Ok, as one grows older one should, in theory, try to be a least a little wiser. This will be one of those learning experiences for me.
A few weeks ago some friends told me they were having a California Laurel tree removed from their yard and had arranged with the tree removal guys to have the trunk section in whatever way I wanted it if I was interested.
While laurel wasn't at the top of my list of desired woods, the main trunk of the tree was 30" at the base and I would get at least two 6' sections 24" in diameter out of it. What made it appealing was that the entire trunk was covered in burls (see pics). Having read so many stories about others in the midwest and eastern US being able to harvest great wood from trees that would otherwise have gone to waste, I wanted to do the same.
Last Friday the tree was cut down, the trunk sectioning into two 6' sections and then each section bisected. The pieces were barely moveable by two people, but not knowing any better and wanting to maximize the amount of lumber I might get I had them leave the pieces that size. I planned on picking up the wood the next day.
The next morning I began to realize what a mistake I had made. The tree trunk seemed to have grown and now I had to get it out of the lawn it was in!
Using a chain saw I divided the slabs in half lengthwise and had a friend help me transport them to my house where I now have them in my basement. These pieces are still too big for me to handle by myself. I had planned in resawing them on my bandsaw.
My friend commented that this seemed like one of the hairbrained projects he likes to make for himself that will require 80 hours of work for something with little payoff. You all know the kind...
As soon as we had the wood safely stored in my basement (luckily in a storage area and not my shop space) I totally regretted having taken on this job. I've already got plenty of wood to work with (probably 2-3 years of projects worth) already in my basement. It isn't like I don't have plenty of other things to do already!
So now I have to get rid of the 1000lbs of wood that I now have on my hands. The easiest thing for me to do will be to borrow the cargo van from work, load up the wood and take it to the dump. It will still cost be $35 for the tipping fee, but that will be a small price to pay for reclaiming a big chunk of my basement and for the lesson learned. I will probably do this in a few weeks. If I do this in the future, I will absolutely find someone with a bandsaw mill to mill the wood on site.
In the meantime, if there are any turners out there who are interested in picking up some burl chunks before it goes to the dump let me know. Most of the pieces are 8" by 10" by 5'. Believe me anyone is welcome to this wood!
Thanks for letting me ramble!
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