Sinker Cypress

[Jeff]

Was checking out a new post by Glennbear, "Recycled Lumber". Some of their things are made from "sinker cypress". I was curious about its origin and appearance. Interesting stuff, but the "call for $ pricing" tells me they aren't giving it away.

http://www.dogtrot-lumber.com/lumber/sink_cypress.htm

Check out the ring count on these old-growth logs.

http://dogtrot-lumber.com/lumber/sink_cypress7_files/sc7_768.jpg

http://dogtrot-lumber.com/lumber/sink_cypress7_files/sc7_774.jpg

 

[Sealeveler]

Preciate the link,lot of purty wood there.
Tony

 

[CrealBilly]

I once pulled an oak out of the tar river, wasn't much of anything special but sure was nasty.

 

[junquecol]

Rivers in eastern NC also contain "sinker logs". In either 1992, or 1993, we went to New Orleans. At the Battle of New Orleans Battle site, there was a cypress about 150' long wedged between dock and bank of river. Biggest tree I had ever seen. Sure wish it would have fit into the overhead bin on plane:rotflm:. With Corp of Engineers studying the removal of dams and locks on Cape Fear, more wood will be exposed. Roanoke river and upper sound are full of sinker logs.

 

[Bryan S]

That is some good looking wood. I saw some at Mark Patterson Sawmill when I was down there a couple of years ago.

 

[Herebrooks]

Hi Jeff: As a Florida woodworker for many years, I grew to love Cypress, river recovered cypress in particular. I had a job once where the clients flew me up to central Florida to pick out the wood from a small sawmill back in the "swamp". It is still my favorite wood to work with. It has incredible diversity of color and grain. In the quarter sawn wood the growth rings are so tight it's hard to count them. It grows in climates that do not have harsh winters so that may be part of the growth ring story. Sinker logs are simply the wood that was so dense it sank when the early loggers tried to float the logs down stream. They also grew in prolific forests where light was in short supply due to the shade of dense foliage. They grew slowly. It's a shame we will probably go through this old growth timber in my lifetime, but at the same time, I'm lucky to have had a chance to work with it. Last time I checked, Goodwin Lumber in Micanopy Florida wanted 16.00/ Bdft. for select vertical grain(quarter sawn). Yikes.
Bill

 

[Jeff]

Interesting information.

"North Carolina, Our State" magazine had an article a few months ago about "stepping" the Cape Fear River from interior southeastern NC to Wilmington for river transport. Probably lots of "sinker" logs in those ponds where they still exist. I think that the Corps of Engineers is gradually clearing them out for better flow so we may find some "sinkers". :dontknow:

My calculator is smoking. At about $16/bf and shipping from Florida/Louisiana/Mississippi, etc. :eusa_booh

 

[Jim M.]

Jeff,
I've worked with some walnut recovered as a sinker log from the Roanoke River. It had some amazing colors variations resembling light and dark flames. Last year I picked up some longleaf pine sinker wood scraps from a local company, it made some cool pens. The wood looked almost tropical when finished. Just across the river is a company who recovers wood from the Cape Fear River. They have great stuff. Jim

 

[Riverwood]

River recovered wood is Beautiful and a Wilmington company that has permits to pull this unique wood from the Cape Fear River is Old Growth Riverwood...their prices are reasonable.

http://www.OldGrowthRiverwood.com