When one hungup tree turns into...

Bermy

Bermy

Acolyte of the short bar
Joined
May 3, 2008
Messages
8,626
Location
Tasmania
...two on the ground and one mashed up remainder!

I posted this pic of a hungup casuarina broken at the base on the side of the golfcourse...I passed by the site today and the greenskeepers had cut the base and were standing about with a tractor, a rope and looking puzzled.
I stopped and had a chat, gave then my card and said I could help them out if they needed it. I had to leave as I already had a job to go to...they called about 20 mins later and wanted to know when I could come and help, I said later that afternoon or first thing in the morning.

Well about three hrs later, I drove by...
Two stumps; the hungup and the one it had been resting on (perfectly healthy) and a nice ebony in front ALL mashed up on one side. I missed the news this evening, I hope no-one was hurt.

It was almost dark for the second pic...but the tree in the background has one big limb missing and anothe big one broken...all lopsided now.

I coulda had that tree out and down no worries...sigh
 

Attachments

  • IMGP6167.JPG
    IMGP6167.JPG
    240.6 KB · Views: 196
  • IMGP6208.JPG
    IMGP6208.JPG
    252.8 KB · Views: 195
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4
Doncha love the pruning on the little tree in the close foreground too...

I think its time to drop off my resume'
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7
^^^ Hey, your sig says it all!
 
Looks like they just notched and dropped the good tree... could have gotten uglier (for the humans, not just the trees).. Sometimes with golf courses it is all about staying within their operating budget. No money in the budget to have a proper job done, so down go the trees, in house.. They are lucky that they got away walking.
 
Well it's a damned shame about the trees .

Now then ,about that course if it's the same one I played on some 30 odd years ago .When they say "in the rough " they aren't kidding .Elevated greens,elevated tee's .One tough SOB to play .

Talk about "water hazard " ,try for the Atlantic ocean .I must have driven half a dozen right into that body of water and assume they are still there unless they got gobbled up by a fish .At that point I gave up the idea of going on the "pro" circuit .
 
... alot of times after storms , I'll sell with the point that no further damage (to structures , other trees etc.) will occur .... as opposed to wholesale falling from the base .... sometimes I actually do get hired !
 
Good you got the opportunity to see what it was like "before" and what it would have cost for a no-more-damage removal of the broken tree. You have seen the "after", and can give them both, so they know what the financial cost would be. The loss of the tree, and more pressing, the potential loss of human health and life, and possible costs for lack of insurance coverage for the employees is more nebulous.


If storms and rotting trees only understood operating budgets.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #14
For real! Nothing on the news so I guess they are all still walking. Mind you, over here serious injuries rarely make the news...
I looked at the stump of the good tree today, the hinge was a triangle with the fat side uphill so even without all the other crap hungup in it, they steered it towards the nice ornamental.
No clue!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #15
Al, it was the ex-Castle Harbour golf course...has a new name now, don't want to embarass them too much.
 
You have Ebony there, Fiona.... Never heard of Bermuda Ebony. What's it like to cut that? The Ebony I know is extremely hard and the dust is a real pain.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #18
Ha, the one with the screwed up tree...but almost all the courses have have a tee or green where you can attempt to feed fish on golf balls!

As for the ebony, its Albizzia lebbeck...black ebony, introduced. Fast growing easy to cut, handles abuse, has a nice dark heartwood the cabinet makers, wood turners love. Needs some size to get decent heartwood. Oldest ones here are in the range of 150 - 200yrs.
 
Send me a small piece and I'll make you a pepper mill!:)

I'll bet it polishes up real fine.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #20
Cool Stig, I'll remember that...might be a while before I get my hands on any...
 
2x2x10 inches ought to do it.
Unless you want a matched pair of salt and pepper grinders.
Then I'd need two blocks.

I'd love a chance to work in that wood.
 
The only ebony I can ever remember seeing was on piano keys . If I'm not mistaken it's supposed to be hard as a rock
 
Yes, you cannot cut it on the lathe, it has to be scraped, with a scraper sharpened to a blunt end. Like when you turn bone or ivory.

I almost never get to work in ebony. I've made a few parts for violins and , believe it or not, buttons for a tuxedo.

So making a pair of grinders for Fiona would be a fun challenge.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #24
Well, I have this thought that our ebony is not the super hard species...not really sure, because to cut live they are easy to work on, maybe the hardness comes when the wood is cured? When small bits are cut and left in the bushes, they rot away fairly soon, but again, no real heartwood.

Got to prune the ones in my garden soon, not sure the limbs are of sufficient size to get decent heartwood...and NO I will not basal prune them at 6" to ground level.
 
If you find one with sufficient heartwood, shave the sapwood off and drill a hole through the middle, lenghtwise.

Otherwise it'll split and crack badly as it dries. Cutting a hole through it, allows it to loose diameter as it shrinks, otherwise the tangential shrinkage will crack it.

You'd probably need to coat the ends with glue, paint, wax or something like that, too.
And cut it maybe 4 inches too long, so I can cut the cracked ends off before turning it.

Lot of work for a set of grinders, eh?

It is not a true ebony, they come from the Diospyros family, same as persimmon or kaki.

I would guess, without actually checking up on it, that this is related to African Blackwood, which has somewhat similar properties as ebony.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Eric H-L
Paul Poynter aka WoodenHand. Webinar on two rope climbing posted on Educated Climber yesterday
Replies
8
Views
813
biggun
biggun
greengreer
Time for a chipper upgrade, what's your preference?
2
Replies
34
Views
3K
greengreer
greengreer
Benjo75
Span rigging advice needed
2 3
Replies
65
Views
5K
CurSedVoyce
CurSedVoyce
P
Starting a new tree service FAST !
2 3
Replies
61
Views
4K
flushcut
flushcut
Roundhouse
Rope access guy seeking experience in the trees
2 3
Replies
54
Views
3K
Roundhouse
Roundhouse
Back
Top