TimberKing Sawmills



Please visit this sponsor

The Largest Inventory of Used Chainsaw Parts in the World

Toll Free 1-800-582-0470

LogRite Tools

Lucas Sawmills

Forest Products Industry Insurance

Norwood Industries Inc.

Eggimann Motor and Equipment Sales Inc.

Sawmill & Woodlot Magazine

Wood-Mizer Band Blades

Carolina Machinery Sales is a machinery dealer that specializes in the Wood Processing Industry.

Wood Processing equpment. Splitters, Processors, Conveyors

Your source for Portable Sawmills, Edgers, Resaws, Sharpeners, Setters, Bandsaw Blades and Sawmill Parts

Portable Sawmill and Planers Made by Logosol.

EZ Boardwalk Sawmills. More Saw For Less Money!

STIHLDealers.com sponsored by Northeast STIHL

Lawn-Gardening-Tools.com

Hutto Wood Products

Woodland Sawmills

Margeson Insurance

Forestry Forum Tool Box

Author Topic: Spruce and Fir Thinnings  (Read 1492 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Mooseherder

  • Senior Member x2
  • *****
  • Posts: 3616
  • Age: 52
  • Location: Maine
  • Gender: Male
Spruce and Fir Thinnings
« on: July 16, 2007, 11:45:36 am »
Got to thinning this section in front of the camp last week of Fir and Spruce that have been growing naturally and probably should have been thinned years ago. I only finished about a twenty-ith of the section about the size of an acre.  Am hoping it isn't too late and they will get some girth for future milling. It was real relaxing and  enjoyed every minute of it. Wish I could have finished that section.  Then it was time to come back to the R-Race. :(
 
To the left is an old 2 Row JD Potato planter the farmer left on the edge of the woods. Our atv trail is on the right side of picture.
Lane Circle Mill Project

Offline Dodgy Loner

  • Forester
  • *
  • Posts: 2306
  • Age: 28
  • Location: McComb, MS
  • Gender: Male
  • It's an anagram for "dendrology" and in no way a reflection of my personality
Re: Spruce and Fir Thinnings
« Reply #1 on: July 16, 2007, 01:23:35 pm »
I didn't know y'all had spruce and fir down there in Royal Palm, FL :P.
The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up.

Wood-Mizer LT-15, 25 HP

Offline Mooseherder

  • Senior Member x2
  • *****
  • Posts: 3616
  • Age: 52
  • Location: Maine
  • Gender: Male
Re: Spruce and Fir Thinnings
« Reply #2 on: July 16, 2007, 01:38:00 pm »
I didn't know y'all had spruce and fir down there in Royal Palm, FL :P.
Yep, We got Moose too. :D
Actually the camp is in Maine.
Lane Circle Mill Project

Offline Dodgy Loner

  • Forester
  • *
  • Posts: 2306
  • Age: 28
  • Location: McComb, MS
  • Gender: Male
  • It's an anagram for "dendrology" and in no way a reflection of my personality
Re: Spruce and Fir Thinnings
« Reply #3 on: July 16, 2007, 01:47:34 pm »
Well, it's looking nice.  I don't know much about the reaction of spruces and firs to thinning, but I do know that down here, it all depends on the species.  Loblolly pine, for example, will respond to a late thinning much better than slash pine.  If you let slash pine get too dense, it won't hardly respond at all.
The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up.

Wood-Mizer LT-15, 25 HP

Offline SwampDonkey

  • Forester
  • *
  • Posts: 27681
  • Age: 44
  • Location: Centreville, NB
  • Gender: Male
  • Large Tooth
Re: Spruce and Fir Thinnings
« Reply #4 on: July 16, 2007, 02:57:09 pm »
We space them here when they attain a height of 7 feet and up to about 30 feet in height. We space them 6 to 7 feet apart. This is pre-commercial thinning. Stands of old fir exhibiting but rot and tight ring counts to the outside are generally avoided. White spruce does not respond well to late thinnings. However, red spruce will even respond after long periods of suppression. If the stand was quite tight and left too long, you get a lot of stem breakage from high winds and ice when it's thinned out.  Good luck with your stand thinning.

Pre-commercial thinning pays off. :)

'If she wants to play lumberjack, she's going to have to learn to handle her end of the log.'
Dirty Harry

Offline Mooseherder

  • Senior Member x2
  • *****
  • Posts: 3616
  • Age: 52
  • Location: Maine
  • Gender: Male
Re: Spruce and Fir Thinnings
« Reply #5 on: July 16, 2007, 09:05:12 pm »
Thanks Swampdonkey,
These are about 24-30 foot high. Some had some good diameter to them although I didn't measure any. I will when I go back next time. I left a few more standing for now
so hopefully the wind don't get them. I trimmed about a third of the bottom branches or as high as I could reach.
Lane Circle Mill Project

Offline SwampDonkey

  • Forester
  • *
  • Posts: 27681
  • Age: 44
  • Location: Centreville, NB
  • Gender: Male
  • Large Tooth
Re: Spruce and Fir Thinnings
« Reply #6 on: July 17, 2007, 06:03:49 am »
Be cautious when pruning spruce and fir. Leave a short stub beyond the washer-like swell around base of the branch. Don't cut into that swell and keep the chain off the bark. ;) Probably most of your limbs were dead that you pruned. Pruning green limbs can be more damaging on spruce and fir because it introduces but rot. Dad pruned out our fence line of spruce and now they are all rotten beyond the first couple inches of sapwood. One 28 " spruce blew down last year and just missed the barn, and at 20 feet up it was still rotten. Those suckers make a big mess and not so easy to deal with when all ya have is a saw and man power to deal with the blocks of wood and limbs. ::) I rolled a smaller spruce about 14 feet long with one of Logrites peaveys last week and the tree was about 8 inches smaller. It musta soaked up some water while laying on the ground because that was very heavy. Good thing the field was sloping down from where I was rolling it from.  :o

Pre-commercial thinning pays off. :)

'If she wants to play lumberjack, she's going to have to learn to handle her end of the log.'
Dirty Harry

Offline pappy

  • Senior Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 898
  • Age: 60
  • Location: Wallagrass,Maine
  • Gender: Male
  • Grandfatherhood is good !!
    • Harttwood Rosettes and Plinths
Re: Spruce and Fir Thinnings
« Reply #7 on: July 17, 2007, 10:21:28 am »
So Mooseherder ya must ta had a pretty good bomb fire with all them branches and unwanteds  ;D  :D   The night skies were clear for the most part last week  8) and sittin' by a fire gazing' up at the stars was what we was doin' too!! The we'ones really liked the s'mores  :)

Nice job on the thinnin' ... I guts about 15 acres ta tin out ifn' ya got a need ta do more  ;)  only after ya gets yours done first though  ;D
"And if we live, we shall go again, for the enchantment which falls upon those who have gone into the woodland is never broken."

"Down the Allagash."  by; Henry Withee

Offline Mooseherder

  • Senior Member x2
  • *****
  • Posts: 3616
  • Age: 52
  • Location: Maine
  • Gender: Male
Re: Spruce and Fir Thinnings
« Reply #8 on: July 17, 2007, 09:19:07 pm »
Yep, Got a burn permit and tried on 3 different nights to catch that big ol pile the previous owner left. Some of it burned with the branches but most of the pile is still there soaking wet rotted, so most of what burned was what we used to fuel the fire.
(Along with a few udder idears) ;D
The only good fire we had was the fire pit. The draft on my wood stove is still terrible. (40 degrees in July) :D
SD, I cut each branch with a hand saw, the kind you use with a cheap mitre box, but that thing worked like a champ. Usually one or two stroke cut most branches, they were dead.  I didn't leave any stubs, cut just beyond flush while being careful to not  touch any of the bark. Most of the time anyway. :D  There was no way I would attempt thinning with the chainsaw, I ain't that steady.
Lane Circle Mill Project

Offline SwampDonkey

  • Forester
  • *
  • Posts: 27681
  • Age: 44
  • Location: Centreville, NB
  • Gender: Male
  • Large Tooth
Re: Spruce and Fir Thinnings
« Reply #9 on: July 18, 2007, 06:35:01 am »
I'm with ya on the chain saw. Me either. Your back would never be the same again.  ;D :D They have heavy brush saws for such things. Might be interesting if the buts are bigger than 6 " though. ;)

Pre-commercial thinning pays off. :)

'If she wants to play lumberjack, she's going to have to learn to handle her end of the log.'
Dirty Harry

 


Testing New Bottom Sponsor Area

Saw Anywhere!