 3 years to air dry.

the ribs on the boat example I used for a class are laminated and screwed to the bottomboard.

The ribs on all of the boats below(Adirondack Museum) are all from the natural crooks of the spruce tree root system.

None of the ribs below were laminated - all natural curves. Granted these are not schooners on the high seas but structurally they are tough. The remarkable thing is they are all under 70lbs with the yoke included for the carry.

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[Hmerkle]

Sam, it depends upon how saturated with water that the ground is. When Fran came through, the high winds followed several days of rain, so the root structures were weakened when the winds hit and were more easily uprooted.

If a hurricane arrives that was not preceded by a lot of rain, then the trunks may shear instead.

Scott,
Have you cut Live Oak?

 

[scsmith42]

Scott,
Have you cut Live Oak?

Yes. it’s an extremely dense oak and the boards tend to move a lot as they dry.

 

[SubGuy]

Got a yard full of older live oak and sand laurel oak. Next question is, am I ready to build a boat?

 

[scsmith42]

Got a yard full of older live oak and sand laurel oak. Next question is, am I ready to build a boat?

Not with Laurel oak.... it's a member of red oak family and open pored. Not a good choice for a boat.