http://members.toast.net/cnt/SilverMaple.jpg

My wife wants the tree cut down. It's a small backyard. I like trees, so
not sure what to do. It won't bother me to cut it down, but should I? Since
it's silver maple, measured ~87" around (~7' circle), should I bother to
keep the lumber, have it be made boards? I have nothing to do the mill
work, let alone hiring my friend to cut it down for me. I live in
Milwaukee, WI. I doubt it will have some rotten center, but don't know.

Really, what I want to do is cut the one big branch (far-left) to let more
sun to our plants. I don't think it would look that bad, but that's from my
eye view, other people may see at it differently.

Suggestions?

Chuck

CNT writes:

http://members.toast.net/cnt/SilverMaple.jpg

My wife wants the tree cut down. It's a small backyard. I like trees, so
not sure what to do. It won't bother me to cut it down, but should I? Since

Take your time. You should in no case cut the tree down now, because
now it's full of sap and gives poor wood, birds might nest in it and
other animals inhabit it (which is why it's anyway forbidden to cut
down trees druning spring and summer), so you should wait till
december.

--
Dr. Juergen Hannappel http://lisa2.physik.uni-bonn.de/~hannappe
Phone: +49 228 73 2447 FAX ... 7869
Physikalisches Institut der Uni Bonn Nussallee 12, D-53115 Bonn, Germany
CERN: Phone: +412276 76461 Fax: ..77930 Bat. 892-R-A13 CH-1211 Geneve 23

CNT wrote in :

http://members.toast.net/cnt/SilverMaple.jpg

My wife wants the tree cut down. It's a small backyard. I like trees,
so not sure what to do. It won't bother me to cut it down, but should
I? Since it's silver maple, measured ~87" around (~7' circle), should
I bother to keep the lumber, have it be made boards? I have nothing to
do the mill work, let alone hiring my friend to cut it down for me. I
live in Milwaukee, WI. I doubt it will have some rotten center, but
don't know.

Really, what I want to do is cut the one big branch (far-left) to let
more sun to our plants. I don't think it would look that bad, but
that's from my eye view, other people may see at it differently.

Suggestions?

Chuck


Silver maple is not high value cabinet wood (think soft maple), but a
clever person with a lathe could make nice stuff from that tree.

The nice thing there is that branch wood is not such a huge problem.
Knots, streaks & such are 'character', not flaws. The wood is often
used green/wet, rather than needing to be kilned or air-dry for a year
or three. And the milling is done with a chain saw. Mistakes and/or
offcuts are next year's firewood.

If you don't have a lathe, this is a good excuse. Either to get one and
learn, or to make a friend or three. Turning wood scroungers seldom
work alone. They don't pay cash for wood very often, but often bring
nice examples of their work in appreciation. Sometimes, they will trade
dry, but less valuable for turning wood, to replace your firewood
losses.

I don't think that removing that left branch would make for an ugly
tree, but I'm not an arborist.

Patriarch

Prune off the branch if you need the light, should have done that back in
may, if you can wait do it next spring before it starts to bud.

if you do take the tree down defiantly save the wood, if you can't mill it
put an add in the paper and sell the whole log, I'm sure someone up there
has a mill, or call around to the different mills and see how much they
would charge to mill it for you. it would be a shame to waste it.


CNT wrote:

http://members.toast.net/cnt/SilverMaple.jpg

My wife wants the tree cut down. It's a small backyard. I like trees, so
not sure what to do. It won't bother me to cut it down, but should I?
Since it's silver maple, measured ~87" around (~7' circle), should I
bother to keep the lumber, have it be made boards? I have nothing to do
the mill work, let alone hiring my friend to cut it down for me. I live in
Milwaukee, WI. I doubt it will have some rotten center, but don't know.

Really, what I want to do is cut the one big branch (far-left) to let more
sun to our plants. I don't think it would look that bad, but that's from
my eye view, other people may see at it differently.

Suggestions?

Chuck

--
if corn oil is made from corn, and olive oil is made from olives, where dose
baby oil come from?

Silver maple doesn't even make good firewood, though I had one that was
pretty good for maple syrup.

Cut the one branch off and see how you like it. You can always cut it down
later.

If milling I would be concerned about nails or other hidden bits of metal.
Were stairs for the tree house nailed to it?
Was a hook for a clothsling screwed into it?
Dog chain? Hanging basket hook?

You get the idea. Not too much lumber per se and not much use for
woodworking in my opinion. I know almost zero about turning so I defer to
others about its suitability for that.

What it may be perfect for, if your a woodworker, would be to make
sentimental items, for gifts and such. Do you have potential for future
grandkids? Imagine presenting a rocker or cradle or whatever to the child of
the child that climed that tree when they were little. Priceless.

"CNT" wrote in message
...
http://members.toast.net/cnt/SilverMaple.jpg

My wife wants the tree cut down. It's a small backyard. I like trees, so
not sure what to do. It won't bother me to cut it down, but should I?
Since
it's silver maple, measured ~87" around (~7' circle), should I bother to
keep the lumber, have it be made boards? I have nothing to do the mill
work, let alone hiring my friend to cut it down for me. I live in
Milwaukee, WI. I doubt it will have some rotten center, but don't know.

Really, what I want to do is cut the one big branch (far-left) to let more
sun to our plants. I don't think it would look that bad, but that's from
my
eye view, other people may see at it differently.

Suggestions?

Chuck

Take your time. You should in no case cut the tree down now, because
now it's full of sap and gives poor wood, birds might nest in it and
other animals inhabit it (which is why it's anyway forbidden to cut
down trees druning spring and summer), so you should wait till
december.

--
Dr. Juergen Hannappel


Best way to go about it. Conscientiously.

--
Alex - newbie_neander in woodworking
cravdraa_at-yahoo_dot-com
not my site: http://www.e-sword.net/

I think if it is maple at all, it is a fantastic wood. Soft maple is not "soft" at all!
Anyone can make fine furniture out of "soft" ash or "soft" sycamore and "soft"
maple will be harder than either one.

--
Alex - newbie_neander in woodworking
cravdraa_at-yahoo_dot-com
not my site: http://www.e-sword.net/

Silver maple doesn't even make good firewood, though I had one that was
pretty good for maple syrup.

Cut the one branch off and see how you like it. You can always cut it down later.

Curious, how many types of maples make syrup? Does "hard rock" maple
make syrup?

--
Alex - newbie_neander in woodworking
cravdraa_at-yahoo_dot-com
not my site: http://www.e-sword.net/

AAvK wrote:
Silver maple doesn't even make good firewood, though I had one that was
pretty good for maple syrup.

Cut the one branch off and see how you like it. You can always cut it down later.

Curious, how many types of maples make syrup? Does "hard rock" maple
make syrup?


Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) makes "hard maple" wood and the sap
is good for syrup.

Black Maple (Acer nigram) also makes "hard maple" wood and the sap is
also good for syrup.

Sugar maple has harder wood, than black, and I think a higher
sugar content. The wood of either can be called "rock" maple
or "hard rock" maple as well as just "hard" maple.

Red and Silver maple, though the ahve a lower sugar content are
both tapped commercially. The other maples could also be tapped
for syrup, but generally are not.

http://www.massmaple.org/treeID.html

--

FF

Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) makes "hard maple" wood and the sap
is good for syrup.
Black Maple (Acer nigram) also makes "hard maple" wood and the sap is
also good for syrup.
Sugar maple has harder wood, than black, and I think a higher
sugar content. The wood of either can be called "rock" maple
or "hard rock" maple as well as just "hard" maple.
Red and Silver maple, though the ahve a lower sugar content are
both tapped commercially. The other maples could also be tapped
for syrup, but generally are not.
http://www.massmaple.org/treeID.html

FF


Very interesting, thanks much.

--
Alex - newbie_neander in woodworking
cravdraa_at-yahoo_dot-com
not my site: http://www.e-sword.net/

"AAvK" wrote in message
news:NpKle.125$4p.57@fed1read03...

Silver maple doesn't even make good firewood, though I had one that was
pretty good for maple syrup.

Cut the one branch off and see how you like it. You can always cut it
down later.

Curious, how many types of maples make syrup? Does "hard rock" maple
make syrup?

All maples give sugary sap. Some species "tend" to be better than others,
and some individuals "tend" to be better than others; in terms of either sap
production or sugar content..
I have made syrup from sugar maple, red maple, silver maple, and box elder.
Sugar maple is usually the best, but I had an excellent silver maple.
Once it is boiled, it is all indistinguishable.

There is debate about whether sugar and black maples are different species.

Silver maples are not the greatest tree for a landscape--grows fast,
surface roots, breaks up concrete foundations, water pipes, etc. But,
the wood makes nice furniture. Plant a sugar maple in its place, or
whatever SWMO wants.

On Fri, 27 May 2005 16:03:40 -0000, CNT wrote:

http://members.toast.net/cnt/SilverMaple.jpg

My wife wants the tree cut down. It's a small backyard. I like trees, so
not sure what to do. It won't bother me to cut it down, but should I? Since
it's silver maple, measured ~87" around (~7' circle), should I bother to
keep the lumber, have it be made boards? I have nothing to do the mill
work, let alone hiring my friend to cut it down for me. I live in
Milwaukee, WI. I doubt it will have some rotten center, but don't know.

Really, what I want to do is cut the one big branch (far-left) to let more
sun to our plants. I don't think it would look that bad, but that's from my
eye view, other people may see at it differently.

Suggestions?

Chuck

I have turnde a fair amount of Sillver Maple. It does seem to have a
bit more luster when sanded to a fine grit, than most other woods. The
color tends to be rather bland white, but it can spalt and mold rather
spectacularly. It isn't too dense, so would make a better secondary
wood. Here in western Oregon, a 30 year old Silver Maple will be 30 +
inches in diameter. They grow very fast, then start to fall apart, due
to rot in the centers. It can have some nice figure too.
robo hippy

"AAvK" wrote in news:ZnKle.124$4p.78@fed1read03:


I think if it is maple at all, it is a fantastic wood. Soft maple is
not "soft" at all! Anyone can make fine furniture out of "soft" ash or
"soft" sycamore and "soft" maple will be harder than either one.


I make stuff from soft maple all of the time. In fact, the bathroom vanity
on my workbench is soft maple. The last nightstands were soft maple, with
cherry tops.

But reaction/branch wood is a poor bargain, and I can buy kiln dried s3s
soft maple at the yard, in any quantity I want, for less than $3.50/bf, in
sizes up to 12/4. How much would I want to deal with cutting a yard tree
for cabinet work, if I had to wait 8 months to cut it, and then another
year or two past that before I could consider using it at all?

I'd rather turn it into bowls.

Patriarch

CNT says...

http://members.toast.net/cnt/SilverMaple.jpg

My wife wants the tree cut down. It's a small backyard. I like trees, so
not sure what to do. It won't bother me to cut it down, but should I? Since
it's silver maple, measured ~87" around (~7' circle), should I bother to
keep the lumber, have it be made boards? I have nothing to do the mill
work, let alone hiring my friend to cut it down for me. I live in
Milwaukee, WI. I doubt it will have some rotten center, but don't know.

Really, what I want to do is cut the one big branch (far-left) to let more
sun to our plants. I don't think it would look that bad, but that's from my
eye view, other people may see at it differently.

Suggestions?

Chuck

Soft maple is a nice wood if you cut away the green and grey streaks.
There isn't much grain, but a high percentage of it has some nice
figure. I assume because of the very uneven quality, it is a very
inexpensive wood. Your tree doesn't have much value unless there is a
lot of figured wood in it, but that is a possibility. I loved working
with it and I wish I had more access to it, but most hardwood dealers
don't carry it because most people will pay the premium for hard maple
that isn't cursed with the grey and green streaks.

I'm with Patriach. Bowls, bowls, bowls. Hollow vessels, seed pots,
candle sticks, etc.

You can turn maple green as a cantaloupe and do well with it.

Looking at your picture I can see the stress wrinkles... that means
flames...

Oy.

Wood is a precious resource. I second the others that say to move
cautiously and carefully.

After all, you probably won't live long enough to see a newly planted
semi hardwood tree grow that large to replace it.

Robert

Hax Planx wrote in
.net:

Soft maple is a nice wood if you cut away the green and grey streaks.
There isn't much grain, but a high percentage of it has some nice
figure. I assume because of the very uneven quality, it is a very
inexpensive wood. Your tree doesn't have much value unless there is a
lot of figured wood in it, but that is a possibility. I loved working
with it and I wish I had more access to it, but most hardwood dealers
don't carry it because most people will pay the premium for hard maple
that isn't cursed with the grey and green streaks.


Remember the Chevy truck commercial? "That's character. Women _love_
character!"

The fact of the matter is that soft maple is often in the less premium
section, but can be used in place of hard maple where the hardness isn't an
issue, and the color is close. I use it all of the time for cases, frames,
drawer sides & the like. I also use it, a lot, for my own furniture,
because there is often great figure available at $3.15/bf. It blends well
with cherry, particularly under shellac.

And for paint grade, it's more stable than birch, and harder than poplar,
with a price premium (here) of less than $1/bf.

We're blessed with all kinds of wonderful wood species. They all have
their roles and reasons.

Patriarch

Remember the Chevy truck commercial? "That's character. Women _love_
character!"

The fact of the matter is that soft maple is often in the less premium
section, but can be used in place of hard maple where the hardness isn't an
issue, and the color is close. I use it all of the time for cases, frames,
drawer sides & the like. I also use it, a lot, for my own furniture,
because there is often great figure available at $3.15/bf. It blends well
with cherry, particularly under shellac.

And for paint grade, it's more stable than birch, and harder than poplar,
with a price premium (here) of less than $1/bf.

We're blessed with all kinds of wonderful wood species. They all have
their roles and reasons.

Patriarch


Why thank you sir, that sounds far better now... than before.

--
Alex - newbie_neander in woodworking
cravdraa_at-yahoo_dot-com
not my site: http://www.e-sword.net/

On Fri, 27 May 2005 16:03:40 -0000, CNT wrote:

http://members.toast.net/cnt/SilverMaple.jpg

My wife wants the tree cut down. It's a small backyard. I like trees, so
not sure what to do. It won't bother me to cut it down, but should I? Since
it's silver maple, measured ~87" around (~7' circle), should I bother to
keep the lumber, have it be made boards? I have nothing to do the mill
work, let alone hiring my friend to cut it down for me. I live in
Milwaukee, WI. I doubt it will have some rotten center, but don't know.

Really, what I want to do is cut the one big branch (far-left) to let more
sun to our plants. I don't think it would look that bad, but that's from my
eye view, other people may see at it differently.

Suggestions?

The neighbor has got a silver maple that overhangs my yard, and I'm
about ready to sneak over and cut that sucker down myself. Everytime
I mow the grass, I have to clean up downed branches from the thing.
I'm worried that the sucker is going to fall on my roof one of these
days when there's a strong wind- they get really big, and aren't very
strong. I like working with maple, and I'd save the wood if I *were*
cutting it down (but as noted above, it's the neighbor's- so I can't).

OTHO, the two in my yard are rock maple, and I wouldn't cut them down
for anything- they're strong, heathy, provide good shade, and look
nice. Ultimately it's up to you- but if the wife wants it gone, it's a
good excuse to get yourself a chainsaw and a bunch of free wood- and
you can always replant the spot with something of your own choice (I
don't know about Milwaukee, but up here (near Rice Lake) maples are
like weeds, and the one you've got was probably an accident in the
first place!).


Chuck

On Fri, 27 May 2005 12:20:21 -0700, "AAvK" wrote:


Silver maple doesn't even make good firewood, though I had one that was
pretty good for maple syrup.

Cut the one branch off and see how you like it. You can always cut it down later.

Curious, how many types of maples make syrup? Does "hard rock" maple
make syrup?

I'm no syrup expert, but my vague understanding was that rock maple
was the one that made the syrup, and red and silver maple aren't
normally used for that. Of course, I could be wrong- I got it from a
field guide for identifing trees, and they didn't go into much detail.

On 27 May 2005 13:28:30 -0700, wrote:

Sugar maple has harder wood, than black, and I think a higher
sugar content. The wood of either can be called "rock" maple
or "hard rock" maple as well as just "hard" maple.

Red and Silver maple, though the ahve a lower sugar content are
both tapped commercially. The other maples could also be tapped
for syrup, but generally are not.

http://www.massmaple.org/treeID.html

Thanks for the link- my wife was asking me if we could tap ours, and
that "make your own" link was just the ticket.

In article ZnKle.124$4p.78@fed1read03, "AAvK" wrote:

I think if it is maple at all, it is a fantastic wood. Soft maple is not "soft"
at all!
Anyone can make fine furniture out of "soft" ash or "soft" sycamore and "soft"
maple will be harder than either one.

Not quite. Most commercial "soft" maple is red maple. But Chuck said
specifically that this is a *silver* maple (check title of thread) - which is
softer than any ash, and only slightly harder than sycamore.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

In article NpKle.125$4p.57@fed1read03, "AAvK" wrote:

Curious, how many types of maples make syrup? Does "hard rock" maple
make syrup?

*All* maples can be used to make syrup. Some work better than others. The
hard maples (sugar maple, black maple) have the highest sugar content and thus
make the best syrup. Silver maple is the next sweetest, but its sugar content
is only about half that of sugar maple, so it takes about twice as much sap to
make syrup. Other varieties have even lower sugar levels, but they all have
some sugar.

I've been making maple syrup from my own trees for several years now. We have
one black maple, half a dozen sugar maples, one red maple, four or five
silvers, and two Norways in our yard. The only ones I bother tapping are the
sugars and the one black. The sweetest sap, and the highest volume, both come
from the black maple.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

In article , "toller" wrote:

All maples give sugary sap. Some species "tend" to be better than others,
and some individuals "tend" to be better than others; in terms of either sap
production or sugar content..
I have made syrup from sugar maple, red maple, silver maple, and box elder.

What's your syrup yield from silver maple? I'm tapping five sugar maples and
one black maple, and my yield runs a bit under 4 oz syrup from a gallon of sap
(about 35:1 boil-down).

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

Patriarch says...

Remember the Chevy truck commercial? "That's character. Women _love_
character!"

The fact of the matter is that soft maple is often in the less premium
section, but can be used in place of hard maple where the hardness isn't an
issue, and the color is close. I use it all of the time for cases, frames,
drawer sides & the like. I also use it, a lot, for my own furniture,
because there is often great figure available at $3.15/bf. It blends well
with cherry, particularly under shellac.

And for paint grade, it's more stable than birch, and harder than poplar,
with a price premium (here) of less than $1/bf.

We're blessed with all kinds of wonderful wood species. They all have
their roles and reasons.

Patriarch

I agree it is an underrated wood. Around 50% of the last batch I got
had really noticeable figure once it was planed nicely. That was a heck
of a bargain since it was one of the cheapest woods in the store. To my
tastes, the working qualities were excellent too. Some references list
it as moderately difficult to work, but I don't know why. The streaks
aren't bad if they are compatible with the style of the project--OK if
you are going for a rustic, close to the wood look, but I felt compelled
to cut them out for a more elegant coffee table I was making for my mom
at the time. I found enough figured wood to make the maple part of the
top all figured. It wasn't a heavy quilted figure, but it was enough to
be really eye catching under Rock Hard varnish. I'm pretty well
disgusted with poplar and won't be buying much more of that. Soft maple
is superior in every way. Now I just have to go through all the
hardwood dealers to see if anyone sells it around here, which is
actually kind of funny since the tree is literally like a weed around
here.