interesting article about redwood poaching in national park/forest. slicing burl right out of living trees. not claiming any blank companies are using this, just sort of on topic
There’s not a hell hot enough for the tweaker d’bags doing that sh!t.
Can’t stand environmental nutbags. Sorry. Live YOUR life.
Any of you ever fly in an airplane??? You ever look down??? Holy shit there’s a lot of trees down there. Even here in the NorthEast one of the most heavily populated and developed places on the planet. I’m always amazed when I fly to look down and see how insignificant we humans really are. We are like ants on this planet. That may sound over simplistic to some of you but the next time you fly get a window seat and watch it all go by. Think about it.
Seems like a waste of bitchen wood to use it on something as frivolous as a surfboard stringer unless it’s being done in some very artistic way by a Jim Phillips type guy. I love redwood. My whole house is made from it. Not old growth. 70s growth. Still a lot nicer than the stuff out there today. The redwood deck lumber at Home Depot looks more like Doug Fir than redwood. Regardless, I’m for farming it and leaving the old forrest alone. Old growth forrest may be a one time event and possibly replaced by some other climax community. Who knows for sure? Old growth redwood stringers would be a waste by someone like me. I’d rather see it used to make furniture and items that can last generations. Mike
Dr , old growth forest exist all over the world , not just in the Pacific Northwest…Ive spent my time in the forestry industry amoung many old growth forests , and I can assure you they are sustainable if managed correctly . Many years ago , eucalypt forests were run this way , with selective clearing (before the trend to clear-fell large areas) on a seven year cycle , to allow regeneration. This was the case for hundreds of years , and it was very successfull with forests perpetually regenerating and providing for the needs of a sustainable industry… of course this cycle should vary with the species involved. There are species in Tasmania that can only be legally accessed if they fall by natural causes , and the contractor must get them out of the forest without leaving so much as a footprint…Two things have changed over the years = the greed to supply a demand has increased… and politicians have pandered to the needs of the corporate sector , by allowing clear-felling of large areas…ALL forests are healthier when managed properly , rather than just left to exist… if any old growth forests can be left to manage themselves , like the old growth redwoods of Pacific Northwest or Tasmanian wilderness areas , then they should be… but they still need to be monitered closely , and managed correctly , to keep them safe and in good condition
Yeah Mike; The stuff in Home Depot is what we used to call “Sap wood”. The really nice dark stuff was referred to as “clear heart”. Huck probably can clarify on the terminology as I am sure he knows the varieties of lumber way better than me, People built alot of houses out of it in the '70’s. Big Creek Lumber was still harvesting and milling Redwood on Private Property last I heard. Of course no 400 year old trees. Cutting anything even on private property requires a “Timber Permitt” and can be a lengthy process and public reveiw. I am amazed at how fast a tree grows once you plant it. You can also buy saplings at HD. Life should be about balance. I live most of the time in Oregon now and I am amazed at how a state that claims to be sooo “green” can clear cut whole hillsides, Lowel
There is a huge difference between old growth (virgin) and new growth. Teak is a perfect example. The old growth Teak is long gone and teak plantations abound. The replanted teak is a much lower grade.
Clear heart redwood is the one we desire. It is the center of the tree (called the heart) the growth rings are super tight abouth the thickness of you fingernail. The redwood and red cedar you see in places like Home Depot is low grade. The old time lumber men would have rejected it.Only good for siding on houses.
There is a mill building in the midwest that is three stories high and around 60 by 300 feet. All of the structural timbers are clear heart redwood. It was built in 1908. The lumber is worth upwards of a million dollars. If they do decide to tear it down the Japanese will probably buy it all.
This has nothing to do with surfboards but an interesting subject anyway.
My father has a bunch of it in the attic of his garage from a demolition job he did 30 years ago.
Hey Lowel. My neighbor replaced some of the old redwood 1x12 fenceboard. I snatched it up and used it to panel the inside of my garage. Nice,deep red when I cut it. Now she has the new ugly shit that doesnt look like redwood. Of course, it will gray in the sun like the good stuff. Won’t last 40 years like the old I bet. The walls and upstairs floor of our house is made from redwood tongue groove lap board. We tore the old carpet out, sanded and finished it. It’s beautiful. Scratches easy. Not the best floor material, but it looks unreal. I love the stuff. The house is a funky old cabin, basically. Redwood is kind of a ‘weedy’ species. Cut a tree down and 3 or 4 more sprout up around the stump. Fast growing. Walk thru and old growth forest and it feels like your in some sort of Tolkien story. Unreal. Mike
the lumber companies still cut 2nd and 3rd growth redwood, Aptos, just outside of Santa Cruz was clear cut to rebuild San Fransico and the earth quake and great fire, but the newer wood looks nothing like the dark coffee color of the old growth.
Us Blanks found a lumber mill that had cut this wood a half a century ago and had it stored and nearly forgotten, US Blanks conracted to buy the entire supply and yes, it is a limited amount.
I have my stashes of old growth redwood, I carfefully joint and glued to maximize the yield I get from this beautiful wood, I will run out of it soon and try to use western red cedar for the wider stringers.
When I visit mt pals in Aptos, the drive out the old logging road to where they live deep in the forest, the arroyo’s along the road are littered with trees that rolled down and were too much trouble to retrieve. In my dreams I take my huge ship moving come-a-long and winch them out so I can saw them up.
My supplier for western red only buys from cutters than reclaim wind falls and fire killed trees, so I am trying my best to be a conservator of the forest’s
Yeah I like it better than just about any wood. When I see it made into anything, I immediatly think of those awesome trees. When I come down to Calif. I always veer west at Grants Pass and go Southwest to Crescent City. The last half of that Hwy is a fantastic Redwood forest. The hwy switcbacks around the trees. L
during the early 70’s, a good friend used to approach farm and ranch owners within the various valleys along the San Mateo coast, offer to tear down and remove old barns on their property that were falling down. He took down a bunch, almost all with large redwood plank siding, large interior beams of various woods. Made a good living selling the scavenged wood, more then a few homes along the coast were sided with same.
Just got back from a visit to see family in HMB, drove back to Oregon along the coast, still a few of those old barns standing, imagine some opportunities there for same.
I know exactly where you mean, Lowel. Unreal drive.