Pandora Factory 1850-2009
I have been calling these beams 159 year old timbers, but that was the time they were harvested. My research says that these trees were usually 200+ years old when harvested. That would make these beams anywhere from 250-300 years old. If there is an arboriculturalist out there that is willing to explain how to count the rings, please let me know.
Well it’s end January and we have finally picked up our last load of beams. As you can see from some of the pictures it is pretty cold outside. Since my shop is located on the second floor of a mill building (Stark Mill) I’ll have to wait for some nice weather to start removing all those huge spikes and nails. This will also require some help from family members to shift the beams around (where’s my son when I need him).
I have no idea how heavy the beams are, but it takes either four guys or heavy equipment like this lull to load them into my truck.
That’s the construction super (Adam on the left), his operator and myself in the pictures above and below loading the beams into my truck.
The last beam being loaded!
Where the beams came from
Above is one of the staircases that the smaller Long Leaf Pine beams came from.
Off loading the beams for temporary storage
My son Kyle and I are unloading the truck.
Who says you can't roll a square log?
De-Nailing some of the smaller beams.
The large beams (white pine) above measure 15″ x 15″ x 8′-0″ , and the smaller (long leaf pine) measure 8″ x 15″ x 8′-0″ . The smaller beams are almost as heavy as the large beams.
Close-up of a White Pine beam with 200+ Years of Growth
As the saying goes a picture (or two, or three) are worth a thousand words. We’ll post some more info and pictures when we take the logs to the saw mill for re-sawing. They say we have a few more weeks of winter left, in New Hampshire that could mean just about anything (May, June??). I would love to have the logs carbon tested for age, but I hear that is quite expensive. Does anyone out there know someone with the right equipment and that would like to volunteer their services?