Douglas Fir knees

[Chayco]

Just curious.

Is there any interest in Douglas Fir root knees?

I have just ruined a 20 ft. bandsaw band experimenting with them. In my particular area we have large areas of upturned fir trees (root exposed).

My daughter is quite pleased with her new pile of 'boomerangs'.

...Ken

[Dave Fleming]

Should be, as fleets of vessels on the West Coast were built with them.

[yorgie]

Talk to the Silva Bay boat school guys.They're not to far from you.These fir trees didn't blow down did they.If they did they might have had root-rot which is common on Hornby Island.

I'm going to be building a faering soon.I'll ask the norwegians if they'd be good for frames or oar "keips".

Chris

[Paul Scheuer]

I have just ruined a 20 ft. bandsaw band experimenting with them So. What ruined the blade ? Surface dirt ? Imbedded stuff ? Would roughing with a chain saw or axe have helped ?

[Bob Smalser]

Having no shortage of DF stumps handy and trenches where I've had to chop through roots as thick as 20 inches, I've often thought about it, but have always laminated instead.

All that glacial till packed deep into those roots doesn't all come out easily, even with a pressure washer...and I'd spend most of the cutting day sharpening the chain saw.

Plus the roots often aren't clean bends and there's no way to find that out without half the day gone digging out the stump. Contrary to popular opinion, DF does have a tap root. Problem is it hits that glacial hard pan and screws itself into a corkscrew before deflecting sideways toward the path of least resistance.

The real fun ones are the ones that root wrap themselves around a granite eratic weighing a ton or more and from the tractor seat you can't figure out why that durn stump is so heavy.

[Chayco]

The Douglas Fir comes from an area logged off and the stumps turned up in an attempt to stop the spread of root rot to the new seedlings. Fairly common on Vancouver Island. Since the roots are exposed and rain washed they 'appear' clean but often contain embedded stone grit etc..

I'll donate the few I have to the Silva Bay boat school.

[Bob Smalser]

Originally posted by Chayco:
The Douglas Fir comes from an area logged off and the stumps turned up in an attempt to stop the spread of root rot to the new seedlings. Fairly common on Vancouver Island. If we're talking about Phellinus (Poria) weirii Root Rot, that practice is not common here because it's considered a complete waste of effort.

The fungus lives in the patch of soil the affected trees are growing in and stumping that plot won't get rid of it. Plant Western White Pine or another species there instead. Poria existed in the original old-growth forest on small patches of soil and persists in subsequent forests. I find it doesn't spread beyond the patch of soil affected.

http://www.pfc.forestry.ca/diseases/hforest/Pests/prootrot_e.html