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Fastest Growing Tree in the World

Started by POSTON WIDEHEAD, October 16, 2014, 09:02:01 PM

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POSTON WIDEHEAD

Right off the bat let me tell ya......what I am about to post is what I was told.
So if you analyzers want to dispute something, tell it to a goat.....I'm just telling ya what I was told and that's all I know.

I have another LT40HD, twin to mine, 4 miles down the road. We sorta help each other when in need.
He had a customer bring a log. A log from the fastest growing tree in the world. The name is EMPRESS or PRINCESS TREE.....scientific name, PAULOWNIA TOMENTOSA.

Well I got a call that  the customer wanted it QS.....my buddy didn't know how. So I went over this afternoon to QS this log. The customer was there also. Short story long.....I told them the log was to small to QS....14" dia. Big end....2 piths off center on 1 end.

I ended up just sawing the log 1-1/4" thick boards but because of the shape of the rings....he got quite a few QS boards.
I didn't get a pick of the grain but there were no flecks and rays......the grain resembled the grain of Black Walnut when you QS it......pencil striping.

This tree was brought from China and planted 20 years ago, a very slow growing tree. The story goes that one of these trees are planted after a Chinese wedding. ( I'm just telling ya what I was told, so I don't wanna hear it!  no_no

I used a 4° blade and it sawed like butter.

Have any of you guys ever even heard of this tree or sawed it?

On another note about another thread....my buddy took his HP blade guides off his mill. First time I had ever sawn a WM without the blade guides but it did fine.



  

 


 

No blade guides


  

 
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

thurlow

Lots of 'em around here until about 20 years ago;  there was a tremendous overseas (Japan??) market for 'em.  Many were sold and what weren't were stolen;  'bout as 'hot' as stolen copper is now..............
Here's to us and those like us; DanG few of us left!

willmyers0169

do you saw the log into an octagon, to minimize waste, or is there another reason. my LT 15 is all manual so this would be alot of work for me i can see where it wouldnt to be with the hydraulic units
Machinist, WM LT15 230 JD skidsteer 2010 JD 2955 JD Jonsered chainsaw

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: willmyers0169 on October 16, 2014, 09:37:51 PM
do you saw the log into an octagon, to minimize waste, or is there another reason. my LT 15 is all manual so this would be alot of work for me i can see where it wouldnt to be with the hydraulic units

I saw the "stop sign" because as you saw each quarter, if give you a flat side to lay on the bed and a flat side to squeeze against the logs stops. try to keep your angles at a 45°.
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

redbeard

Empress splendor is what I was thinking about growing at one time. Suppose to mature in 7-8 years. Drought and fire resistant. Leaves are huge.
Whidbey Woodworks and Custom Milling  2019 Cooks AC 3662T High production band mill and a Hud-son 60 Diesel wide cut bandmill  JD 2240 50hp Tractor with 145 loader IR 1044 all terrain fork lift  Cooks sharp

Don_Papenburg

I read about that tree in Farm Show .  It looked like a good fast growing tree . I was interested ,but not enough to buy. Afew years later a dis gruntaled  purchaser penned a letter to Farm Show about his Worst Buy.
Frick saw mill  '58   820 John Deere power. Diamond T trucks

Southside

I too was interested in planting some, the fast shade was attractive but really more for the novelty of it I guess, I read the same Worst Buys review and decided against it.  Seems like the trees do grow like mad but the transplanting success is a bit of an issue.  Good to actually see one that has been sawn though.  Thanks for the post. 
Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

POSTON WIDEHEAD

I'm glad I got some stories from you guys about this tree. I had NEVER heard of it at all. :)
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

WmFritz

Quote from: POSTONLT40HD on October 16, 2014, 09:45:16 PM
I saw the "stop sign" because as you saw each quarter, if give you a flat side to lay on the bed and a flat side to squeeze against the logs stops. try to keep your angles at a 45°.

I have a tough enough time sawing a log square with my little manual, let alone 8 turns.
Was the 4° needed or was it what you had available?

That off-centered pith looks like some hard leaning spruce I sawed that grew next to a septic drain field. BIG growth rings.
~Bill

2012 Homebuilt Bandmill
1959 Detroit built Ferguson TO35

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: WmFritz on October 16, 2014, 11:22:05 PM



Was the 4° needed or was it what you had available?



Actually Bill,  when he called me, I wanted to get this thing sawed in time to go get in the Deer stand.  :D
Since I had NEVER heard of the tree and didn't know what to expect, I asked him kindly to go ahead and load the log on the mill and put a 4° blade on. The way it sawed, I believe a 10° would have down the job. Using the 4°, it felt like I was sawing Poplar with a 10°.  :) It felt good just to get another species on my resume.  ;D
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

Nomad

     I've been told it's a fairly soft wood and easy to work with hand tools.  Exceptionally stable wood.  Used in Japan for traditional hand made boxes, etc.  That said, I don't believe I've ever even seen one of the trees, never mind sawn one.
Buying a hammer doesn't make you a carpenter
WoodMizer LT50HDD51-WR
Lucas DSM23-19

Kitty

Couldn't resist replying...DRBuck and I have one of these trees in our front yard....speaking from a purely non-knowledgeable tree person.....I hate this tree...it is ugly and looks like a huge weed most of the time. Wish DRBuck would cut it down and use it for firewood. It is however very fast growing and does provide a fair amount of shade.

WDH

Pawlonia is another quick rich scheme that went bad.  It is prized in Japan, but the growth habit is different there, and no market for the wood developed in the US.  Does not even make decent firewood. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

rooster 58

I just heard about this tree last Saturday when I was sawing for another FF member. We felt that if it was that fast growing that the lumber would not have much value


DR_Buck

Quote from: Kitty on October 17, 2014, 07:40:17 AM
Couldn't resist replying...DRBuck and I have one of these trees in our front yard....speaking from a purely non-knowledgeable tree person.....I hate this tree...it is ugly and looks like a huge weed most of the time. Wish DRBuck would cut it down and use it for firewood. It is however very fast growing and does provide a fair amount of shade.


As Kitty said, we have one of these trees.   Started out with 2, but took one of them out the first year with the lawn tractor.  ::)    They came from a mail order place in a couple of zip-lock bags.  They looked like wet noodles about 3inches long.  The one that survived grew to about 4 feet tall and 1 1/2" diameter the first year.  The leaves were huge.   Looked like elephant ears.  When the first frost hit, they turned black the first day and fell off.   I thought the whole thing died so I cut it off in the spring.   But, it started growing again.    Currently it is about 35 feet tall and 15 inches in diameter.   It's somewhere around 12 years old.   I'll dig out some pictures tonight to see if I can find the ones when it was first planed so I can confirm the age.   I'll also get a photo of it now and post it.     Each year for the first 5 years the leaves  keep getting smaller.   Then beginning at the 6th year the tree flowers purple "bell" type flowers early spring before the leaves come out.  The leaves are still somewhat large but not what they were in the beginning.    Each year I need to prune off lots of branches.  They grow out at all sorts of angles.   The first 7 or so years I kept cutting off the lower limbs so we could eventually walk around under it.    At the end of each season the tree starts shedding a mass of seed pods.   The smallest amount of frost kills the leaves and sends it into winter hibernation. 

I don't care what she says!    :o      The tree makes lots of shade in front of the house where we needed it.    ;)
Been there, done that.   Never got caught [/b]
Retired and not doing much anymore and still not getting caught

Tom L

although I have never worked with it, I do know some decoy carvers who have worked with this material
and they all prefer it over cedar and pine.

it is supposed to carve easy, light and stable.

Cedarman

In the spring as you drive down the interstates in WV and TN look for the purple flowers.  Unbelievable how many P trees there are.
I am in the pink when sawing cedar.

scully

I have seen a few guys nix the blade guides even on a huge production WM . I always wondered if they really did anything besides catch sawdust........ Oh neet saw job I like that kind of stuff !
I bleed orange  .

DR_Buck

Quote from: Cedarman on October 17, 2014, 12:39:53 PM
In the spring as you drive down the interstates in WV and TN look for the purple flowers.  Unbelievable how many P trees there are.


I read somewhere a few years ago it was considered an invasive species.  I know around this part of Virginia I've seen them growing in the wild on more than a couple of occasions.
Been there, done that.   Never got caught [/b]
Retired and not doing much anymore and still not getting caught

Ianab

The wood is used commercially for boat building / surfboards / kite boards etc as it has all the desirable characteristic for that. Light weight, straight grain, stable, easy to machine. It should work great for things like a strip canoe that you might otherwise make from cedar.

But it's a specialised market. Surfing isn't big everyone like it is here.

The tree got a bad name because of the Get Rich Quick scheme that promoted it, That fell over when the folks that actually where able to grow them into decent logs found the fast grown plantation wood wasn't what the Japanese market wanted, and no one had worked out any alternative market for it.  NZ actually imports Paulownia timber now because the local tree supply can't keep up.
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

Dave Shepard

Quote from: POSTONLT40HD on October 16, 2014, 11:40:37 PM
Quote from: WmFritz on October 16, 2014, 11:22:05 PM



Was the 4° needed or was it what you had available?



Actually Bill,  when he called me, I wanted to get this thing sawed in time to go get in the Deer stand.  :D
Since I had NEVER heard of the tree and didn't know what to expect, I asked him kindly to go ahead and load the log on the mill and put a 4° blade on. The way it sawed, I believe a 10° would have down the job. Using the 4°, it felt like I was sawing Poplar with a 10°.  :) It felt good just to get another species on my resume. ;D

I'd ask you to update or start a post on my "Trees I've sawn" thread, but I can never seem to find it in a search. ::)
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

terrifictimbersllc

DJ Hoover, Terrific Timbers LLC,  Mystic CT Woodmizer Million Board Foot Club member. 2019 LT70 Super Wide 55 Yanmar,  LogRite fetching arch, WM BMS250 sharpener/BMT250 setter.  2001 F350 7.3L PSD 6 spd manual ZF 4x4 Crew Cab Long Bed

DR_Buck

Here is the Tree in 2002, the year I planted it.




Here it is today.


Been there, done that.   Never got caught [/b]
Retired and not doing much anymore and still not getting caught

POSTON WIDEHEAD

The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

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