anyone know where to find a pith core-sampler??

[aquan8tor]

Hey folks. I've seen in a couple books I have about lumber processing, people use a small hand held boring device that cores a small, maybe 1/8 or 3/16" core from a tree---its supposed to be able to completely recover from the coring of such a small sample. I'm curious about the amount of heartwood in a couple walnut trees, and only want to take them now if they are worth it. A couple I've sawn so far were wildly different in the amount of dark heartwood. One had almost 3/4, the other just about half. I know its due to how quickly the trees grew, minerals, etc. I just want to know it to put some trees ahead of others in my priority list....

 

[scottr]

Increment borer

Acquan8tor , I believe you are looking for an increment borer .

 

[woodshop]

Yup, you are looking for an increment borer, they are a little pricey, and I can tell you they are easily broken if you're not very careful, leaving you with a piece of nice precision borer deep in the middle of your tree. Forestry Suppliers carries them as well as many others. This link takes you right to that page if you are interested.


http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/search.asp?stext=increment borer

 

[aquan8tor]

I had no idea they were so expensive. Maybe I'll just go out with a dewalt cordless drill and a long thin drill bit. I can tell from the shavings where the sapwood ends. Thanks guys.

 

[woodshop]

I had no idea they were so expensive. Maybe I'll just go out with a dewalt cordless drill and a long thin drill bit. I can tell from the shavings where the sapwood ends. Thanks guys.

I would think you would have to drill a good sized hole to get that kind of information from drill bit shavings... if you could at all. If you are milling for grade, remember grade is determined partially by how many and how large the defect free clear cuttings on that board are. Therefor be careful where you go drilling holes into the log. A hole drilled through the log means every board has a hole in it at that point, rendering it much less valuable, thus downgrading that lumber.

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

I've wondered this myself but never looked into it. Wow- they are pricey.