robutacion
Member
Hi everyone,
With the new highway by-pass at the South Road at McLaren Vale main entrance ( a black spot which claimed many road accidents and deaths ) being just approved for building, the works have started without delay a couple a weeks ago and a large area had to be cleaned up on any trees and any other obstructions such as one of the oldest house built in the area that has been condemned for living some years ago and left in a stated a disrepair.
Anyway, in the process, I manage to get some wood from some species that I never head and one that I kept looking for the 7 years that I have been in this area, as it was on the side of the road and too tall to be missed.
This was a very old and enormous Palm tree of which species I don't know nor I ever tough that it would be cut down and not re-planted elsewhere as many others I've seen in the area, being either moved short distances or brought it from elsewhere @ considerable size and age (20 years at least...)
I didn't take any pics of this palm before, nor I took any when I found out that it was down on the ground, with the falling cut been made about 3' off the ground due to some cement edge and other rocks present, and the palm trunk being then and chipped as most other trees present.
The only thing that was salvaged by me and many other people, was whatever we could get our hands on, after they finish work at 4:30pm, then you could enter the site and take as much wood as you wanted. However, many of the logs where left big, too heavy for people to handle and the stumps cut too damn high to void any sand/soil/dirt, which again where too big to handle unless, you had the tools and know how to cut them down to sizes you could manage.
With this old Palm butt, I was lucky that people left if alone the afternoon when it was cut, without me knowing anything about,and by luck I went to that town the following day to do some shopping, and took the trailer and a chainsaw (some spare chains) just in case I would see something that I would like to have, on the area I knew they were already working on.
Where the Palm was, I though that I would have a little more time but, no sir, in no time they (timber workers) went through that area and cut, cut, cut...!
What made me look to this Palm tree, was its majestic size just before the road bend, of which you would drive in its direction for a little while so, no one could miss it as was well above anything else in the area and with a clear view, right to its base.
Many times I've thought, "I could to lots of things with this Palm...!
"
so, I had to make sure I would get something out of it, particularly the very root base, coming up the trunk for about 10" or so. I never realised how big that trunk really as until I saw it cut and I had a problem, I only had my 18" bar on my Stihl saw, and its base at ground level was about over 4' across...!
Yes, I had to wait for the works to finish for the day and I saw how quickly I was surrounding with people and trailer to pic-up was was left on the ground and was a lot of wood of all sorts. That may explain why, I got so concerned that I didn't even think in get the camera out and take a few pics of what I had there, I simply put my safety gear and run to the Palm tree base.
I could see people staring at me, when they realise that I was interested on the Palm stump, with so much good firewood around it and when they saw me try to scrape and clean the soil all around this Palm butt. They got the biggest surprise when they saw me put a chainsaw on that dirt with smoke and sparks flying everywhere something that got me worried as the temps were about 38° and windy.
The bar being so small, made my job a lot harder and in between the smoke, my face dripping with sweat and being on my knees, I had no option than remove the top part of the heavy but at about 1" from the ground, removing all that top weight that was putting to much weight on the bar. After I done that, the really hard work started and it took me 2 hours and 5 chain replacements to get the 1" of that Palm stump, cut into small section all around, leaving about 1 square foot of Palm wood in the middle of the stump due to the shortness of the bar.
I wanted to cut that centre but I had no more chains to replace with and by then I was all by myself, as everyone had loaded and went home.
I decided to come back the next day with some more chains and cut not only that chunk I left in the centre of the palm, the 2 halves I left on the ground from the butt top 2' that I remove to alleviate the weight on the bottom cut and probably a couple of butts that I saw I could use but they left them standing up and no one seemed to attempt to cut them down as they were really big.
Next day, at about 4:00pm, I left home with all the gear I needed and an empty trailer as this town is only 25km away from me but, when I turned into town and look to my right end side, the only thing I could see was the old house still standing but everything else around it has been cleaned up of stumps, wood and roots which have all been grind off.
I was no a happy chap, I tell you and make me realise you lucky I was that I had the chance to get what I've got the day before. I could have taken the 2 large halves from the butt top but, they were too heavy and I was totally exhausted. I would have put them in the trailer regardless if I had known they would be gone the next day, as my intention was to cut those halves in half again to make it easier to handle, and while I had my wife Merissa with me both days, she could help as she just had her Carpel tunnel operated on, a couple of days prior...!:frown:
So, I come home empty handed but I kept thinking that I endup with the "best" part out of this old Palm tree that I would expect to have been planted 100 years ago or maybe more, just in front of that old but, fancy house...!
Being very green, I didn't wanted to wait 1 year or so before these pieces would dry enough for me to try something, at least the very joint of the root developing from the tree truck which is solid enough to cut and keep together but after that, the whole bunch of laced and or strains growing next to each other but not connect, just brakes apart and fall into pieces.
The only thing in between these root strains is dirt as they have developed in and with the soil that I have separated them from...!
I need to come up with a way to manage to cut some and take it to the microwave in the house (I know, I should have one in the shed...!) dry it and then try to cast with the resin as see how they would come out.
Well, it took hours to get these 2 blocks dry in the microwave and lots of time before that to fins a way to cut it and keep it together for this drying process, until they were ready to insert in the mold and that I can tell you, was I hell of a job...!
Well, I manage to transform a bunch of roots lose strains into a pen blank that is solid and very workable. The 100PSI pressure I can put on my pot, was maybe just enough to force the resin into all those gaps in between strains, which could have created a different effect if I had used coloured resin but I decided to use clear to preserve the natural colours of the roots.
They may be not a easy thing to make but I'm pleased with the way these first blanks, come out.
I will try colouring the resin, next time and see how it will look...!
I may even try to make bottle stoppers out of this material, even tough I will need to make special molds for it but, I will survive...!:wink::biggrin:
Hope you like them...!
Cheers
George
With the new highway by-pass at the South Road at McLaren Vale main entrance ( a black spot which claimed many road accidents and deaths ) being just approved for building, the works have started without delay a couple a weeks ago and a large area had to be cleaned up on any trees and any other obstructions such as one of the oldest house built in the area that has been condemned for living some years ago and left in a stated a disrepair.
Anyway, in the process, I manage to get some wood from some species that I never head and one that I kept looking for the 7 years that I have been in this area, as it was on the side of the road and too tall to be missed.
This was a very old and enormous Palm tree of which species I don't know nor I ever tough that it would be cut down and not re-planted elsewhere as many others I've seen in the area, being either moved short distances or brought it from elsewhere @ considerable size and age (20 years at least...)
I didn't take any pics of this palm before, nor I took any when I found out that it was down on the ground, with the falling cut been made about 3' off the ground due to some cement edge and other rocks present, and the palm trunk being then and chipped as most other trees present.
The only thing that was salvaged by me and many other people, was whatever we could get our hands on, after they finish work at 4:30pm, then you could enter the site and take as much wood as you wanted. However, many of the logs where left big, too heavy for people to handle and the stumps cut too damn high to void any sand/soil/dirt, which again where too big to handle unless, you had the tools and know how to cut them down to sizes you could manage.
With this old Palm butt, I was lucky that people left if alone the afternoon when it was cut, without me knowing anything about,and by luck I went to that town the following day to do some shopping, and took the trailer and a chainsaw (some spare chains) just in case I would see something that I would like to have, on the area I knew they were already working on.
Where the Palm was, I though that I would have a little more time but, no sir, in no time they (timber workers) went through that area and cut, cut, cut...!
What made me look to this Palm tree, was its majestic size just before the road bend, of which you would drive in its direction for a little while so, no one could miss it as was well above anything else in the area and with a clear view, right to its base.
Many times I've thought, "I could to lots of things with this Palm...!
"so, I had to make sure I would get something out of it, particularly the very root base, coming up the trunk for about 10" or so. I never realised how big that trunk really as until I saw it cut and I had a problem, I only had my 18" bar on my Stihl saw, and its base at ground level was about over 4' across...!
Yes, I had to wait for the works to finish for the day and I saw how quickly I was surrounding with people and trailer to pic-up was was left on the ground and was a lot of wood of all sorts. That may explain why, I got so concerned that I didn't even think in get the camera out and take a few pics of what I had there, I simply put my safety gear and run to the Palm tree base.
I could see people staring at me, when they realise that I was interested on the Palm stump, with so much good firewood around it and when they saw me try to scrape and clean the soil all around this Palm butt. They got the biggest surprise when they saw me put a chainsaw on that dirt with smoke and sparks flying everywhere something that got me worried as the temps were about 38° and windy.
The bar being so small, made my job a lot harder and in between the smoke, my face dripping with sweat and being on my knees, I had no option than remove the top part of the heavy but at about 1" from the ground, removing all that top weight that was putting to much weight on the bar. After I done that, the really hard work started and it took me 2 hours and 5 chain replacements to get the 1" of that Palm stump, cut into small section all around, leaving about 1 square foot of Palm wood in the middle of the stump due to the shortness of the bar.
I wanted to cut that centre but I had no more chains to replace with and by then I was all by myself, as everyone had loaded and went home.
I decided to come back the next day with some more chains and cut not only that chunk I left in the centre of the palm, the 2 halves I left on the ground from the butt top 2' that I remove to alleviate the weight on the bottom cut and probably a couple of butts that I saw I could use but they left them standing up and no one seemed to attempt to cut them down as they were really big.
Next day, at about 4:00pm, I left home with all the gear I needed and an empty trailer as this town is only 25km away from me but, when I turned into town and look to my right end side, the only thing I could see was the old house still standing but everything else around it has been cleaned up of stumps, wood and roots which have all been grind off.
I was no a happy chap, I tell you and make me realise you lucky I was that I had the chance to get what I've got the day before. I could have taken the 2 large halves from the butt top but, they were too heavy and I was totally exhausted. I would have put them in the trailer regardless if I had known they would be gone the next day, as my intention was to cut those halves in half again to make it easier to handle, and while I had my wife Merissa with me both days, she could help as she just had her Carpel tunnel operated on, a couple of days prior...!:frown:
So, I come home empty handed but I kept thinking that I endup with the "best" part out of this old Palm tree that I would expect to have been planted 100 years ago or maybe more, just in front of that old but, fancy house...!
Being very green, I didn't wanted to wait 1 year or so before these pieces would dry enough for me to try something, at least the very joint of the root developing from the tree truck which is solid enough to cut and keep together but after that, the whole bunch of laced and or strains growing next to each other but not connect, just brakes apart and fall into pieces.
The only thing in between these root strains is dirt as they have developed in and with the soil that I have separated them from...!
I need to come up with a way to manage to cut some and take it to the microwave in the house (I know, I should have one in the shed...!) dry it and then try to cast with the resin as see how they would come out.
Well, it took hours to get these 2 blocks dry in the microwave and lots of time before that to fins a way to cut it and keep it together for this drying process, until they were ready to insert in the mold and that I can tell you, was I hell of a job...!
Well, I manage to transform a bunch of roots lose strains into a pen blank that is solid and very workable. The 100PSI pressure I can put on my pot, was maybe just enough to force the resin into all those gaps in between strains, which could have created a different effect if I had used coloured resin but I decided to use clear to preserve the natural colours of the roots.
They may be not a easy thing to make but I'm pleased with the way these first blanks, come out.
I will try colouring the resin, next time and see how it will look...!
I may even try to make bottle stoppers out of this material, even tough I will need to make special molds for it but, I will survive...!:wink::biggrin:
Hope you like them...!
Cheers
George
