roundwood timber framing ... for the ladies

Started by paul wheaton, August 23, 2011, 09:05:33 PM

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paul wheaton

So we watched the Ben Law DVD "Roundwood Timber Framing" which ends with a song about "nice and smooth for the ladies".  Which then sets the theme for this podcast.

Krista, the only female in this podcast, educates us on parts of the DVD that she thought ladies would appreciate.

We talk about round wood, natural methods, screwing, pounding , tools, the wood, movement of wood, shrinkage, pegs, polishing wood, hard wood, dead wood, live logs, girdling trees, tight fit, pole structures, dry poles, standing timber, wet logs, wet wood, curved wood and straight wood, Dick Proenneke, small wood, growth rate, butter, hand tools, measuring wood, grip, "twice as long", "wet is relative", tie it down, fridge turtles,  moisture, big things, overhang, 14 inch logs, "they would pull out a four inch log and a guy would sit on it", bent wood, tool envy, manpower, women can do it, nailing, techniques, outdoor,   Krista's kitten.  And, of course, there is a happy ending.


http://www.richsoil.com/permaculture/381-podcast-058-ben-law-roundwood-timber-framing/



Don_P

My connection is too slow to download the podcast, I did read the intro.

Not picking, just info, there are a few things that struck me as old wive's tales. Sap does not go down in winter, the cells must stay full of water or they die, once a section of the water column is broken in most cases it cannot be re-established. That part of the tree then dies. As you drive north and see species drop out of the landscape one by one you are seeing the frost tolerance lines of each species, finally getting to exclusively evergreens, which keep their "leaves", and grow year round whenever they are not frozen and sap can flow. The deciduous trees drop their leaves, halting the movement of sap, the cells are full, sap is still up in the tree. With the onset of spring the previous summer's sugars, stored as starch are reconverted to sugar to fuel production and flow begins again. Starch, sugar and cellulose are all different forms of the same molecules... when we learn to efficiently crack cellulose, fuel and food will no longer be a problem. In some species the moisture content of the wood is actually slightly higher in winter because there are no transpirational losses through the leaves. There are good reasons for winter cutting. At lower temperatures mold and fungi do not grow, insects  are usually not a problem. By spring the moisture content is often low enough that the wood is not as appealing to insects and cannot support fungal growth. As a practical matter until the wood is below about 28% moisture it behaves the same. Below that fiber saturation point is where the effects of drying on physical and mechanical properties begin... shrinkage, increased strength, hardness, decay resistance, etc.

Girdling and leaving the bark on a dead tree is an excellent way of inviting natures recyclers in. It is hard to determine the strength of wood that has decay or insect damage. Drop and peel is generally a better way to keep those problems at bay. The sugars that many insects and some fungi are after is most concentrated in the inner bark, it is also full of great hiding places for bugs. This is the downside of leaving the bark on. It is an attempt to moderate drying stress. Keeping the wood drying but not drying too fast is the goal. 


MountainDon

Thanks Don. It has seemed to me that any of the trees I have cut with snow on the ground are as heavy as the ones cut in summer. Also I think a girdled pine would be an excellent nursery for the dastardly pine bark beetle here in the west. They love fresh cut green logs with the bark in place; same thing as a standing girdled tree.
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.