Does Madrone Make Good Lumber? Find Out w Woodmizer LT15 Sawmill

A few tips that might be useful- 1. Use a wax based paint to seal the ends of your boards. This prevents splitting and forces more uniform drying. Don’t skimp. 2. Use dry, uniform thickness stickers with thickness in the 1/2”-5/8” range. Place them every 1’ and be sure the stickers align from top to bottom. Not sort of align, but perfectly align. It’s just simple engineering to apply uniform force. 3. Seriously consider using some form of breathable membrane to cover the pack… this will prevent case hardening and slow the drying down to a safe rate (West Coast humidity is so low it can damage lumber (surface checking and warping). 4. Find something very heavy and place it atop the pack or use heavy binding straps every 2’ or so. Check and Retighten every few days. 5. Be sure to store the pack away from wind and sun. I’ve dried lumber for many decades, various domestic and foreign species from 4/4 to 24/4. This is the correct path to keep it from pulling itself apart. Elm is the same way. Good luck.

I used Madrone for paneling in a bathroom. It had been milled to 1/2" and ranged from 4" to 12" wide. It was stacked and stickered and set for about 12 years. I had to drill for every finish nail. it was almost impossible to drive a nail without bending. Was well worth it in end. the colors for the most part were deep dark red.

Good luck Mr. Wilson! Can’t wait to see your cured madrone boards! Hopefully the end of this story doesn’t have a surprise twist.😂

In my younger days, I cut a LOT of madrone for firewood. You had a window of only a few days to split it (by hand) or you would never get it split. I eventually learned to only cut the skinny trees that would fit in the stove without splitting.

Boatbuilder, furnituremaker here. Dunno about Madrone, but the bowed root end can be very useful in live edge boards. Fits against the stem in a boat, or it can be a chair leg or whatever in furniture. A branch crotch makes a nice bowl blank.

I dont know about lumber but I am a woodturner and I know how to process it for turning blanks. Many years ago, it was discovered that if you boil the wood for a couple of hours, it will dry no problem. If you search, you can find an article on it. Granted boiling lumber would be a neat trick. It turns beautifully though.

I grew up in the Seattle area and there was a big die-off of Madrone trees in the 1970's. We had a big tree die in our yard. That Madrone makes beautiful lumber. Love your videos!

I’ve painted the ends - several coats - and then dried it very slowly in log form for a few years before milling. Even then it moves some, but it does settle down - enough that I’ve made door frames of it. Gorgeous wood, alright.

I had several good-sized madrones blow down in a storm some years ago when I lived in the Santa Cruz mountains. Milled a bunch of 3-4' long slabs 14-20" wide. Did a few 3/4 and up to 12/4. Even weughted and stickered the stuff moved. I sealed the ends with watered down wood glue. I hope to get some usable material, but its sitting in my garage. A year later I milled some similar sized CA laurel. I stickered it and wrapped each stack with ratchet straps. Tightened them down every couple of weeks as they dried and shrank. Better results. If it werw me I'd seal the ends pronto and ratchet strap around the trailer frame to keep the stuff from moving.

In Canada, they call the Madrone tree “ Arbutis “. I like that name better because it seems to contain the word beauty. I live in New Hampshire on the east coast and have an affinity for hardwood. To me the Arbutis is gorgeous wood. Your video is the first I’ve seen it milled and it did not disappoint. It’s truly glorious. Well done, my friend. I can’t wait to see what you do with it when it’s dried. I’ll be watching.

I've cut and dried shorter lengths of Madrone. Like people say, it tends to warp and year itself apart. However, if you can slow that drying speed down and strap it it can be done. Treating it with polyethylene glycol is a great solution for turning pieces. One last way I had success was to resaw it after it warps and dries and gluing it to some more stable subsurface like plywood. The rich pinks tend to turn to dull colors but it takes a beautiful shine. Surprisingly brittle, but hard and dense. Yes, I love it as firewood too.

That is actually a beautiful piece of wood,thanks and keep em coming . Give that helicopter a one finger salute.

I went to Cal Poly Humboldt, i was botany/ecology major though I spent some time with the folks in the forestry department. Seeing you talk about trees and land management hits a spot of nostalgia for me. Madrones are one of my favorite trees besides Redwoods and Coast Live Oak. Thank you for making these videos and making your knowledge so accessible, and entertaining too. Stay safe out there and keep up all the fantastic work you doing for the land, more people like you should be in charge of tending the trees.

You are a lucky man with many blessings.

That's beautiful wood, never heard of it before.

you are interesting to listen to thanks

I have milled madrone, and dried it, and also worked with it as a professional carpenter. Everything you said is pretty much true. If you are going to dry it, band it tight ( with stickers) and weight it, and do it under a roof. It will still probably check and twist. If you air dry it it is really susceptible to insects, so kiln drying is recommended. I am telling you this from experience. It does make really beautiful lumber if you get some that dries flat. It does not take stain well, so it should be finished clear. Your best bet would be to mill up a big log...like about 24" diam or better...the color would be a lot darker. Good luck with that. I will probably never bother with it again...except for firewood.

Pretty wood!

Cool Beans!!

That’s some of the prettiest wood I’ve seen on a portable mill!!!