New Zealand Treecrops Association

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Valuable timber salvage guidelines

Don't waste that big storm fallen tree! Character wood is now highly sought after and desirable. Whether it is a valuable timber species, or a more common species with a good girth and intact length, why not take a little time to maximise its value? Consider these handling tips:

• Beware of firewooders! (Fine timber burns fine.) Aim for minimum firewood.
• Take care sawing - these trees could have old nails and pieces of iron occluded, especially within the butt section
• For better ease of handling and milling, cut to lengths not less than 3m (10ft)
• Do minimum docking - leave rougher pieces intact to be cut later for unusual woodwork
• Delimb, and put aside large limbs for either milling or wood turning
• Some full width (diameter) slab can be extremely valuable; generally junk cut into larger sizes, for storage and slow drying
• Fillet well, and consider applying an anti-borer treatment first if wood will not be used for food handling

Our thanks to Bob Grubner for draughting these pointers.

Tree croppers with timber interests would be keen to hear of any interesting timber available. The Oak Interest Group, for instance, are in touch with many users of specialty timbers. Please contact us (see footer).

http://www.treecrops.org.nz/grandparent/parent/topicname.html
Created: 2004 February 21 - Modified: 2008 July 11