Anyone turned Palo Verde?

[Troy Donson]

A friend was good enough to donate a few sections of a very old Palo Verde trunk. I am looking for a chain saw to use to cut bowl blanks out of them (so if anyone has a recommendation on a "relatively inexpensive" but not "cheap" saw please let me know). If this turns well he has said he will let me take down the rest of the tree...

My question is, besides obviously cutting out the pith and anchor sealing, anything I should know before turning? Things like toxicity, "turns like iron when dry", should only be turned on wednesdays under a full moon during low tide, spontaneous combustion, etc?

Appreciate any and all advice...


Troy

[Kevin McPeek]

Maybe Jason Clark will chime in here since I know hes has turned some. You could PM him also (Jason Clark2). I have some pieces that are just cracking away in the woodshed, but I haven't gotten around to turning any.

As far as the chainsaw goes I'll give the same advice as many will, get a Husky or Stihl. If you buy something cheaper, you'll just end up replacing it later. I have a Stihl MS290 and am happy with it. http://www.stihlusa.com/chainsaws/MS290.html It's a bit on the heavy side but I try not to lug it around too much. I have no problem recommending it to others though.

[Troy Donson]

Thanks, Kevin.

For the "typical" woods we have around here, what bar length do you recommend? In San Diego, I used a 14" McCulloch for gathering deadfall firewood, and honestly, for "trimming" bowl blanks I think that size would be handiest for me. But do you recommend bigger? Shorter? I'm a mechanic not an "Ax Man" so I am pretty much clueless as to chainsaws...

( the wife walked by while I was typing and agreed that I am just pretty much clueless... )

Troy

[Jason Clark2]

OK, I'll jump in, I've turned a bit of Palo Verde. It's far from my favorite wood to turn, but is available in the desert.

Normally it's almost uniformly yellow, and is very dense and hard. It will take a very high shine by itself because of the density. This one is only about 6" diameter.


One in a while you can find a piece that is exceptional though. This one sat in my garage for well over a year before I got to it. Based on my past experience with Palo Verde I almost threw it out but decided to split it to get a look inside before throwing it into my yard waste bin. As you can see the bugs and fungus got to it before I did. It's just under 20" from point to point.


This one the tree was basically rotting from the inside out before maintenance crews decided to cut it down. It wasn't nearly as hard as other Palo Verdes I've turned, likely due to the rot. This one is about 15" diameter and yielded 3 or 4 bowls by the time it was roughed and cored.


If you have any questions or anything feel free to contact me.

Jason
jclark58@gmail.com

Jason

[Jason Clark2]

I'll jump in here too. I just replaced a Husqvarna 142 (40.2 cc, 16 and 18" bars - $199 Lowes) with a Stihl MS290, based partially on Kevin's recommendation. I do a fair amount of larger stuff so i went with a 20" bar. As Kevin stated it's a bit heavy at 13-14 pounds, but that can work for you, use the weight of the saw to provide pressure down on the cut rather than your own body weight. I did use it a couple of weeks ago to trim a branch off of a tree for a neighbor, the weight of the saw above my head and on a step ladder was substantial to say the least.


Jason

[Bernie Weishapl]

Troy I got the Stihl MS 310 and haven't looked back with a 18" bar. It cuts all I have asked it with ease. What a pleasure to use after the C-man.

[Troy Donson]

Kevin, Bernie and Jason: Thanks for the replies and the recommendations.

Jason I will probably take you up on your offer and e-mail latter in the week.

Thanks again.

Troy

[Kevin McPeek]

We don't always have teh biggest trees available to us out here but we have some tough ones. You often come across Mesquite which can get pretty big and is always pretty tough. Palo Verde and Acacia pretty common and tough too.
I wouldn't go under 50-55CC and no shorter than 16". Some of that depends on lathe capacity though. You don't need a whole lot of saw if you have only a mini and aren't planning on going bigger (yeah right). For not a lot more than the 290 you could go up to the 310, which is lighter and has a little more CC. I considered a 20" bar but since I have 3 chains and 2 bars I just stuck with 18" and it is all I really need.

[Troy Donson]

Kevin, since I first posted, a co-worker told me he needs some trees taken out of his "front yard" at a cabin he is building in Prescot Valley. This is an opportunity to get enough blanks of black oak and mesquite to last me the next 20-30 years! The trees are anything but straight so getting planks is pretty much not worth the trouble.

So now it seems like getting a chain saw has become a bit more imperative, so my question now is considering that some of these mesquite trees are "monsters" approaching 3-4 feet across and his oaks are even bigger, do you think an 18" bar will be enough? We may just have a "pro" come out, fell them, pull the stumps and then I will clean up the trunks and debris... Maybe get a smaller saw off C/L to do the minor trim and save the Stihl for the big stuff?

May have to take a week off and rent a moving van to get all of it home!!

BTW I really appreciate all the help and advice. Was considering just going to sears or getting a McCulloch, glad I held off...

Troy

[Nathan Hawkes]

A friend was good enough to donate a few sections of a very old Palo Verde trunk. I am looking for a chain saw to use to cut bowl blanks out of them (so if anyone has a recommendation on a "relatively inexpensive" but not "cheap" saw please let me know). If this turns well he has said he will let me take down the rest of the tree...

My question is, besides obviously cutting out the pith and anchor sealing, anything I should know before turning? Things like toxicity, "turns like iron when dry", should only be turned on wednesdays under a full moon during low tide, spontaneous combustion, etc?

Appreciate any and all advice...


Troy

The MS-290 is a good saw. My father has the older 029 super, which was its predecessor. Also, if there isn't a stihl dealer around, the husky 350 is a very good saw, if a tiny bit smaller I think both of those are in the $300 range, which is as low as I'd go for a "not cheap" saw that you can cut some decent sized wood with, but not spend the $600 on a ms-361 or even more on a larger saw.

A bit of advice; it is VERY important, especially for new users, to get (and wear) protective equipment like kevlar chaps (a $50-75 investment that will save your life if you have an accident) and a helmet. Check out www.Baileysonline.com for cheap chainsaw accessories etc.





EDIT: I just had a major wood gloat of my own, and ended up with a huge amount of curly maple. If you're interested in doing some wood trading, PM me!!! I'm very interested in some mesquite blanks!!!!!!

[Nathan Hawkes]

Troy, you're really going to need a bigger saw to run a 24" bar. 60cc I'd say. I have a few saws, an 024, an ms361, and a husky 394XP. the 361 runs a bandsaw, but I have a 20" bar, and putting a 24" on it would be max for sure. I think its 59cc.

If I were near you, I'd bring my 394XP and a 42" bar and help you out for some blanks!!!!

[Troy Donson]

Thanks for the advice, Nathan.

Aware of the inherent risks of using a chain saw and the advice on chaps is well taken. I have had quite a bit of experience with smaller (12-14") saws, just wondered about what the "Pros at the Creek" thought given the job ahead of us.

We are kicking the whole "having a pro fell the bigger trees" idea around alot and will probably do that rather than risk getting squished. Plus having a backhoe pull the stumps is sure alot easier than doing it by hand and p/u truck!! I was offered the wood as long as I cut it and hauled it away. He is going to pay for the actual "felling".

If all goes according to plan, we should be doing this in the next few months. I was already kicking the idea of trading blanks among anyone here that had something to trade or just sell them for cash. I will definately post what we get out of those trees when we do it. Hopefully I will be able to also sell enough of them outright to cover the expenses of the rental van and chainsaw and safety equipment.

The wife and I will be making a road trip in a couple weeks to recconoiter and verify. All I have now is some cell phone pics to go by. He swears one oak tree is 60-70 feet tall and looking at the pictures I believe him. It grows in about eighteen different directions: like it kept getting split from the wind and then healing... A grand old tree that is dying from what looks like a very bad erosion problem undermining the root system.

I will keep everyone informed if we manage to harvest these trees.

Troy

[Mike Vickery]

I have a small Stihl (MS250) with an 18 inch bar. The biggest tree I have taken down with it is probably about 24 inches and I wish I had more power and a longer bar when I was doing it. The saw works fine for the majority of my work though.

I have never seen a mesquite get 3 or 4 feet before. The biggest I have came across was one Jason, Kevin and another friend got that was about 27 inches at the largest point. Those must be monsters (or he measured wrong).

It is rare around my area to get trees much over 20 inches so I would say an 18 or 20 inch bar should be fine. Maybe Surprise has a little bigger trees though. Any saw powerful enough to pull a bigger bar is going to set you back a good amount of cash

If you need some help taking your buddies trees just let me know. Jason, Kevin and I go out together quite a bit together to get wood.

Kevin, since I first posted, a co-worker told me he needs some trees taken out of his "front yard" at a cabin he is building in Prescot Valley. This is an opportunity to get enough blanks of black oak and mesquite to last me the next 20-30 years! The trees are anything but straight so getting planks is pretty much not worth the trouble.

So now it seems like getting a chain saw has become a bit more imperative, so my question now is considering that some of these mesquite trees are "monsters" approaching 3-4 feet across and his oaks are even bigger, do you think an 18" bar will be enough? We may just have a "pro" come out, fell them, pull the stumps and then I will clean up the trunks and debris... Maybe get a smaller saw off C/L to do the minor trim and save the Stihl for the big stuff?

May have to take a week off and rent a moving van to get all of it home!!

BTW I really appreciate all the help and advice. Was considering just going to sears or getting a McCulloch, glad I held off...

Troy

[Troy Donson]

I have never seen a mesquite get 3 or 4 feet before. The biggest I have came across was one Jason, Kevin and another friend got that was about 27 inches at the largest point. Those must be monsters (or he measured wrong).

All I have to go by is what he has told me, so far. I know down in Mexico they grow some real monsters and I hope he _did_ measure right... It would be quite a find.

It is rare around my area to get trees much over 20 inches so I would say an 18 or 20 inch bar should be fine. Maybe Surprise has a little bigger trees though. Any saw powerful enough to pull a bigger bar is going to set you back a good amount of cash

Surprise hasn't got too much of anything, unfortunately. I am getting leads from co-workers of their neighbors who are cutting down trees in old Phoenix. So originally I was just looking for a saw to split and trim some Palo Verde I just got. Now, though, I have at least 2 oak trees and a monster (I hope) Mesquite tree if I can cut it and haul it.

If you need some help taking your buddies trees just let me know. Jason, Kevin and I go out together quite a bit together to get wood.

I will certainly keep you guys in mind!! From the one picture I saw, there is at least 4-5 pickup truck loads from the one tree. I should be going up and looking around in the next week or 3. I will let you know after I see the lay of the land.

Troy

[Kevin McPeek]

As Mike said, let us know if you need a hand. We work cheap, just some wood will do. Like I need more right now..