WOOD TOY NEWS Sunday July 6, 2014 Contributing Editor Imants Udris Udie FREE WOOD FROM FALLEN TREES toymakingplans.com Imants and Son Imants Udris The first big step to salvaging the maple was to cut the tree into big chunks with a chain saw. With a log weight of around 2200 pounds it became obvious that this walrus pup was going to be a challenge to transport back to the shop. With a little thinking we came up with this simple technique. Use 2 x 4 s as tracks to make a smooth hard surface for the log to roll on. It works like a charm. Imants Udris finds an unclaimed treasure in his neighbor s yard. It s a ton of top grade Canadian Maple! There is a literal gold-mine of choice hardwoods and softwoods available for free all over the world. And Canada is no exception. What is the source? It is the trees that have fallen from storms and trees that must be removed for safety or other considerations. This incredible story is about how Imants and his son salvaged over a ton of choice top grade Canadian Maple. In our excitement at running off with the loot we almost had an incident with oncoming cars. So we recommend that you try to keep a cool head and look both ways twice as good kids do when you are rolling a one ton log across the street. Fortunately for us the path from the scene of the crime to our hardwood hiding place was mostly on the level. A homeowner s worst nightmare can become a scavenging toymaker s dream come true! 1 July 6, 2014 Sunday
By using the chain saw, two huge chunks of the maple tree trunk were claimed from the fallen giant. Both sections of the trunk were over 2 feet in diameter and were almost all clear wood with no knots visible anywhere along the entire length of each trunk section. Amazing find! Some side comments on his 20 5020 Poulan chain saw from a scavenger toymaker friend. I ve run chain saws for 35+ yrs, cutting firewood and cleaning up after storms. My Poulan runs great as delivered - just had to loosen the chain a bit, and apply a small bead of silicone around the air filter. OEM chain cut fine, and sharpened just fine with a Granberg file holder and 7/32 file. Any.375 pitch,.050 gauge, 70 drive-link chain is interchangeable with the original. My 5020 is now running a chipper chain from years back, just to wear that chain out, among other antiques. My saw s engine is strato-scavenged. It s from the Husqvarna family, so that s no surprise (to me). Results in greatly reduced emissions and mixed consumption. It ll cut a lot of hardwood on its little pint tank, and rip through it. It also inherits Husqy anti-vibe, which happens to be THE best in the opinion of many. Real fatigue reducer. This saw is not just a homeowner toy, it s very capable for felling & bucking serious lumber, but at a tad over 15 lbs, limbing is a workout with it. The clutch cover is excellent at discharging chips, when noodling (longitudinal ripping) I ve found it impossible to clog up with the long, stringy noodles. And it spits out a stream of them. Hearing protection and chainsaw chaps are strongly advised - it s a serious cutting tool. 2 July 6, 2014 Sunday
Side Note: In Oakville, Ontario Canada we have one of the last remaining huge Oak Trees near our new Municipal Building. A new road way was being built and a petition was initiated to save this tree. Hundreds of thousands of dollars was spent to re-route the new roadway to accommodate the tree. Imants Udris Canadian Maples can be huge. This tree, believed to be Canada s oldest Sugar Maple (acer saccharum) was accepted for its preservation April 30th 1961, by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority. 3 July 6, 2014 Sunday
We purchased a 16 Poulan Chain Saw for this project and it worked out just fine. The saw is light in weight and pretty easy to handle. We were pleased with the quality of the rough cuts. The first thing we had to do before we started sawing the log into lumber was to figure out a way to do it with the chain saw. We added the mounting nuts to the chain saw to make it easy to attach to a sled. We welded up a sled out of some scrap steel (photo right) and bolted the chain saw to it. It took a few tries to get the setup just right but with a couple of attempts at a jig we finally got it all working. Saw cuts along here. Saw slides along here. We first cut half way through one side of the log, then switched the slide board to the other side for the final cut. Not only did we go thru many chains and bars but also burned out one chain saw motor. When we went to buy a new replacement chain saw, we purchased another Poulan and it just so happened the tool rental department at Home Depot was selling a 20 Echo so we bought that one also. 4 July 6, 2014 Sunday
This pile is all the rough-cut lumber that we harvested from the old maple tree. We made couple of large piles of sawdust in the process. Saw-cut one Saw-cut two Sawdust anyone? 5 July 6, 2014 Sunday
Router The router slides back and forth on tray while running. This action smooths the board surface. Sliding Tray Tray slides along here. The rough lumber must be shimmed on each side to prevent any movement while routing. Tray slides along here. We are pretty pleased with the results from using the router and sliding tray on our home-made jig. We were able to create various thicknesses of maple slabs by simply placing boards under the slab to be routed until it was the right height for the process. Every year and almost everywhere, hundreds of trees are sent to the chipper to make mulch and landfill. It is a pretty inexpensive process to set up a little salvage operation like the one we ve shown you here. It doesn t require much in the way of machinery or space. And you will be thrilled with and proud of your efforts. The router and tray slide along these edges to smooth the board surfaces to a useful level. This one 4 thick x 16 wide by 60 long clear maple slab is worth $800 to $1000. 6 July 6, 2014 Sunday
When we finished routing all of the lumber from this log, a cabinet maker came over and wanted to buy some of our Maple slabs. He said the finished log you see in the photo on the previous page, which was 4 thick by 16 wide and over 5 feet long was worth $800.00 to $1000.00. Nope, we did not sell it. We want to make our own projects out of it. So there s my story on how to get some Canadian Maple cheap for the workshop. Most of what we made was 2 thick and went thru about a dozen or so chainsaw chains and a couple of bars. We harvested this huge stash of quality grade maple from the two logs. The slabs are smoothed on four sides using the router process and are ready for use. Imants Udris Udie can be contacted at udris@cogeco.ca We painted all around the ends with a couple of coats of paint to seal the end grain to stop the wood from cracking/splitting while it dries. The paint also stops the rain, snow and ice from entering the wood during winter storage. We ll let the wood dry for 1 to 2 years before we start using it on projects. 7 July 6, 2014 Sunday