Chain of custody...who cares?

[MAPLEMAN]

I had a reply to an add I posted on gumtree, I was looking for trees to salvage, Upon visiting the person I found they had nearly a dozen blackwood logs 4mts long 6-700mm dia. I asked what they did for a living they said they were "loggers", I left it at that and walked away these trees I felt were not harvested legally. Seems since then they have been off loading milled timber through ebay.
I think we need to be careful about local timbers also.

Absolutely right...couple of years back in Nth Qld,this clown takes himself and truck loaded with skidder into a national park and helps himself to over 100 ton of Maple/Walnut/Oak/Silkwood(only primary species of course) and takes off...only thing was,his truck had an oil leak,which left a black sticky trail on the road,which led the police conveniently to his stash of logs ...he got 6 months bed and breakfast for his effort

[artme]

All this seems to me to be a really strong argument for an increased use of veneers on sustainable sub-straight material.

It would mean educating the masses to understand that fine furniture and objet d'art can be made to fine tolerances and masterly crafted with veneers, which in the main are more stable and ('cos it's thinner) more plentiful that solid timber.

Instead of a tacky, cheap alternative to solid timber.


Cheers

Steve

This is true!. Have a look at the wonderful pieces done by Woodwould. All veneered, as were the originals on which he models his work!!

I was in Tassie a few years back an was listening in to a fellow in a furniture shop in Salamanca Place extolling the virtues of veneer.
I was stunned when one clown insisted that solid timber articles were better!

[MAPLEMAN]

Just a point of clarification: I don't mean "there's an empty padock - plant it out" because as Rustynail says paddocks are rotated, and different species require reasonably specific conditions to grow properly.

Why not plant it out Brett..with species that are commercial and endemic to the area...the benifits could be improved soil quality,greater bio-diversity,soil stabilisation,shade for stock,carbon credits,timber(for use on the farm or resale),greater land value,weed suppression,improved aesthetics..aren't these benifits incentive enough?

[FenceFurniture]

If the paddock is unused for long enough to be classified as "probably not going to be used again" then sure, plant it out. If it's just in rotation, then the farmer should surely know what he's doing. The thing I'd like to see addressed is combining both, if, and where possible. I've had plenty of good vege crops where there isn't consistent sun all day long (referring to the fact that trees throw shade, so all crop paddocks have no trees).

[MAPLEMAN]

If the paddock is unused for long enough to be classified as "probably not going to be used again" then sure, plant it out. If it's just in rotation, then the farmer should surely know what he's doing. The thing I'd like to see addressed is combining both, if, and where possible. I've had plenty of good vege crops where there isn't consistent sun all day long (referring to the fact that trees throw shade, so all crop paddocks have no trees).

Brett..next time you go for a drive in the 'country',look around and witness the high level of land degradation...it's everywhere...and why? you might ask ...we have removed far too many trees from the landscape...it's a national disgrace..our waterways are polluted,choked with weeds,the animals that used to live in them are now gone,along with the forest dwelling critters..gone too..don't tell me the farmer knows what he's doing..i live on 700 acres,most of it has been hacked to pieces..a great legacy for the next generation..bugger all trees left,and what few remain are either diseased / dying through exposure,or slipping into the creek as they are no longer protected from the ravages of flood..we haven't seen a wallaby on this property for years..their habitat has been wiped out,,plenty of cows though..when are people going to wake up to the fact that we can not survive without trees..they are critical for our survival,and yet we do everything we can to destroy them..planting trees is a very good habit to get into,and to witness them growing is a true joy...if we don't address the problem of deforestation soon,the consequences will be catastrophic..

[Homeleigh]

I try and check, but most of the timber I use now is recycled from prunings and trees down. Just scored some oak branches that were pruned, the tree said to be at least 100 years old.

[Mobyturns]

To put things into perspective,when the the timber industry was at its peak in Nth Qld many years ago,they were flat out extracting 300,000 m3 of saw log a year,let alone per month...i think now it is less than 15,000m3 annually...

and some of it is still illegally cut! Been a few court cases in FNQ involving illegally logged timber from areas like Mt Hippamee crater NP and Woolanmaloo Nth (Nth bank of Mulgrave / Russel river). World Heritage decimated a viable responsibly managed rainforest timber industry, but it was on the slide when the greedy companies moved in. Hardly any rainforest mills left now.

[MAPLEMAN]

I try and check, but most of the timber I use now is recycled from prunings and trees down. Just scored some oak branches that were pruned, the tree said to be at least 100 years old.

Cheers Homeleigh...glad to hear you making a positive effort..salvage is a brilliant alternative..locks the carbon up,and takes the pressure off those trees still standing..surburban salvage can also yield some interesting and sought after species as well..good on ya mate

[MAPLEMAN]

and some of it is still illegally cut! Been a few court cases in FNQ involving illegally logged timber from areas like Mt Hippamee crater NP and Woolanmaloo Nth (Nth bank of Mulgrave / Russel river). World Heritage decimated a viable responsibly managed rainforest timber industry, but it was on the slide when the greedy companies moved in. Hardly any rainforest mills left now.

Hardly any rainforest left...and what remains has been battered to death by cyclones in recent years..again,too much of the forest has been hacked at,and because of this,the forest has no means of protecting itself from what nature throws at it...i'm glad they have locked it up..the forests of the Atherton Tablelands are a shadow of their former self..they were never responsibly managed..hence(the forests) are nearly all gone!

[A Duke]

As the old saying has it some people take 20 years to grow a tree, others 20 minuets to cut it down. And that was before the chainsaw was invented.
Regards

[shedbound]

Could deforestation be part of our erratic weather pattern's of late? who knows if mother nature is fighting back trying to reclaim the world, I'd hate to see what she throws at us when she's had enough?

[MAPLEMAN]

Could deforestation be part of our erratic weather pattern's of late? who knows if mother nature is fighting back trying to reclaim the world, I'd hate to see what she throws at us when she's had enough?

Good question Shedbound...the weather is greatly influenced by the forests of our great planet..i reckon she's had enough...we have just about pushed her to the limit

[FenceFurniture]

Brett..next time you go for a drive in the 'country',look around and witness the high level of land degradation...it's everywhere...

Yeah, guess I was trying to be polite to our farmers. I was thinking about this for a while before responding: speaking broadly, we've had a lot of DIY farmers here for a long time (remember all those that were given a grant of land after their sentence was finished), and it's really only been in the last 25 or so years that the new generations of farmers have actually studied farming at tertiary level. Many, or most, of those people knew nothing of farming, and so they no doubt just did what they were told by "experts", who were themselves probably self-taught.

My own ancestors were given various grants of land in northern NSW, and I know that they had no history of farming (but rathermore timber-getting)

We know what frequently happens with DIY renovations.......so it would seem likely that the same thing would occur on the land where it's in the hands of people who don't know anything/enough about land care.

As near as I can tell (from a limited perspective) the trees were removed for two reasons:

• they supposedly sucked up all the water (which sounds like bollocks because they get their water from roots that are much further down than crop or pasture roots)
• they make using broad harvesting machinery more difficult/impossible

Ozhunter may be able to provide some insight here, being a farmer and all. Not sure how many generations it goes back in his family, but certainly his father was/is on the land.

[hp8]

Could deforestation be part of our erratic weather pattern's of late? who knows if mother nature is fighting back trying to reclaim the world, I'd hate to see what she throws at us when she's had enough?

East coast of Oz has been battered in the last 4 weeks. Lets see what devestation Rusty causes in WA

[FenceFurniture]

And speak of the devil.....

I know MM has seen this thread, and it's bang on where we (I?) have deviated to in this discussion.