This project merits a detailed description. It is the harvesting and processing of a 180year old western maple tree in Maple Ridge which includes a 1.9m diameter trunk and huge stump. If you are interested in this endeavour and want to see how I convert a massive root ball into furniture you may wish to read the entire story. This ongoing project will be the subject of a more newsletters over the next few years…
During the 40 years I have lived in Maple Ridge I have admired this tree on Lougheed Highway, always dreaming that if one day it had to come down I would be allowed to use it and create something spectacular. That day came in early May 2016 when by pure chance I drove past the property and I saw that it was being cut. Sadly it had to be removed due to a new development but luckily I could acquire the tree. It is highly unusual that Douglas Maples grow that old and large. This was likely the largest maple in the Vancouver area and was already 40 years old when Maple Ridge was incorporated in 1874!
The 3.6m long, 1.9m diameter trunk had to be moved quickly, a daunting effort as its weight was 7.5 metric tons. A skillful crane operator accomplished the task of moving it and getting it to a safe location. I had to learn quickly that trees of this size and quality are a magnet to tree poachers and disappear rather fast. On three occasions different crews tried to steal the trunk, one attempt in the middle of the night. I am thankful to the observant inhabitants in the house.
Unfortunately, nobody could saw (slab) this trunk in this area so with a customer of mine who has a mill we ordered a special saw in Australia which lets us cut trees of this size. The saw has arrived and we can soon start slabbing the trunk, as soon I have completed building a large solar kiln/wind tunnel to dry the wood.
The trunk has a spectacular burl. I intend to leave this burl on a slab and stand it up in an artistic way in an appropriate location akin to a totem pole, nature’s totem pole highlighting its magnificent grain. The entire tree is beautifully coloured, lightly spalted and of intense figuring!
I know that this tree would be worth a fortune as veneer or blanks for the musical instruments industry. However, it deserves better, artistic interpretation and public display should be drivers.
My next newsletter will have an update on the future progress I make with this trunk.
This is the most spectacular part of the tree and I committed to dig it up and use it. What an undertaking! The dig had to be done by hand as I did not want to damage any roots by using machines. I dug down about 1m, getting out to a diameter of 7m before getting root grinders and an excavator. I dug all summer, just like in an archaeological dig. Once the excavator dug a 2m deep trench around the stump I carved under the roots with shovel and pick so that we could place slings to lift the stump with a crane. Needless to say that for this work volunteers where hard to find! Who can blame them!
During all this work I got rather close and personal to the stump so it received a name: I called the beauty Louisa.
With a 180ton crane we barely lifted Louisa out of her bed but were not able to move her. Her weight was 20 tons.
Since then I have been pressure washing her, removing small roots, bark, stones and dirt, an endless and extremely dirty job, easily the ugliest I have ever undertaken! Rain and snow did not matter anymore…
But is she ever good looking under all that bark!
To move her I cut her into 4 equal parts, another daunting task as I was sawing not just wood… The largest chainsaw I had access to only has a 3 foot bar, but I had to cut 6 feet from each side and through the skirt.
Hence I developed a spitting “guillotine” consisting of two .8m by 1.5m heavy steel plates and system of wedges which we pounded into the saw kerf with a large excavator shovel.
Clean Split: Success! It felt so good…
Next I will pressure wash the underside and cut bottom roots to be parallel with the top. Louisa will then rest with the slabbed trunk in my solar kiln/wind tunnel under construction by Stave River and dry for a year, maybe a few more…
What will she become?
I envisage two very large lobby tables with a glass top. The base would consist of six 30° pie shaped sections separated enough to show the incredibly beautiful and polished vertical grain in between the sections. To leave as much of the roots as possible yet make the installation practical, the base would be in a sunken floor extended with a glass plate to walk to the table and see the roots. The top glass plate would be a circular 4.5m, 25mm low iron glass plate. This is not for the faint hearted as the glass table top alone would cost more than $60,000, before even polishing the edges. The total weight of the installation would be about 7,000kg.
There will only be two of these tables in the world!
If any architects or interior designers among you have ideas or would like to participate in this once in a life time opportunity, I would be happy to hear from you.
Best regards
Andres Schneiter