World Record Lumber

[rmihalek]

Does anyone know if there's such a thing as The World's Largest Piece of Lumber? I'm wondering what the size is of largest piece of sawed wood. I recall reading that the masts of some big sailing vessels in the 1800s were made from single pieces, sometimes 80 or 100 feet tall and 30 inches or more at the base. I just don't know if there's been any formal records for such things...

Thanks!

 

[wiley_p]

I,ve seen cants come out of Ketchican that were 33' long and over 3' dia. Not sure a mast qualifies as lumber, since its just peeled and squared on the ends.

 

[arboromega]

i imagine this would be it...
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/
type most massive tree ever into the search there.

 

[rmihalek]

Well, the tallest tree (or largest circumference, etc.) is one thing, but the world's largest piece of lumber is totally different. Obviously, producing the lumber requires the infrastructure capable of handling enormous logs. That's really what I was getting at.

I got some responses elsewhere that indicated the British Royal Navy required masts for some ships that were 3 feet square at the base, 2 feet square at the top, and 100 feet tall. I'm going to try to track down where such a large beam might have been harvested and then how it was processed. My guess is they got the wood from the Pacific Northwest and all the sawing was done by hand.

 

[Newfie]

"I got some responses elsewhere that indicated the British Royal Navy required masts for some ships that were 3 feet square at the base, 2 feet square at the top, and 100 feet tall. I'm going to try to track down where such a large beam might have been harvested and then how it was processed. My guess is they got the wood from the Pacific Northwest and all the sawing was done by hand."


More likely from what is now your backyard. New England, during colonial times was heavily harvested for white pine and white oak for naval ships. The "kings pines" were tagged and off limits to the locals except for the purpose of filling a mast order for the navy. They tagged only the tallest and straightest. EVERYTHING was done by hand back then.

 

[NeTree]

That would make sense; seeing as how the PNW wasn't explored or pupulated by the whites then.

Remember Rob, there's no such thing as virgin timber in Mass. Every tree you see is second/third/etc. growth. When the first whites came here, 100'+ trees were the norm; now they're the exception.

 

[rb_in_va]

Longest 2X4

Excerpted from the following website:
http://www.sunbeltexpo.com/press/index.cgi?pr=15

Marketed in Sweden for the past 10 years, the M7 set a U.S. world record when it came to America--by sawing the world's longest 2 x 4 (114 ft) in Madison, WI. Donated to the local school district, it was signed by the students (as a pledge to stay in school) and hung up as the new "Board of Education."

 

[Sapwood]

Actually it was in Madison Mississippi, even though the artical referenced does say WI. I own one of these mills, handy and lightweight. They do claim to have the world record 2X4!

Sap

 

[Newfie]

Gives new emphasis to the phrase"dumb as a 2x4".

 

[Paul Downes]

I'll bet you could saw a mighty big board out of a redwood tree.