The toughest trees to remove

[candoarms]

To all of you who have responded with answers to my questions, I thank you.

My son-in-law owns a sawmill, and he has it parked in my yard. I have access to it anytime I want. I'm wondering how well the Cottonwood planks would hold up when used as bridge decking. I'm building a bridge across the creek in my back pasture, so I'll finally have access to the land I own on the other side. I'm cut off from about two acres of my property. Not sure which trees would make for the best bridge decking. My choices are very limited, but I do have an almost limitless supply of Cottonwood to work with. I need to do some more research on this.

Biomass plants don't exist in my neck of the.....ummmm......frozen tundra. I believe the nearest biomass plants are located in northern Minnesota......about 300 miles from me.

I'm still wondering how you folks would ever run a Cottonwood trunk through a chipper though. I've never seen a chipper big enough to handle them......unless you're first slabbing them with a BIG MS880 and a 59" bar.

I'm most certainly going to be getting myself a bigger chainsaw to handle these Cottonwoods, should I decide to take on the project.

Joel

 

[Thor's Hammer]

One of these or similar -

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And for really big stuff, one of these first -

<iframe width="960" height="720" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/pSjrBDY1PNQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[rumination]

To all of you who have responded with answers to my questions, I thank you.

My son-in-law owns a sawmill, and he has it parked in my yard. I have access to it anytime I want. I'm wondering how well the Cottonwood planks would hold up when used as bridge decking. I'm building a bridge across the creek in my back pasture, so I'll finally have access to the land I own on the other side. I'm cut off from about two acres of my property. Not sure which trees would make for the best bridge decking. My choices are very limited, but I do have an almost limitless supply of Cottonwood to work with. I need to do some more research on this.

Biomass plants don't exist in my neck of the.....ummmm......frozen tundra. I believe the nearest biomass plants are located in northern Minnesota......about 300 miles from me.

I'm still wondering how you folks would ever run a Cottonwood trunk through a chipper though. I've never seen a chipper big enough to handle them......unless you're first slabbing them with a BIG MS880 and a 59" bar.

I'm most certainly going to be getting myself a bigger chainsaw to handle these Cottonwoods, should I decide to take on the project.

Joel

Joel, cottonwood is commonly used as decking for trailers where I work in New Mexico. I don't see why it wouldn't work for a bridge, but you would want to make the slabs fairly thick. Also don't expect it to last as long as other hardwoods.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Wonder if you could get your Cottonwood lumber pressure treated somewhere? Otherwise, as Leon mentioned, low on the list of durability to outside exposure.

 

[candoarms]

I'm wondering now........hmmmm.

Cottonwood can be used as biomass, huh?. Can Cottonwood be used for wood pellets, to be burned in wood pellet stoves? There would be a good market in this area for wood pellets, for home heating. Not sure if Cottonwood would make a suitable pellet for that purpose however.

Thanks for the great information. The gears are now turning in my brain, but I think some of those gears might be missing a few teeth. LOL

Joel

 

[candoarms]

I'm not sure how many years I'd be able get out of the Cottonwood bridge planking, but I have a nearly endless source. Replacing them with new planks every 7 years or so would be a very easy thing to do, especially with the sawmill sitting right next to the bridge location.

I love the information and ideas I get from you folks. I need to spend more time here.

Thanks again for all the great info.

Joel

 

[FireFighterZero]

My hired man is a long time cottonwood killer and i asked him just yesterday what cottonwood is good for. The whole valley i live near burns cottonwood for heat, burns fast and we don't really have many chimney fires, so a good point i guess. His experience is that if you can find a big enough tree that is not hollow(most in our area are)that the boards can be okay. When it is dry he said that it is hard as a rock, but is prone to twisting.
I guess my only concern would be finding a tree big enough to make planks out of that was not hollow.

 

[candoarms]

FireFighterZero,

I appreciate the great feedback. Nice to know that Cottonwood gets hard when dried. More great information. Thanks.

Many different species are prone to producing planks that twist. From what I've seen on the sawmill discussion boards, the trick is to first remove the round edges, forming a square cant, then turn the cant often while cutting so as to take boards from adjacent sides. By turning the cant 90 degrees, then making another cut, the stress in the tree fibers is greatly reduced.

Doing this doesn't entirely eliminate any twist, but it greatly reduces it. The remaining fibers that create the twisting can be kept in check by placing heavy weights on the planks while they're drying in the kiln. Most guys pile many cinder blocks atop the wood stacked in the kiln. Cinder blocks are used because they allow the wood to dry evenly. due to the fact that these blocks have hollow centers.

Many of our Cottonwoods are hollow also, but they're only hollow to about 20 feet above the ground. More than half of the tree trunk is useful for making planks. And to be honest, only the upper reaches of the tree will fit inside our 36" mill.

I'll do some experimenting this coming summer. I'm thinking Cottonwood planks a full 2" thick would work well for the bridge decking.....as there will no truck traffic on the bridge. Only my little Kubota tractor will be crossing it.

Joel

 

[FireFighterZero]

I did not know that! I figured they would be mostly hollow. We dont have access to a kiln in the area, sounds like your project should work.

 

[stig]

It has been used for barn sidings here a century or so back.
If placd vertically and cut slanted at the bottom, so water can drip off, they last well.
According to one article I read, because the fibers are so open pored that rainwater runs right through them, which is why the planks should be placed vertically.

About 20 years ago I milled some and used it for nesting boxes for songbirds.
Some of those are still doing ok.

 

[candoarms]

Thanks Stig. I don't know how well the Cottonwood would stand up when used as flat decking over my bridge, but I'm thinking it's worth giving it a shot.

Joel

 

[Thor's Hammer]

If it works as lowloader trailer decking, I'm sure it will be ideal for a small bridge.

 

[jalegre0]

Sycamore when its pollinated I compare it to fiberglass.
Eyes red and itchy , cant breathe, wood heavier than hell.
Do have a plus , they are fun to climb and nice to look at

 

[cory]

Ed, that stump screw is crazy. Do you have one? They look highly effective, are they relatively easy on the machine too?

 

[flushcut]

I wonder if they make one for a mini?