Utilization of Urban Trees

1. Utilization of Urban Trees ■ Kyle Eastwood ■Mike Mittman ■ Jeff Wallace ■

2. Overview • Client • Urban Trees • Issues • Product Chain • Methods • Results • Conclusions

3. Client • Perficut Tree Service • Urban tree care service based out of Des Moines • Primary Contact: • Ralph Conner- ISA Board Certified Master Arborist

4. Secondary Client • ISU Forestry Extension • Jesse Randall • Urban tree utilization publication • Request for additional funding

5. Can Urban Trees Be Utilized? • 3-4 billion board feet wasted each year (Bratkovich, 2001) • Markets exist but there are complexities: • Unpredictable supply • Constantly shifting markets • Capital investment vs. third-party contracting • Access to raw material • Highly variable log quality Des Moines, IA

6. General Issues • Unpredictable availability of quality trees • Market trends • Constantly in change • Shrinking domestic furniture industry • Costs involved • Start up costs • Operational costs • Access to logs

7. Issues Log quality concerns • Metal in trees • Potentially high amounts of tension/juvenile wood • Short trunks/low branches • Level of uncertainty in any given log

8. The Product Chain Raw Materials Processing Site Milling of Lumber Sub-contract Urban Trees: Street trees City parks Private Residences On-Site Log Yard: ~1 acres Area to store logs Milled on site Transportation Milled off site by contractor Log Trucks Wood Drying Finished Product Markets Kiln drying: Contracted out Air drying: shelter Custom local markets Dry lumber ready to sell By-products Saw Dust Chips

9. Raw Materials: Urban Tree Supply • Supply • Storms • Pest/ pathogens • Hazard trees • Most valued (Cassens, 2002) • Cherry • Sugar maple • Walnut • Moderately valued • Ash • Basswood • Silver and red maple http://www.collierarbor.com/probTreeHazards.php

10. Log Hauling • Options • Trailer~$3,500+ • Contract out • Other • Peavey ~$90 • Log carrier~$120 www.americanbandsawcompany.com/online_store.htm

11. The Log Yard • Log Yard • 1-3 acre log yard to house operation • Standard Equipment • Chainsaws • Spare blades • Stickers • Drying area

12. The Mill • What are the options when looking at portable sawmills?

13. Drying

14. Logs to Lumber Marshalltown, IA • Prices per Bd. Ft. • 25 cents to kiln dry • 25 cents to saw • 20 cents to plane • 10 cents to join (edge)

15. Markets • Highly variable prices • Wide range of buyers • Newspaper classifieds • Internet • Classifieds (www.agriseek.com) • Auction sites (e-bay) • Lumber with unique features can have niches in some markets “Window bench” made by a DSM Woodworking Association member

16. Case Study: Can Urban Tree Utilization be Economically Feasible in Central Iowa?

17. Case Study Details • Seven trees from Des Moines’ West Side • Single property • Bucked into 17 logs of varying sizes • Logs ranged from 4-10 feet • Processed through a portable saw mill • Four “days” of sawing • Approximately 10.5 hours spent sawing and stacking • Three Forestry students on a mission

18. Methods: Harvest/Collection • Trees were cut into logs (approx = 50% of whole tree) • Longer logs are preferred • Logs loaded onto trailers by hand • Transported to Randall property for milling

19. Methods: Milling • Measurements taken for small end diameter and log length • Log is squared and flitch cut

20. Methods: Milling

21. Turner Mill Hydraulic portable saw mill • Trailer model ≈ $15,000

22. 1 2 3 Methods: Milling 1 2 3 • Individual boards are measured for heartwood width, length and thickness • Boards given a grade from 0-3

23. Grading National Hardwood Lumber Association • Width • Length • Clear timber

24. Methods: Stacking • Boards must be properly stacked to prevent warping • Keys to a good stack • Uniform stickers and sticker spacing • Heavy top load to counter drying tension (~40 lbs./ft2) (Prestemon, 1999)

25. Results • 7 Trees/ 17 Logs of varying size • 1313 bd/ft • 151 individual boards • 10 grade 0 • 67 grade 1 • 50 grade 2 • 40 grade 3

26. Results • Production • Our crew varied from 3-5 • There was little variance in hourly yield • Maximum output occurred with the group of three

27. Results: Operating Costs • A total of 1313 Bd. Ft. cut • Three saw blades ($17 per) • Eight gallons gas ($3.42 per) • 10 ½ hours to mill and stack (~$15/hr) Total milling costs approximated at: $551 • Add $591 to plane & kiln dry through “Logs to Lumber” • Total costs to produce 1,313 Bd. Ft. surfaced kiln dried lumber: $1,142

28. Conclusions • Market conditions make quantifying potential profits difficult • Jobs like the one south of Ingersoll are ideal and could make this a worth while venture • Owning a sawmill could give you a competitive advantage • Profits will not be realized in the short-run

29. Works Cited • Bratkovich, Stephen M. 2001. Utilizing Municipal Trees: Ideas From Across the Country. USDA Forest Service. • Cassens, Daniel; Rita Mckenzie. 2002. Use of Urban and Development Site Trees for Lumber. Purdue University Extension Publication. • Prestemon, Dean R. 1999. Forestry Extension Notes: Air and Solar Drying of Hardwood Lumber. Iowa State University Extension. • http://www.collierarbor.com/probTreeHazards.php • http://www.woodmizer.com/us/sawmills/hydraulic/LT40H/lt40hPromo.aspx • http://turnermills.com/FeaturesSpecs.html • http://www.bandmill.com • http://www.iowalogstolumber.com/