Chapter member Mike Lane was the guest speaker at the September 21st member’s meeting. Mike volunteered to speak when the originally scheduled speaker could not attend the meeting. Mike shared his experience with salvaging a very old long leaf pine tree. The tree was located near Cypress Chapel in Suffolk.
Based on the ring count, the tree was estimated to be about 315 years old. The tree’s life spanned from around 1683 until 1998 and apparently died as a result of a lightning strike. When Mike salvaged the tree, it had been dead for a couple of years and was still over 100 feet tall. The photo below is of a cross section of the trunk.
Mike explained how the tree was cut down and then sectioned into four fourteen-foot logs. Those logs were then cut into boards on site, using a portable bandsaw mill. It just so happens that the bandsaw mill that was used is the same one that recently milled several downed trees at our chapter park. After the resultant lumber was kiln dried, the majority of it was used in Mike’s house. He used it to make tongue and groove flooring, wall paneling, window and door trim as well as a decorative runner along the side of his staircase. The tree produced approximately 1,000 board feet of lumber in total.
