The Forestry Forum

General Forestry => Sawmills and Milling => Topic started by: alanh on November 04, 2017, 10:40:56 AM

Title: shake or stress?
Post by: alanh on November 04, 2017, 10:40:56 AM
I got this pine this week, the top of the tree had blown off in last weeks storm, these were still standing. I`m not sure if the cracking is from shake, stress, or both, still looks like a lot of salvageable lumber to me...

 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/18098/pine_shake_1.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1509806332) 

 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/18098/pine_shake2.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1509806403)
Title: Re: shake or stress?
Post by: thecfarm on November 04, 2017, 11:49:26 AM
Not home so can't look up the latin name,but white pine?
If so I kinda doubt shake. I have sold logs and cut probably the same amount for firewood,never seen shake in a white pine like that.
Title: Re: shake or stress?
Post by: Chuck White on November 04, 2017, 12:18:40 PM
The tree may have split when it was felled!
Title: Re: shake or stress?
Post by: alanh on November 04, 2017, 12:23:02 PM
It is white pine, I wasn`t sure if shake affected it, could be from the wind or dropping it..
Title: Re: shake or stress?
Post by: loganworks2 on November 04, 2017, 02:16:11 PM
From the first picture it looks like it must have been a standing dead tree. If it was it was most likely damage from felling the tree.
Title: Re: shake or stress?
Post by: Ianab on November 04, 2017, 04:00:03 PM
I think it's mostly a stress crack from the tree falling. Wood in a dead tree is more brittle and more likely to crack when it hits the ground.

But you can also see how the crack has followed a semi-circle section of growth rings, and those rings have a different colour. That's more indicative of "shake". Maybe "something" happened early in the trees history. Fire / lightning strike etc. Didn't kill the tree, but weakened that growth ring. The tree recovered and kept growing normally, but left that weak ring.

That's my theory anyway.  :D

And yes if you can saw around the crack, the rest of the wood should be OK.
Title: Re: shake or stress?
Post by: Darrel on November 04, 2017, 05:06:50 PM
I've seen Pondarosa and lodgepole pine do that but only when standing dead.
Title: Re: shake or stress?
Post by: Peter Drouin on November 05, 2017, 04:56:54 AM
I have seen shake in W Pine a time or two.
That's shake and when the tree was cut it landed on something to crack it , or someone pulling the tree out bent the thing too far around a bump tree.
Title: Re: shake or stress?
Post by: Peter Drouin on November 07, 2017, 06:33:28 PM
Had one today.


 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22511/SAM_1622.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1510095665)