Tree to planks and keel... different trees!

[Wild Dingo]

Okay Ive got these bloody great Karri trees next to the house...

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid55/pedfc732818bd1b7bcff58c9325abb430/fc7ffa74.jpg

And they have been given the "take em down" death nell and I dont want to just get the flamin tree hacker in and have them taken out chopped up and mulched so Im wondering like the other fella with his tree what do I do to keep most of the timber in these fellas?

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid55/p9989dec4d97a4b359973762f23e0b447/fc7ffa6f.jpg

They go STRAIGHT UP for around 30 or so metres then some curve slightly and others dont curve at all only slight knots and boals {sp?}... Its good solid Karri but from the little experience Ive had with large branches cracking and falling in a storm it does check and spinter rather badly... but its a bloody hard wood and has been used in boatbuilding down here for many years.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid55/pe1f113951a792b517300f05d26e390c7/fc7ff7b9.jpg

So Ive been given the altimatum "you get rid of them and you get your boatshed" :cool: "I get rid of them and we get a flamin lot of mulch!" so help me out here fellas!!!... Ive added young Aaron at 5'7 as a base size comparison.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid55/p24e93a47f88b3b0c093a1d4e7a6b6588/fc7ff7b8.jpg

Okay questions... should I get a sawmiller to come and saw the planks straight after the canapy has been cut off and theyve been dropped... dont like the thought of leaving them on the ground around here ANYWHERE! as the termites are a real social lot downunder :eek: then treat them straight away with CPES? Oil? Epoxy? Diesel Oil? a mixture?... we are just moving toward our winter down here no snow no freezing weather just colder than 30C and rain... under cover yes cause the boatsheds going up as soon as these are down and out the way

Soooo what to do shipmates? The saddest part with regard to these trees is they are the last stand in the area the nearest other stand is flmain miles away in a nature reserve... the developers just bulldoze them down and after many fights with the shire and builder we managed to keep these... but mates theyre in the way of me boatshop!!... and the higher branches keep flamin dropping!! Possumpoop and the hoons are starting to worry that theyre gonna wake up with a bloody great tree in their bedrooms! :eek:

Sooo out they go... but how to keep the timber??!

[Mrleft8]

Looks to me like they're the only shade you have. I wouldn't cut em down...
If you MUST, however..... Have the tops dropped first. then take the trunks down. That way you won't risk splintering the trunks.
Then have them end sealed with wax, or oil paint as fast as possible(hours not days). Put them up on blocks to keep them off the ground until the miller can get there. Mill em up as you want, keep them off the ground. stack them w/ spacers every 16" dead flat and level, and put a tarp over them like a tent. Allow air flow, but keep rain off....
It looks like a type of "Gum" tree.... must be very heavy and dense, dries badly prone to twisting and checking I bet..... Good luck! by the time yer back from the states, it'll either be great lumber, or really crappy firewood!

[Wild Dingo]

Theyre shade alright mate... but theyre a pain in the bum with dropping honkey nuts into the gutters small branches and leaves every where... theyre also the bane of the neighbors!! fights about branches falling into their yard on the road and such a pain in the bum as I say... intent is to take them out and install one mighty nice boatshed then plant some other natives around that... ooohh and whack up the pagola!! :D

Is that debarked first before the wax/oil paint? or leave the bark in place?

Thanks mate! :cool:

[Mrleft8]

I'd leave the bark on until you saw them into boards. That'll help keep any moisture in, and slow down any checking. You might also want to spray them with a borate solution to inhibit insect damage. Keeping them off the ground is the biggest thing, along with sealing the end grain.