Rocks

logboy · October 14, 2012, 10:45:03 PM

I've hit a lot of stuff inside trees over the years, but this was a first for me.

I guess this is my first "Rock" Elm. 55" across on the stump.

Perhaps kids dropped them in the crotch of the tree decades ago?

This log has eaten 3 new slabber chains (not destroyed, just very dulled) so far. I still have one cut left to finish it. Hopefully I have all the rocks out. I hit an 8 penny nail too that I missed with the detector, but it didnt do much.

I hit two yesterday that were inside this beautiful quilted and spalted maple. How they got in there is anyone's guess.

The slabber actually cut over the top of the rock and only took out the bottom cutters. So immediately thereafter the blade started its upwards climb until it bound up. I had to switch chains and turn the whole slabber around and meet the cut from the other side (the big line on the left across the log is where the two uneven cuts meet). I'll either clean it up with a sharp chain or use the Lucas planer head on the swingblade mill to flatten it before it goes in the stack to dry.

Okrafarmer · October 14, 2012, 11:14:41 PM

Those are some nice slabs, logboy. As for the rocks, kids can put them in crotches or holes in the tree, sometimes they throw rocks at trees and maybe it stays there some how, and I suppose pack rats and certain other animals might pick up rocks and move them sometimes, too. Sometimes bigger rocks can end up there when people are picking rocks in a field, and piling them somewhere. Sometimes they get bored and stick rocks in unusual places. "Look at this Joe, this rock is just the right size to fit in this tree."

Still another possibility, dendrologists and other scientists can tell me if I'm all wet-- sometimes in a double tree, a rock might be between where the two seeds were planted (or two suckers came up from an underground root.). Possibly in this case, the growing of the trees, combined with the freeze/thaw action of the frost, could work the rock up between the trees to the point where it gets trapped between the wood of the two trees.

Anyway, looks like you found another rock maple. :

jimparamedic · October 15, 2012, 08:03:31 AM

Those are river stones could be flooding put them there if ther is water close.

bandmiller2 · October 15, 2012, 08:26:06 AM

Those DanGed squirrels put them there,dumb squirrels think their nuts. Frank C.

Magicman · October 15, 2012, 09:11:45 AM

Or 8 year old kids doing what 8 year old kids do....throw rocks.

Water Oak becomes Rock Oak. :-\

logboy · October 15, 2012, 09:35:59 AM

Quote from: jimparamedic on October 15, 2012, 08:03:31 AM
Those are river stones could be flooding put them there if ther is water close.

I'm pretty sure these two logs came out of Hastings, MN so thats very well possible. The Mississippi River runs through town and floods periodically. Dont think it was squirrels. There was a hollow part on the maple that had squirrels at one time because I kept getting bits of plastic bag and leaves out of it. No rocks there though.

Speaking of Hastings, I see the new bridge is getting closer to being finished. The main span is now the longest free-standing tied-arch in North America. It wont be long until I'm hauling logs over that one too. It would be nice to drive through town without the construction and the fear of driving over the top of someone with the International.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ5qVMS9Ly0

thecfarm · October 15, 2012, 09:43:09 AM

I threw a good number of rocks at critters too. I would think a few are probably up in a tree right now.

POSTON WIDEHEAD · October 15, 2012, 09:50:51 AM

I've got a bunch of golf balls that have been lost in trees. And now that I have a mill, everytime I lose another golf ball in a tree, I think about maybe a sawyer will find it one day.

Magicman · October 15, 2012, 11:53:08 AM

??? How do a golf ball stay in a tree so that it can be sawed?

Jeff · October 15, 2012, 12:04:10 PM

I have actually hit a golf ball embedded in a tree when I ran the circle head rig. THe worst thingI ever hit though was a 6" rock brown into the butt end of a beech log. I had a vertical edger set up, and the edger hit it before it got to the headsaw. There were three movable 18" blades on the edger arbor. The impact peeled two of them off the arbpr in chunks, bent the arbor and destroyed the coupler that connected the Electric motor to the arbor.

hackberry jake · October 15, 2012, 12:15:09 PM

I would be willing to guess that you didn't use the edger for a while afte that. It looks like the chainsaw mill did better than a band would've with rocks.

Jeff · October 15, 2012, 12:19:37 PM

We couldn't use the whole mill after that. The edger had to be repaired first. As I remember, we were down two or three days.

Ianab · October 15, 2012, 02:39:50 PM

We have trees up on the side of the Mt that have rocks embedded in the forks etc from various volcanic eruptions several hundred years ago.

So there are all sorts of ways they might get there.

Ian

sigidi · October 15, 2012, 03:40:42 PM

I think the most plausible answer is a bloke from the future was ticked off cos he couldn't get timber sawn and he came back to mess with logboys day and put a handful of rocks in the tree - makes sense to me ;)

clww · October 15, 2012, 03:54:58 PM

:D

logboy · October 15, 2012, 04:45:39 PM

I managed to get the log finished up, and narrowly missed another rock. It was in the very bottom of the crotch. It had been there awhile. Cant wait to see what's inside the two big red oaks waiting to be slabbed.

clww · October 15, 2012, 04:53:59 PM

Were these "yard trees"? I ask because I have hit some crazy stuff at the stump felling some trees in customer's yards: rocks, nails, cement, dog chains, and assorted other hardware are common. The last tree I removed a couple years ago completely destroyed a 36" brand NEW chain I was running. Took of 12 teeth on the left side and 4 on the right side of the chain, 8" into my face cut. Customer paid for that one.

Sawmill Man · October 15, 2012, 05:05:09 PM

Quote from: Jeff on October 15, 2012, 12:04:10 PM
I have actually hit a golf ball embedded in a tree when I ran the circle head rig. THe worst thingI ever hit though was a 6" rock brown into the butt end of a beech log. I had a vertical edger set up, and the edger hit it before it got to the headsaw. There were three movable 18" blades on the edger arbor. The impact peeled two of them off the arbpr in chunks, bent the arbor and destroyed the coupler that connected the Electric motor to the arbor.
[/ te] Jeff please explain the edger before the headsaw setup. Were you using it as a mini scragg?

hackberry jake · October 15, 2012, 06:38:03 PM

A lot of production circle saws have a vertical edger before the headsaw. It makes cuts that are met later by the headsaw and the board and edging strips fall off of the log seperately. They slow the sawyer down slightly, but eliminate the job of someone to run a seperately edger.