Grow Your Own... Basswood Trees

[lakeroadster]

American Basswood Trees: A Desirable Wood and Landscape Tree

For you land owners living in the Mid West and North East... plant some basswood trees!

I mean, why not plant a tree you can use to make model rocket parts?

The Range of American Basswood

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[DigBaddy]

We've got a chunk of our woods in west-central WI, 20 acres or so, where basswood is pretty dominant. Great trees but need some red oak mixed in as storm protection. Harvested a bunch about 10 years ago and now the youngsters have room to shoot up.

 

[Kelly]

I like that you put this in the "Techniques" forum!

Noob: How do I make a nosecone for my rocket?
lakeroadster: OK, what you're gonna want to do first, is...

 

[Greg Furtman]

American Basswood Trees: A Desirable Wood and Landscape Tree

For you land owners living in the Mid West and North East... plant some basswood trees!

I mean, why not plant a tree you can use to make model rocket parts?

The Range of American Basswood

View attachment 504452​

I think if you watered it on a regular basis you could grow them in Colorado. They grow pretty fast.

 

[lakeroadster]

I like that you put this in the "Techniques" forum!

Noob: How do I make a nosecone for my rocket?
lakeroadster: OK, what you're gonna want to do first, is...

Patience is a virtue..

 

[SwingWing]

I like that you put this in the "Techniques" forum!

Noob: How do I make a nosecone for my rocket?
lakeroadster: OK, what you're gonna want to do first, is...

1st grab a chainsaw.... then.....

 

[lakeroadster]

1st grab a chainsaw.... then.....

I practice what I preach though. I made these from a Pinyon Pine tree we cut down on our property.

 

[Kelly]

Nice looking stuff! I wouldn't imagine Pinyon is easy to turn.

 

[lakeroadster]

Nice looking stuff! I wouldn't imagine Pinyon is easy to turn.

It likes to tear. The key is to leave enough stock to stop cutting sooner than hardwood, then sand to size.

 

[rharshberger]

I practice what I preach though. I made these from a Pinyon Pine tree we cut down on our property.

One of my favorite shop tools, a wooden mallet, both head and handle turned from part of a Ash tree removed from a neighbors yard. Nothing fancy but its a great tool around the shop.

 

[Kelly]

A Maple tree once fell on my parent's house (!!!), got sawn up, and sat around for awhile. I was digging through the firewood pile and found some of it had spalted, and rescued it for projects. This is a small 'weed pot' I turned. Height is about 4".

 

[rharshberger]

A Maple tree once fell on my parent's house (!!!), got sawn up, and sat around for awhile. I was digging through the firewood pile and found some of it had spalted, and rescued it for projects. This is a small 'weed pot' I turned. Height is about 4".

nice

 

[afadeev]

For you land owners living in the Mid West and North East... plant some basswood trees!
I mean, why not plant a tree you can use to make model rocket parts?

Alas, it's not that simple. Just because something grows nearby, doesn't mean that it's primed to enter the supply chain.

Case in point - Ash trees are being decimated in and around North East and Midwest due to the invasive emerald ash borer beatle. I've personally lost 4 ash tress to that thing, and before too much longer, 99% of the Ash trees in NJ will be wiped out.
https://www.nj.com/news/2017/07/24_..._be_killed_this_year_and_we_cant_stop_it.html
Sounds like a bummer, and an opportunity to pickup tons of cheap ash lumber, right?
That's what an architect friend of mind figured, who had recently spec-ed Ash interior wood paneling for a large commercial project. Assumption was that with so many ash trees going under the axe, sourcing them locally should both cheap and easy. To keep this short, I will skip the details on lumber supply chain harvesting, processing, and distribution, and get to the punchline. NO ash wood paneling is available in the US, and had to be imported, at premium pricing, from Europe.

Just because something grows or is being harvest in abundance in your area, does not guarantee that that type of wood will be entering local (or global) lumber supply chain.

a

 

[lakeroadster]

Alas, it's not that simple. Just because something grows nearby, doesn't mean that it's primed to enter the supply chain.

Case in point - Ash trees are being decimated in and around North East and Midwest due to the invasive emerald ash borer beatle. I've personally lost 4 ash tress to that thing, and before too much longer, 99% of the Ash trees in NJ will be wiped out.
https://www.nj.com/news/2017/07/24_..._be_killed_this_year_and_we_cant_stop_it.html
Sounds like a bummer, and an opportunity to pickup tons of cheap ash lumber, right?
That's what an architect friend of mind figured, who had recently spec-ed Ash interior wood paneling for a large commercial project. Assumption was that with so many ash trees going under the axe, sourcing them locally should both cheap and easy. To keep this short, I will skip the details on lumber supply chain harvesting, processing, and distribution, and get to the punchline. NO ash wood paneling is available in the US, and had to be imported, at premium pricing, from Europe.

Just because something grows or is being harvest in abundance in your area, does not guarantee that that type of wood will be entering local (or global) lumber supply chain.

a

In this case however you are the supply chain. Note the title of the thread: "Grow Your Own".

You plant it,​

You cut it down,​

You cut it up,​

You stack it to dry,​

You then use it.​

​

What one man can do, another can do.​

​

Your architect friend would be wise to source items before specifying an item. At least that's what most folks do that operate on a budget.

​

 

[DigBaddy]

I didn't start growing it, but an ash I cut down a few weeks ago. Does not make for lightweight rocket parts One of about 20 I've cut down so far and more to come Repopulating with lots of sugar maple and some others.

 

[dhbarr]

Basswood should be fairly amenable to coppicing as long as you live in the eastern half of the US.

The hard part, of course, is smelting the motor casing from your personal bauxite reserves

 

[lakeroadster]

.... The hard part, of course, is smelting the motor casing from your personal bauxite reserves

"Whoever smelt it..... dealt it." Socrates 397 BC

 

[afadeev]

Supply chain?

You plant it,​

You cut it down,​

You cut it up,​

You stack it to dry,​

You then use it.​

​

What one man can do, another can do.​

​

Are you serious?
Have you ever, actually, personally gone through that tree harvesting cycle?
And found it more appealing then picking up a few bits of appropriate lumber from a store?!!

Your architect friend would be wise to source items before specifying an item. At least that's what most folks do that operate on a budget.

That depends entirely on the size of your budget.

 

[lakeroadster]

​

Are you serious?
Have you ever, actually, personally gone through that tree harvesting cycle?

Yes, I am serious. Worked at my Dad's sawmill, we did it all.

But in this case we are talking about small trees that are easy to harvest with common woodworking tools.

And found it more appealing then picking up a few bits of appropriate lumber from a store?!!

And yes, it is much more appealing to recycle something, from your own property, and make it into a useful item. I'd much rather do things myself, then pay somebody else to do it.

Did you look at some of the posts above showing making components, from trees that were on hand?

 

[Greg Furtman]

Here's a few nosecones I've turned on my wood lathe. The toughest one to make was the balsa one as balsa is sooo soft. The cedar nosecone I turned for a scratch built Kraken. The picture with 2 nosecones: cherry on the left and walnut on the right. The Sitka nosecone I used for an Arapahoe. Hopefully I'll be able to turn some out of the basswood I harvested from my tree branch.

 

[Kelly]

Here's a few nosecones I've turned on my wood lathe.

Those are sweet. Did you hollow them out?
One of these days I intend to build an all-wood rocket out of nice hardwoods: Turn the nosecone, probably use glassed veneer for the BT, etc.

 

[afadeev]

Did you look at some of the posts above showing making components, from trees that were on hand?

I saw those, but viewed them from only theoretical and infotainment perspective.

"I've build a thing from the tree I grew and harvested" seams to be more likely to be a punchline to a joke, then an actionable project plan.
I do recognize that some folks are into that. There was an oak that fell down a few years ago right along the road I take to commute to work. It was said to have provided shade to George Washington. Whether that was an urban legend or a historical fact is hard to verify, but the wood from that tree was harvested and sold for ridiculous amounts of money.

To each, his own.

 

[Kelly]

And found it more appealing then picking up a few bits of appropriate lumber from a store?!!

There is something very appealing (to some, including myself) about creating something as much from scratch as possible.
I once brewed a beer made with wheat that I grew and malted myself, hops grown myself, and yeast cultured myself (harvested from a bottle of something I liked). I've made furniture from trees harvested from my yard, or friends. Etc.

Regarding trees, as they say, the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The next best time to plant one, is today.

 

[lakeroadster]

Here are a few nose cones I've made. Mostly pine, one I made from ash. I agree with Greg, the harder the wood the easier it is to turn on a lathe.

 

[lakeroadster]

I saw those, but viewed them from only theoretical and infotainment perspective.

"I've build a thing from the tree I grew and harvested" seams to be more likely to be a punchline to a joke, then an actionable project plan.
But to each, his own.

Could that comment be more condescending? I have nothing but respect for people who have the ability to truly make something from scratch.

 

[trialsguy]

I live In Wisconsin. I have a very large basswood tree that I’ve trimmed large branches from, like 12-14” diameter. It was nice wood, but it seemed much denser and heavier than the basswood I’ve bought from hobby suppliers. Even after I seasoned it for a year, it was still pretty dense. I’m wondering if there are different types of basswood trees? I ended up using it for firewood.

 

[boatgeek]

"The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today."

 

[DigBaddy]

I live In Wisconsin. I have a very large basswood tree that I’ve trimmed large branches from, like 12-14” diameter. It was nice wood, but it seemed much denser and heavier than the basswood I’ve bought from hobby suppliers. Even after I seasoned it for a year, it was still pretty dense. I’m wondering if there are different types of basswood trees? I ended up using it for firewood.

Could be different varieties of basswood; there are a few. Growing conditions can play a part too.

Next time I get a chance, I'll find some fresh windfall up in our woods and bring some back so I can work with it. Now that I have a planer, I could maybe make some thin fin-worthy wood. Could maybe even try to spin a nosecone or two...

 

[boomtube-mk2]

Trees??

And here I thought it came from.

 

[kuririn]

Or grow your own tung trees.
Tung wood is used in some rocket kits from China in place of balsa.
The oil from the nut is used for furniture sealing and finishing.
But all parts of the tree are toxic, especially the nut:
Tung Trees | Mississippi Encyclopedia
Don't know if it would grow in Colorado.
They tried it in California but failed.
Edit: Not frost tolerant, so Colorado is out.
Looks like only in the Deep South, where it is considered an invasive species.
Pretty though.