Bombarde16 Posted December 1, 2013 Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 ...that a lot of us will welcome a juvenile conifer into our homes. So, I have to ask: Once Saint Nick has made his yearly rounds, has anyone ever made anything out of the wood in a Christmas tree? (Aside from smoke...) Ours this year is an 8' Fraser Fir. Figure on a "bole" of maybe 6" max diameter getting skinnier and skinnier from there. It'll be sopping wet, knotty as all get out and include the pith running through the middle. My first random thought was to auger out the pith and then turn some sort of decorative vessel. Perhaps split it down the middle and make miniature bowl blanks? Turn ornaments for next years tree? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBaker Posted December 1, 2013 Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 Neat idea. Funny you should bring it up. I was thinking, just the other day, that a Christmas Tree has to have some of the highest board foot pricing that there is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted December 1, 2013 Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 We have a Santa ornament that a guy carved out of a branch crook from a used Xmas tree. It has a long thin section that you hook into the tree and a Santa face carved and painted into the thicker branch section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted December 1, 2013 Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 I used to put up 12 to 16 ft Christmas trees. A fresh one will fit through a 3 ft front door. After it has dried up a bit when you pull the lights and ornaments it is stiff and 8 ft wide at the base. So I would lop the branches off and burn the thicker chunks with the trunk sections in the fireplace. It was the only times I ever burned soft wood and boy does it burn fast and hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave H Posted December 1, 2013 Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 My Mom and Dad used to buy a live tree every year for Christmas a different kind every year until they passed. The house is no longer in the family but the tree's are still growing on the property some are 70'-80' tall you could mill them up and, build houses out of them if you wanted to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted December 1, 2013 Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 We used to sink them off my uncle's lake house dock for crappie cover. It was a great excuse to get in one more day of holiday beer drinking. Then my wife got all environmentally conscious and bought an artificial tree. I tried to explain to her about tree farms and how the manufacture of plastics is probably more environmentally damaging blah, blah, blah...save your breath fellas. I can't imagine the wood being "good" for anything, but carving little ornaments out of select chunks sounds like a neat tradition to start...if you like carving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmykx250 Posted December 1, 2013 Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 Interesting idea. I always keep last years tree and burn it in our fire pit in the following fall. We have a large pit and it goes up with a flash- the kids just love the show. Now im going to go and have a look and see what that tree could possibly yield. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodbutcher74 Posted December 1, 2013 Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 We used to sink them off my uncle's lake house dock for crappie cover. It was a great excuse to get in one more day of holiday beer drinking. Then my wife got all environmentally conscious and bought an artificial tree. I tried to explain to her about tree farms and how the manufacture of plastics is probably more environmentally damaging blah, blah, blah...save your breath fellas. I can't imagine the wood being "good" for anything, but carving little ornaments out of select chunks sounds like a neat tradition to start...if you like carving. In my area the boy scouts go around and collect them and sink em in the lakes at our conservation club. Great habitat for baitfish, which in turn attracts the bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted December 1, 2013 Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 Our local city recycle them into chippings to go onto woodland paths. We just put them in the street for them to collect on the designated day and don't think about them anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Proctor Posted December 1, 2013 Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 Our tree goes back into the box and down to the basement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bombarde16 Posted January 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2021 (A zombie topic rises from the grave!) So, seven years later, I'm finally going to give this a shot. This is the wreckage of my girlfriend's 7' concolor fir. (long, grayish needles, smells like citrus) I've also got a 6' fraser fir that will come down later this week for a similar reckoning with the band saw. The goal is to process this into strips which I can then chop up for a segmented turning of some sort. Perhaps a sphere? Stickered and stacked in the basement. Now we wait to see how badly they're going to self-destruct. I'm betting I'll know within a month whether or not this was a stupid idea. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted January 5, 2021 Report Share Posted January 5, 2021 Looks like a good chance at a stab! Good luck and keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 5, 2021 Report Share Posted January 5, 2021 Whatever project you make, it will always have the color of 'thriftwood'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin-IT Posted January 5, 2021 Report Share Posted January 5, 2021 Locally, they feed them to goat: Village of Champlain gifts leftover Christmas trees to goats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.