That was easy...

[John D]

Hi all.  I had a never-done-it-that-way-before experience and thought I'd share. 

I work in Campus Planning at a public university.  Since I started building wooden bows, I began paying attention to the trees marked for removal on review drawings.  I walk the site and see what is going to be removed.  Most times, the trees aren't suitable, but several months ago I spotted a Hackberry with a nice straight trunk.  I went through the channels and the project manager arranged with the contractor that I could get into the site and harvest the tree when demolition began.  Yesterday morning they got started and the site super offered to set it off to the side after he knocked it down with an excavator.  So far so great.

I showed up with a buddy and a chainsaw and this guy had yanked it out of the ground with the excavator, roots and all, without harming the trunk!  (look close in the upper right corner of site in first photo)

Then he brings the front end loader over and lifts up the tree so I can cut without pinching and proceeds to help me load it on the gator for transport.  I've never had such an easy time!  Nice straight trunk, 8" in diameter and 8' long.  Pic below is the site super helping me out; couldn't thank this guy enough! 

So while I've got you, any good advice for Hackberry?  I coated the ends in glue and I'm going to split at lunch today so I can get it in my vehicle.  Should I stop at halves? or can I quarter without fear of excessive twisting?  Should I debark and seal the sapwood, or leave bark on?  Advice is always appreciated. 

Thanks for looking.

John

[lesken2011]

Some guys have all the luck! Congratulations!! Sorry, I can't help you with hackberry, though!

[osage outlaw]

If you can peal the bark off I would do it now.  Once it sets up, it will be a lot harder.  If you get the bark off, it wouldn't hurt to seal the backs. 

Good job on saving that tree.  Maybe next time you can suggest they build in the osage patch

[PEARL DRUMS]

LOTS of bows there. 

[medicinewheel]

Yes, lots of bows!

[osage outlaw]

You should try to get that contractor to keep an eye out for straight trees.  I bet they clear a lot of them out of the way in their line of work.  Maybe a cold 12 pack at the end of a hot day would be a good way to thank him and open the conversation for future trees.  Just a thought.

[Will H]

Good score man! I would split it in quarters asap. Then peel the bark, and I like to go ahead and scrape the cambium layer. This time of year on a fresh tree like that it scrapes off like a clear slime... Then be sure and re glue the ends and seal the back with some poly. Two coats on the back would be even better. Depending on where your gonna store it and for how long it might not be a bad idea to spray some insecticide for added protection but that's up to you There ya go, there's my 2 cents

[dwardo]

Pretty much only use white woods here and smaller the split the better to avoid checking. To avoid warping i put the log back together but with wooden blocks inbetween the splits to allow moisture to escape.

[John D]

Thank you dwardo, will, and outlaw for good advice.  I split it in half at lunch today, then split one stave off of each half, and peeled bark from those two.  Sweating good!  The little split from one side looks great.  The other twisted right away; I might try to twist it back and clamp it to something see if it'll dry with less twist. 

Will - I didn't have time to go after the cambium, if it dries till tonight, will it be a bear to remove?  Do you suggest anything better than a paint scraper?

Outlaw - Wise advice; you've been around, haven't you   I ought to at least express my gratitude. 

I'm going to finish splitting tomorrow at lunch; then I can get it home. 

Thank you for taking time to give me advice.  Have a good day.

John

Boise

[tom sawyer]

Nice find, hackberry makes a very snappy shooting bow.  Last one I cut was on the side of a steep hill, I had to fell it, split and carry the staves out one by one.  I like your method!

I don't believe I've sealed the back on hackberry although I typically put the staves in my garage where it isn't terribly hot.

You usually get a couple quarters that want to twist, not much use in fighting that.  Focus on the good stuff.  Theres generally one primo quarter thats on the tension side of the tree, and a straight log like that ought to make a decent quarter on the opposite side.  I'd also try and get at least a foot away from the butt end of the log if its clean enough on the upper end.  I usually try and find the best 6' of the log and cut it down right from the start.

[Dvshunter]

Iwork for an.excavating company and gets lots of wood that way. You haven't lived until you have used an excavator to split wood with its bucket. one of my operators split a 20 wide ash tree into stave sized pieces for me in about five minutes.i didn't even break a sweat. Nice scoreand don't forget the bees for a thank you.

[Will H]

No worries. It shouldn't be bad, you can use a knife as a scraper as well. Sealing the back might not be a necessity but its better than the alternative. when I work to get wood I don't like to take any chances. Especially in this heat

[beetlebailey1977]

Man shoot you cant beat that at all.  Lot of good wood there.

[tom sawyer]

I once got a hackberry stave from a brush collection area.  I started to remove the bark but didn't finish.  I think that stave is still in the pile somewhere.  The bark is stuck good and tight now. 

[JW_Halverson]

Let her twist and warp all she wants.  Hack responds well to heat straightening. 

Oh man, I am envious.