Madrone Take Down

[RegC]

If you've not seen or worked on a Madone, or Arbutus....they are a lot like Eucalyptus. Strong heavy wood. Often seem to have a heavy leaning though, and rotted out at the base around here.

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[Mellow]

That looks slick as snot. There are very few eucs left around my area and for that I am thankful.

 

[pantheraba]

Some of that work positioning looked more challenging than I am used to seeing in your videos. Maybe it was just the gnarly limbs that made it look that way. I liked the way you sling and prussic the bouquets.

 

[treebilly]

You seem to really like that battery saw as of late. Guess I’ll have to see if someone near me has one I can try out. Nice work as always. Seem like it got a bit dryer looking up in the tops. Also seemed like it wanted to fight back a lot. Those days are testing.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Nice job a s always Reg.. Never worked a Madrone myself. Looks slippery as all get out wet. Levi ascended one at Jamie's once.

 

[cory]

The rain makes those smooth trunks look varnished, looks crazy slippery. Spooky azz music. Thumbs down on the speeded up work positioning shots, I'd love to see more climbing like that at 1x speed.

We know the rest?? Geez, soon you'll wrap your lanyard around the base of a tree, spur in 2 steps, then, we know the rest!

Good vibe in that vid as usual, thanks for posting

 

[SeanKroll]

Smooth work! Literally and figuratively.

A wet madrone is an attention-keeper for a climber. Easy to pitch off sideways from a snot-slick, leaning stem. Sharp spurs and saws a big help.
Heavy wood. Once of the densest in the region, I'd say, second to english holly, maybe third...Geary oak being in there somewhere.

I've never found madrone to be exceptionally dulling, but I've heard it said. Maybe dead madrone, IDK.

Some develop a weird tri-lobed cross-section that seems to bounter sometimes-extreme lean. Seems like a biomimicry-shape in the making. I have a chunk in the field.

 

[Mick!]

Lots of weather in BC, a lot of it wet it seems.

Very nice work, tricky when you go from sweeping leafy tops to just wood on a multistem like that, but nicely done as ever.

 

[swingdude]

love it as usual.....

 

[Stumpshot]

Never worked on Madrone since it doesn't exist here, in fact hadn't heard of it before an earlier August video. I do have some scant experience with Euc when I lived in So Cal, so if it's along those lines (and the smooth wood looks sycamore-like), I'm glad I don't have to deal with it! I imagine it doesn't share the euc trait of dropping big limbs unexpectedly? Good show & thanks for the video!

 

[SeanKroll]

Something cool about madrona/ Arbutus is that they are evergreen, with leaves lasting about 14 months. Unfortunately, this increases foliar fungal issues.

Wood is beautiful, but twists, cups, and cracks like mad.

 

[stig]

And the Portuguese make a fine brandy from the fruit.
That is the Old World Arbutus Arbutus arbutus, not the New World Arbutus menziesii.
I imagine one could do the same with that, if so inclined.

The root burl is among the finest turning woods of the World.

 

[pantheraba]

Cool info!!

 

[SeanKroll]

I've heard of getting excavators for madrona stump removal. Do you know about the value, Stig? They grow big here.

I'm learning more and more about the special wood available here. I saw a $$ Bigleaf maple on a property, dead and dying, soooo burly!

 

[Nutball]

I learned there's lots of burl around giant oak crotches. I would have kept those pieces if I knew instead of smashing them to bits with the splitter.

 

[Stumpshot]

Or having the chipper eat them for lunch!

 

[SeanKroll]

I've become a maple crotch horder.

 

[stig]

I've no idea of the value, Sean.
All I know, from taking a class with Oregon Turner Dale Larson, who makes some beautiful bowls from Madrone burl, is that you need to keep it out of direct sunlight, or it'll check like nothing else on Earth.

He boils the rough turned bowls to stabilize them.

https://www.turninggallery.org/dale-larson.html

 

[gf beranek]

The madrone is a wide ranged tree. Whole west coast to 7000 feet. We have single trunk specimens to 5 feet dbh. Awesome co-dominants. Graeme MacMahon called them weeds. Always crooked, and always leaning for the light, but clean trees to work. No pitch. Nice. The wood is really hard with little fiber to bind a cut. So it cuts clean and fast even with a handsaw. Highest priced firewood in my parts. Smooth and slick especially when wet. If not a stub to hold a lanyard set a wrap or you'll slip and hit one of those nasty stubs. Oh, those stubs. The little ones cut you like a razor. Not at all like a conifer. Lot of limb walking, sometimes.

I'm digging that electric saw, Reg. Nice and quiet! Nice vid. Thank you.

 

[cory]

Cool info, Jerry, thanks.

 

[flushcut]

The opening scene had my palms sweating looking at the greasy lead.

 

[pantheraba]

hahaha....I was sharing your pain, brother!

 

[SeanKroll]

5' is monster. Didn't know they made it down that far south. Cool.

There is one here, 3', 3', and 4' triple leader action.

Like other bigger trees, they don't look so big until your touching them, especially if they are alone. This Oly madrone is in a field, visible from I-5, if you know where to look. The owner considered removing it before it became protected. As a lone madrone, it looks good, as there isn't the same disease vectoring as along a shoreline.
A weird place for a big madrone.

 

[cory]

Like other bigger trees, they don't look so big until your touching them, especially if they are alone.

So, so true. Spoken by a true tree cognoscenti

 

[chris_girard]

Really enjoyed this video Reg, thanks!