LeWalter Hardwoods

The Buttonball tree is an exceptionally large American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) located in North Main St, Sunderland, Massachusetts, Northeastern United States.
It's height about 113 feet (34.44 metres) tall,, with a diameter of 12 feet (3.65 metres) at the base,, and 25.8 feet (7.86 metres) in circumference.
It is estimated to be between 350-400 years old.

DID YOU KNOW???

Geographically, there's a major difference between the Appalachian Mountains (which stretch into Maritime Canada), the Appalachian Trail (which goes from Georgia to Maine), and Appalachia.

The latter is more of a cultural distinction, and expands beyond the borders of the mountain range and into neighboring foothills and valleys. This is a great graphic depiction of the difference!

Loggers and the giant Mark Twain redwood cut down in California, 1892.

First boat to travel down the Erie Canal being rebuilt in Buffalo The Seneca Chief sailed when the canal opened in 1825.

This is how big a redwood is. 🌲

Chilly out this morning

A life time of knowledge in the workshop.
Guillaume LaBaleine
Eugene Landons Woodworking Shop

The Newland Oak Gloucestershire in England: The oak tree's origins trace back to around 1000 AD, believed to have been a part of the expansive Forest of Dean, an ancient woodland that once covered a significant portion of Western Gloucestershire.

This oak, specifically an English oak known as Quercus robur, found itself within this wooded expanse. Over time, much of the forest was cleared, giving rise to the neighboring settlement of Newland, named for the land reclaimed from the forest's embrace.

Eventually, the tree stood solitary in a field belonging to Spouts Farm, situated approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of Newland Church. Throughout its existence, this tree was pollarded for its timber, and it carried the name "Great Oak."

The tree's stature earned it a degree of fame as one of the country's largest oaks. In 1839, the antiquary John Timbs dubbed it "one of the most remarkable trees in the country." An engraving of the tree even found its place in P. J. Ducarel's collection of poetry, De Wyrhale, in 1836. By 1874, the oak was noted as "battered and decaying," yet naturalist Edwin Lees speculated that it might endure for another 500 years.

Tragedy struck in May 1955, as heavy snowfall caused significant portions of the tree's structure to collapse. By 1964, the tree was described as "long much-decayed." Though one live branch endured, it fell victim to an arson attack in 1970.

However, a beacon of hope emerged in the form of a replacement tree, grown from an acorn of the original Newland Oak. On December 21, 1964, Cyril Hart, verderer of the Forest of Dean, planted this replacement tree, which continues to thrive. Even in 2011, a partly decayed segment of the original trunk remained visible, serving as a tangible connection to history.

Here’s a Throwback Thursday mystery! 🤔 How do you fit a 16-ft- (4.9-m-) tree slice through a 12-ft- (3.7-m-) doorway? The answer: in pieces! This giant sequoia specimen was cut to fit through the Museum’s doorways in 1912—visitors today can still spot the seams where it was put back together. When this tree was felled by a lumber company in 1891 (which is now illegal), it was 331 ft (100.1 m) tall—taller than the Statue of Liberty. It was also about 1,400 years old. But that’s not very old for a sequoia. This species can live for 3,000 years or more! Imagine how much the world changed during this mighty tree’s lifetime.

Photo: AMNH Library / Image no. 33700

Dovetail goals - Mass timber dovetail joint

This is the oldest wooden staircase discovered to date in Europe, maybe even in the world.
This 3100-year-old wooden staircase was found at Hallstatt salt mine in northern Austria, it's 8 m long and 1.20 wide, and is representative of the construction typical of the Bronze Age.