Wood

Harvesting Urban Timber: A Guide to Making Better Use of Urban Trees (Woodworker's Library (Fresno, Calif.).)

Sam Sherrill,Samuel B. Sherrill
3 to 4 billion board feet of lumber go into landfills annually in the U.S. Here's how to save some of that waste, what's worth saving, and how it can be used by local businesses, woodworkers, and city governments.

Explained in detail are: felling, safety, timber conversion, seasoning, hiring a sawyer, and sawing for figure.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

INTRODUCTION
The Downhill Racer
Urban Sources of Wood
What is an Urban Tree?
Lessons Learned from Others & from Experience
Where It Grows Determines Where It Goes
Not All Urban Wood Can Become Lumber
Risky Business, Cutting Urban Trees
The Public Understands
Benefits of Harvesting Urban Timber

Chap. 1: FROM WOOD WASTE TO WOOD RESOURCE
Introduction
Green Waste, or a Green Resource Being Wasted
The New Jersey Municipal Log Project
The Expense of Dumping Good Wood
Urban Versus Commercial Logging
Results of the New Jersey Project
A Mill of Their Own
Integration of Tree Service and Sawmill Operations
Minnesota Urban Tree Residue
Utilization Project
Dutch Elm Disease
Filling Minnesota Landfills
A Project to Reduce Urban Green Waste
Attitude Adjustments About Urban Trees
Firewood Instead of Lumber
Urban Forestry in California
AB 939
The Economic Value of Harvesting Urban Trees
Seeing Urban Trees as an Urban Forest
The CDF Sawmill & Kiln Loan Program
Saw it & They Will Buy?
Summary

Chap. 2: FROM TREES TO LOGS
Introduction
The Population of Urban Trees
What Do We Know
Nationwide Urban Forest Survey
Local, State Sources of Information
The Structure of Trees
Softwoods & Hardwoods
Tree Growth
Structure at the Cellular Level
Water Content
Additional Information
Recognizing Quality Trees
Species
Reaction Wood
Wind-Damaged Trees
Other Natural Disasters
Insect, Fungal & Bacterial Disease
Heavy Metal & Concrete

Chap. 3: HARVESTING MECHANICS: 4 WAYS TO FELL URBAN TREES WITH CHAIN SAWS:
Amateurs Beware
Two Cautionary Stories
The Task of Felling: Who & How
Manual Felling with a Chain Saw
Tree Limbing & Bucking
Limbing
Bucking
Safe Chain Saw Operation
Personal Protective Equipment
Chain Saw Safety
Summary

Chap. 4: FROM LOGS TO LUMBER
Introduction
Skidding & Yarding
Protecting Yourself
Minimum Equipment Needed
Skidding in Urban Areas
Bringing the Mill to the Logs
Transportable Mitts
Options
Chainsaw Mill
Circular Saw Mills
Thin-Kerf Band Saw Mills
Sawing Costs
Pricing Options
Sawing Costs & Log Scaling
Advance Arrangements Reduce Costs
Sawing Logs into Lumber
Sawing for Grade
Hardwoods: National Hardwood Lumber Association
Softwoods: American Lumber Standard Committee
Hardwoods and Softwoods: Architectural Woodwork Institute
Cutting to Individual Requirements
Flat Sawing
Quarter Sawing
Rift Sawing
Drying Lumber
Water in Wood
Kiln Drying
Air Drying
Summary

Chap. 5: WHO IS HARVESTING URBAN TIMBER?
Introduction
The 500-Year-Old Bur Oak
'Black John' and the Bur Oak
The Oak Falls
From Limbs to Lumber
From Lumber to Furniture and More
The Trees of Biltmore
The Biltmore Estate & Inn
The Lone Black Walnut
From the Grounds of the Governor's Residence
The Indiana Governor's Residence
Lumber for Indiana Schools
Festivals of Growth
Lompoc Lumber
Lompoc, California
The Band Mill Experiment
The Results: Reduced Expenses, Better Wood, & More Imagination
Owning a Mill
West Coast Arborists, Inc.
From Tree Care to Lumber
East-West Urban Forest Products
Scale & Profit
Is There Profit in Commitment?
Three Pioneering Efforts

Chap. 6: HARVESTING TREES IN YOUR COMMUNITY
Introduction
Getting Started
Organizing a HUT Group
Identifying Sources of Trees
Finding Sawyers
Selecting Sawing Sites
Sawing Choices
Publicizing the Effort
Assessing Tree Quality and Size
Safety is Always a First Priority
Next Steps
Selling Logs & Lumber
A Final Thought

ENDNOTES:
Appendix A: Commercial Lumber Names
Appendix B: Weight of Green Logs
Appendix C: Correct & Incorrect Lifting Methods
Appendix D: Softwood Grading Organizations
Appendix E: Heartwood Resistance to Decay
Appendix F: U.S. Kiln Drying Associations
Appendix G: Example of Kiln Drying Prices
Appendix H: Equilibrium Moisture Content

REFERENCES
INDEX