Nice Stump

[sunburst]

It doesn't look like Buckeye to me, Bruce. Buckeye (Horse chestnut) is not a Chestnut (Castania) at all, but is something else. I'm not home, so I don't have any references handy.

That stump screams Silver Maple to me too.

[Antlurz]

I'd bet the farm that's Silver maple.
But I don't wouldn't know a Horse Chestnut if it landed on my chainsaw.....

My impression of a Horse Chestnut or Buckeye tree....not considering the leaves... would be more like a Walnut or Black Locust but with more spreading limbs. Nothing whatsoever resembling a Silver Maple. The limbs ramble, where Silver Maple limbs tend to be a bit more upright and straight.

That trunk is very typical of a big Silver Maple, going in and out and around. What Horse Chestnuts I've seen always are very round and come straight out of the ground with none of that flowery petal shape.

Ron

[tree]

Horsechestnut - Aesculus hippocastanum, a buckeye family member. #The Audubon Society Field Guide lists height to 70 feet and diameter to 2 feet. #I really can't tell well enough from the photo of the bark - could be either horsechestnut or silver maple. #Of course, we could be into that fog of confusion that arises from regional common names, also. #A. hippocastanum is a native of SE Europe, and widely planted in the US.

Could also be American horsechestnut (although Ohio buckeye is the preferred common name in this field guide), A. glabra, the state tree of Ohio. # My copy of Important Trees of the Eastern United States (USDA Forest Service publication FS-466) says the wood of Ohio buckeye is "light and soft, being used for pulpwood, woodenware, and occasionally for lumber."

[PaulD]

Did you have a big storm in that area recently? I've seen my city take down a whole tree when part of it came down in a storm, probably thinking what was left was "unsightly". I can just see the mando backs, hundreds, rising skyward..... No more.

This is off topic... I know... I do that too often. It's related to Dale's post from last Friday. Here's a piece of furniture that local furniture builder and hand tool guru Chris Gochnour was commissioned to make from trees downed by a freak tornado that came through the State Capitol grounds.

The Reader's Work section of FineWoodworking says it was made from "curly maple, linden and Japanese pagoda", but I could have sworn Chris said it was made from downed Walnut trees. In any case he does great work.

Paul Doubek

[thistle3585]

So, the maintenance guy hires someone to cut a horsechestnut down, but a figured silver maple comes down instead? Hmmmmmm.

[mrmando]

Even a non-arborist idiot like me can tell a horse-chestnut from a maple. Leaves are dead giveaway, as are the horse chestnuts themselves, which are pretty hard to miss when they come diving off the trees and hit you on the back of the neck.

Bruce, next time you're in Seattle with nothing to do, head over to the Seattle Pacific University campus at Third West and W. Nickerson. Huge collection of horse chestnut trees there, maybe unique in Seattle -- I can't think of anywhere else in town that has 'em. Also the largest Bolleanna poplar in the city, maybe in the state.

Anyone who mistakes a maple for a horse-chestnut should not be trusted with a chainsaw.

[mrmando]

Furthermore, there's no way that tree came down in January, unless there hasn't been a drop of rain or a gust of wind in Oberlin for three months. There's still sawdust on the stump, not to mention all over the ground!

I would call the maintenance guy back; he might be thinking of a different tree.

[Joe F]

I have a silver maple in my front yard that is about the same size as the stump pictured. #My 80+ year old neighbor across the street has lived in the neighborhood most of his life, and he says he remembers that tree being about the same size when he was a kid.

If it ever comes down in a storm, I'll have plenty of wood for several dozen mandolins. #Of course, it will probably take most of my house with it, so I guess there's a down side as well. #

[aimee]

Yeah, looks like a silver maple. I don't think woodworkers use it at all, it splits too easily.

[Lane Pryce]

Looks like Silver Maple to me too. Lp

[PaulD]

If it ever comes down in a storm, I'll have plenty of wood for several dozen mandolins.

Why wait for a storm? What did you say your address was?

[Spruce]

"Yeah, looks like a silver maple. I don't think woodworkers use it at all, it splits too easily."

It is very sought after by violin and viola makers who want to work with lightweight maple.....

Gibson also used it in countless guitars and mandolins in the '30-40's....

[aimee]

Maybe if it's sawed against the grain, Spruce. I know from standing out in the back yard swinging a maul, it splits easy!

[mrmando]

Right -- like Bruce said, it wants to be cut on the slab. Used to have a viola with a slab-cut back, but I don't know whether it was silver maple.

[picksnbits]

Wow, 2 pages on a stump of undetermined species.

Gotta love modern technology.

[picksnbits]

so,.... let's say we get our hands on an old maple log.

Watta we do with it? Cut it? Saw it? Split it? Store it in the dry? Let it cure out wet then season it dry for a few months, years?

[Spruce]

"Wow, 2 pages on a stump of undetermined species. "

Like to wager on that statement??

[Antlurz]

"Nice Stump"

All this time I've been thinking this thread was about what the doctor said when Nichole Kidman came in for her six week checkup after she tore her leg off in a motorcycle wreck...

[markishandsome]

Update:

I called the grounds guy back and got the name of the tree removal service. I called them and they said when they haul off the trunk they just try to dump it wherever they can (sawmills won't take it as it might have nails in it). After a few phonebook malfunctions I was able to get ahold of the guy in charge of public works, who said there were no facilities in town for disposing of something so big. Running out of ideas...

[thistle3585]

Call the tree guy back and tell him that based on the figure that you saw in the stump that the logs would be ideal for building instruments. Tell him that you would be happy to pay he, or his employees, a finders fee if they could come up with some usable pieces. You might also mention that you would be interested in any other maple trees that he cuts in the future. Be honest and upfront.

[superc_1]

If it was me I'd show up at the business and talk to the workers and offer them money and most of the people who cut trees might even settle for a case of there favorite drink . Somebody knows were that tree is. Dig a little deeper.

[ryru14]

Call the tree guy back and tell him that based on the figure that you saw in the stump that the logs would be ideal for building instruments. #Tell him that you would be happy to pay he, or his employees, a finders fee if they could come up with some usable pieces. #You might also mention that you would be interested in any other maple trees that he cuts in the future. #Be honest and upfront.

I have just this same agreement with 3 tree doctors in my area. I'll have to build a drying shed soon, too much wood.

[markishandsome]

Found these in the college bonfire pit. I couldn't get it with the flash, but the bigger piece is figured thruought. The pit was full of them, though most were rotten or not as figured. Could be from the same tree. These are large branch size. If I found the grounds dept.'s woodpile and there were some bigger pieces, would they be usable for anything?

[martinedwards]

Everything's useable in SOME form!!!

I'm using mahogany salvaged from a refurbished school science lab.........

As for trees being cut & carried, I have a friend who's a tree surgeon. He charges for removal (quite rightly)

he then stores anything interesting and sells it on.

I'm currently looking at getting the best slabs off an oak trunk 4 feet across and 10 feet long that was cut 4 years ago.......

He also has some nice spalted stuff but I'll have to wait to get a chance to have a good rummage through his yard once I can get rid of my school workload once the exams are well under way

[markishandsome]

I was thinking it'd make some nice file handles.