# Twisted trees...does that mean anything on the inside?



## chippin-in (Jun 8, 2012)

I have seen a few trees where the bark is in a spiral pattern... like some giant grabbed the top of the tree and twisted it. Does that have any affect on the inside? grain pattern? 

I'll take pics if that would help, but does anyone know what Im talkin about?

Thanks
Robert


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## davduckman2010 (Jun 9, 2012)

one of my hugh ambrosia maple logs is twisted like that it has a lot of stripes in it havent milled that one yet i was wondering that to . ill find out soon i quess . should be interesting:dunno::dunno: dave


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## Mike1950 (Jun 9, 2012)

If it is a western cedar it means if you split it the grain will follow the twist. If the bark is straight the grain is straight as an arrow.


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## Mizer (Jun 9, 2012)

chippin-in said:


> I have seen a few trees where the bark is in a spiral pattern... like some giant grabbed the top of the tree and twisted it. Does that have any affect on the inside? grain pattern?
> 
> I'll take pics if that would help, but does anyone know what Im talkin about?
> 
> ...



The grain of the wood will match whatever the bark is doing. If there is a swirl , ( we always call them cat faces) bump, or any type of break in the bark the wood will reflect the same. The bark (and the end grain) are what veneer buyers have to go by when they are grading a log, and they are very good at finding fault.


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## chippin-in (Jun 9, 2012)

If memory serves me correctly, I think one was oak and one pecan, but I will look again and take pics.

Thanks
Robert


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## Kevin (Jun 9, 2012)

The defect as far as movement that I hate the most is twist. And as Brian says if the bark is twisting aka spiraling then the wood will too. I don't even fall twisted trees they are a RPITA.


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## HomeBody (Jun 9, 2012)

The osage trees around here are twisted due to the wind if they are growing up on the prairie. If they are growing down in the bottoms they are always straight. Gary


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## chippin-in (Jun 9, 2012)

Very interesting info. Thanks for all the replies.

Robert


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## chippin-in (Jun 9, 2012)

Soooo, in other words, I did not find the holy grail of trees and I should stay away from them. Got it.

I have heard people say they can tell when a tree, maple for example, is curly just from looking at the exterior. How??

Thanks
Robert


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## gvwp (Jun 9, 2012)

chippin-in said:


> Soooo, in other words, I did not find the holy grail of trees and I should stay away from them. Got it.
> 
> I have heard people say they can tell when a tree, maple for example, is curly just from looking at the exterior. How??
> 
> ...



Trees with heavy curl will show a ripple in the bark. Its not as easy to determine a tree with light curl when its standing and the bark is on the tree. If you walk through a log yard and look at Maple logs you can tell a curly log easily if the bark is knocked off part of the log. Its much easier to see the ripple if the bark is removed. You can determine a birdseye log by looking at the cut ends. A stripe will appear on the end of the cut. More stripes is heavier birdseye. Not to confuse with a wormy stripe. Heavy ambrosia Maple will show a starburst pattern but is much easier to see with black and blue color. I had good photos of all of these before I lost my previous hard drive. :dash2::dash2: I've got to make better backups! :dash2:


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## Mandolin (Jun 15, 2012)

To me, twisted trees mean several things: warp, cup, bow, split. I don't even fool with them.


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