Nature as Art

While hiking this week in the Big Sur area of CA, came across these interesting pieces of wood.  I've long been amazed at the patterns and shapes you can see in nature.  If the first pic was an inkblot test, what do you see in it?

This one seems fairly obvious

On another downed and weathered log with much of the bark gone, were these patterns.

No Rorschach test on this one - just interesting whorls and curves

More interesting patterns

OK, now I'll fess up.  Besides the bunny in the first pic, I also see (at around the bunny's neck and shoulder) a silhouette of Jimi Hendrix playing guitar.  Only, (if he's facing us in the image) he's playing right-handed and we all know Jimi played left-handed!  What would a shrink reading my inkblot test say about that?

Happy New Year, everybody.  Looking forward to lots of woodworking and learning in 2022.

Red Alder (Alnus Rubra)

My last two projects used red alder and I thought I'd write a little about the wood and my experiences with it.  I have a couple of books that talk about the most commonly used trees, but neither of them includes red alder.

Alder is a member of the birch family.  One of 10 species of alder in America, red alder is the only one that grows large enough and in abundance to be commercially useful.  It usually grows from 50-75 feet tall, occasionally reaching 100 feet.

Internet image: red alder tree

Red alder is the most common and important of the hardwoods in the Pacific Northwest, making up to 60% of the hardwood volume there (not sure if that means volume of hardwood out in nature or in commercial use).  It typically grows within 120 miles of the coast from central California up through coastal British Columbia and into southern Alaska.  Nearer the coast, it grows on cool and moist slopes.  When growing further inland, it is mostly near water drainages (water courses and wetlands).

Image from Wikipedia:
Range of red alder in Pacific Northwest

The bark is gray to whitish, and fairly smooth.  With age, many white lichen spots grow on the bark, giving it a mottled look.  Tufts of moss will also grow on the bark.  The inner bark and wounds turn a red color when exposed to air, giving the tree its name. 

Red alder bark
(Image from nativeplantspnw.com)

While on a hike recently I thought I might have come across red alder.  But when I consulted my Pacific Coast Tree Finder pocket manual (reference below), it appears to have been white alder.  Most of the references I've viewed say that the leaves of the red alder curl at the edges, but none that I saw on the hike or in internet pictures seem to show that.

My copy of Tom Watts' Pacific Coast Tree Finder pocket manual

The page for red and white alder

The leaf from my hike looks more like the white alder

The tree is what is called a "pioneer" species.  It colonizes quickly after soil disturbance - either from flooding, logging, fire, etc.  It grows quickly, which it must, as it does not tolerate shade well.  If lots of seeds germinate, those that grow more quickly will shade out and stunt or kill the smaller trees.

Stands of red alder trees will be found with a dense undergrowth of bushes and ferns.  Its roots have nodules caused by a certain kind of bacteria that "fix" nitrogen in the soil, making it better for other plants to grow.

I read about many uses of red alder wood.  It is low in pitch, making it good for smoking meat and fish.  It is used for furniture, flooring, turning and carving.  Lower grades of the wood are also used for pulp, plywood and chips.

A small carving I recently did in red alder
(thanks to Mary May's YouTube video of same)

The twin shoe shelves I finished a few weeks ago

The coat rack recently completed

The wood is diffuse porous with nicely consistent grain.  I've attempted to take a photo of the end grain, but see Eric Meier's site (link below) for a far better picture at greater magnification.

End grain photographed through the 3X lens of my magnifying glasses

I found the wood very nice to work with hand planes as well as saws and chisels.  The end grain planed fairly easily, also.  However, the plane soles and saw plates needed constant oiling.  Otherwise, they would drag (more so than other woods I've used).  My research found that the wood has little pitch (not sure if that means not resinous), but something in the wood made the tools drag when not oiled.

A few other details: although the wood is described as moderately hard, I found that it can dent fairly easily.  Various sites say that there is little to no difference between heart wood and sap wood.  But some of the boards I used had fairly clear differences.  Not as stark as some woods, but the sap wood was definitely lighter.  Red alder has poor rot resistance.  I would not choose it for outdoor projects.  It might last several years outdoors if not in contact with dirt, but I have no experience with it for such projects.

My projects have been finished in shellac, which resulted in a beautiful honey color and it should darken with time.  I think the wood is quite attractive and will use it again if/when the chance comes.  From what I've read, the world will be seeing more red alder in the future as it has become more popular for furniture.

Sources:

Pacific Coast Tree Finder, 2nd ed. by Tom Watts (pocket manual for identifying Pacific Coast trees)

https://www.wood-database.com/red-alder/  (Eric Meier's great site)

http://owic.oregonstate.edu/red-alder-alnus-rubra  (info from a forestry products point of view)

https://www.naturallywood.com/species/red-alder/  (site promoting BC forest products)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alnus_rubra  (usual Wikipedia stuff - lots of good info)

The Aspen Tree

Recently on vacation in the high country of Colorado, we were treated to many large stands of aspen trees (populus tremuloides).

A stand of aspen showing off the white bark

I'm guessing the species name "tremuloides" has to do with the way the leaves quiver or quake in the wind.  In fact, some common names for aspen are "quaking aspen" or "trembling aspen".

Closer pic of the bark.  Note the lack of lower branches

Aspen trees often shed their lower branches as they grow taller.  Stands of aspen are typically fairly dense and there is competition for light.  The lower branches don't help much in that regard.

A few aspen trees at the edge of a stand.  The one on the right has branches
all the way down it's trunk, but only on the side away from the other trees.

When branches are shed, it leaves a black scar on the trunk.  These are sometimes called "eyes" because of the occasional resemblance.

A thick group of aspens.  Note the black scars.

Close-up of the tree on the left in the previous picture, showing the eyes

These trees live in a pretty tough climate, which can have interesting consequences on their shape.  Look at this small tree.

Very gnarly trunk.  Some full grown trees also had gnarled trunks.

Even with the tough climate, most of the trees were fairly straight.  The largest one I came across was about 18" in diameter.  And, of course, I had to wonder about its use as a furniture wood.  I'd never heard of aspen being used in furniture, so I thought I'd do a little research.  I'll get to that later.

The leaves of an aspen are fairly small, just a couple of inches long and wide.

Top side of an aspen leaf.  Note the interesting vein structure.

Bottom of same leaf, lighter color and very interesting pattern

Close-up of lower portion of above photo

I just love seeing these intricate patterns in nature.  Very cool.  Organized randomness.

Aspens have the ability to sprout from the roots of an existing tree.  In fact, a group of aspen trees may all be related - growing from the roots of the "parent" tree.  After a forest fire, aspens can start up again because the root system below ground is still intact.  It has been said that all the aspens in a grove can be part of the same organism.  That is, their roots are all inter-connected.  I read that there is a grove in Utah that is considered one of the largest living things on Earth.

OK, on to woodworking stuff.  Though I've never seen it in person (pictures of the long grain and end grain are here), aspen wood seems very similar to what we call poplar in texture and hardness (it's very soft for a "hardwood").  Here's the tough part - what we know of as poplar (or tulip poplar, or yellow poplar - the one with the greenish heartwood) is actually not a true poplar.  The true poplars are from the genus populus, which includes the aspen, white poplar and cottonwoods.  What we know in America as "poplar" (liriodendron tulipifera), the one that contains the greenish heartwood, is actually in the magnolia family and is not a true poplar.

From what I've found online, aspen is often used as a pulp wood for paper manufacture and its chips are one of the most used in OSB.  However it can be used for furniture, but because of its softness it will bruise easily.

Sources for the information presented above include:

• Eric Meier's Wood Database website at https://www.wood-database.com/quaking-aspen/
• The National Park Service's site for Bryce Canyon: https://www.nps.gov/brca/learn/nature/quakingaspen.htm
• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspen