I have a silver maple tree, over 40 yrs old, that is in a bad place (northwest corner of front yard) for shade. Also, its roots have made sewer cleaning a twice a year project as well as replacing said line. All this said, I'd like to remove it. Is the wood of any value for gunstocks and furniture? Should I advertise the tree for sale? Any help would be greatly appreciated. (#@%*@#%# tree)

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Is the wood of any value for gunstocks and furniture?

It's soft wood.....much like pine or thereabouts.

By the time you get the sawing done and dried and planed.....it's just not worth it IMO.....a big walnut tree is another story however.

Use it for firewood.....the tree will likely cost you to have it removed.....

I just cut down a couple Silver Maples. They were huge trees. The wood was real white and cut like butter with the chain saw. I really can't imagine it'd have any good use other than firewood but I may be wrong.

The specific properties of silver maple are generally the same as red maple and big-leaf maple and collectively they are called the soft maples; the later two both being used for gunstocks. It is not as hard as sugar and black maple which collectively are called rock or hard maple, but how many 'Smith enjoy working fiddleback hard maple. I have a blank of red that is very nice and this is actually a common stockwood in the past. Additioanlly, the big-leaf maple is the main producer of quilted grain. Yeah if you are from Oregon, you prefer to call it Oregon maple, as you also do with your hybrid walnut, and myrtle, and several other species of wood.


Hard Maple Mechanical Values
Weight 44 lbs/cu.ft.
Specific Gravity 0.68
Hardness 1450 lbs
Stiffness 1830 / 1000 psi
Bending Strength 15800 psi
Shearing Strength 2330 psi
Max. Crushing Strength 7830 psi

Soft Maple Mechanical Values
Weight 34 lbs/cu.ft.
Specific Gravity 0.48
Hardness 850 lbs
Stiffness 1450 / 1000 psi
Bending Strength 10700 psi
Shearing Strength 1730 psi
Max. Crushing Strength 5950 psi

Thanks for the advice, gentlemen, This tree may, say again, may become this winter's firewood.

Just a few photos of "Soft Maple." there is some silver and big-leaf here.

Hey Prof242, I'd say make a stock out of it, just put it on a nice lightweight, soft recoiling rifle. 333_OKH posted some amazing pictures of how this stuff ends up. Hell if you ain't gonna do it I'll even contemplate taking some of it off your hands!

333: what kind of maple are those stocks from??
Please state which is which. thank you,


Prof: please contact me. I'm in Pueblo and could arrange to haul the log to a sawmill that custom cuts logs for hire.

No, I wouldn't want to cut it down, nor am I able at present, but, I'd sure like to have the trunk, or at least pictures of the tree. How big in diameter is it? Is it dead yet? Don't sound like it, but, want to confirm.

georgeld@hotmail.com

Main problem would be loading it on a trailer. Can one be backed up near the tree, or where it would fall?

All the limbs would make lot's of firewood, right?

Thanks much,

George

Stockwood was big-leaf maple from the Pacific Northwest (Or, WA, CA). The Spalted wood block is red maple and the board is from a varigated silver maple that was only about 35 years old.

The maple boards are urban salvage that I have done.

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Main problem would be loading it on a trailer. Can one be backed up near the tree, or where it would fall?

Portable bandmill, or a circ mill if boards are no wider than 8 inches. The smaller mills can be set up over the log and milled on the spot. Lucas circular sawmill or a bandmill like a Hud-Son or Norwood.

The tree isn't dead yet, though I wish it were. I'll have to measure it and find out its size (too big to get my arms around and I have 34" sleeve length). Its close to street. If I can get it down, would be willing to share with AR members if it looks good for anything.
I have several light-recoiling rifles that could use a new stock, especially a .17HMR and a .243.

Rent a Genie TZ50 manlift and you should be able to get it done at a fraction of the cost of hiring it out. My neighbor was quoted $1500 per tree.