Last June while I was away, my stepson witnessed a large maple in my back yard being struck by lightning (scared the—–out of him). Over the next month the leaves turned and eventually fell off. This spring there are no leaves on it and its obviously dead. My question is: Is the wood possibly usable for anything other than firewood? e.g. woodworking.
Thanks,
Neil
Replies
hi neil,
no lightning expert here. but if the wood was not torqued, twisted or checked it's probably worth salvaging. recently i watched a video on the subject of lightning and its effect on the humans it strikes. quite amazing. astounding actually. "act of god" is the title. glad your s-son is good. when i was 14 i, and my entire 9th grade class, witnessed, from 75 feet or so, the flag pole in front of the school hit by lightning. the large solid metal ball at the top vaporized. looked as if it were animated, cartoon-like. there was a weird smell in the air and few of us could speak for a while after.
eef
It is worth seeing if there is any internal damage to the tree. If there are burns internally when it is taken down, it is probably not worth much but a lot depends on how big it is and if the damage is localized or systemic.
Lesson on thunderstorms
When our two young ones were about ages 2 and 3, a large thunderstorm rolled through. My wife and I sat on their small table in front of the window, each of us holding a child.
Our explanation of the loud noises was "the clouds are bumping into each other" or "it's like bowling". Then BAM, the loudest clap of thunder I've ever heard and a flash of light right across the street. It's hard to say which one of us jumped higher. Needless to say. the lesson was abandoned as Nancy and I sat there shaking.
The next day we saw a pile of bricks in the yard of our neighbor to the rear - and he no longer had a chimney. Close but no cigar. The children, now men, did not appear to be intimidated. Perhaps they should have been giving us lessons.
I got a walnut tree with a huge lightning scar along the side. I milled it into boards. Unfortunately, there was a large metal chain embedded inside the trunk. I ruined six saw blades. This must have been why the lightning was attracted to this tree. The wood is amazing. It has black streaks next to the chochlate brown walnut. It even smells like burnt wood. I have turned a number of bowls from some of the wood and they are spectacular. I am waiting for the perfect project to use the boards.
I got a walnut tree with a huge lightning scar along the side. I milled it into boards. Unfortunately, there was a large metal chain embedded inside the trunk. I ruined six saw blades. This must have been why the lightning was attracted to this tree. The wood is amazing. It has black streaks next to the chochlate brown walnut. It even smells like burnt wood. I have turned a number of bowls from some of the wood and they are spectacular. I am waiting for the perfect project to use the boards.
Thanks all for the comments. I live in the woods on a hill and every couple years witness lightning strikes too close for comfort so I am familiar with the brilliant flash of light quickly followed by the loudest noise imaginable...fortunately the house has never been struck although I have had to replace two satelite dishes and a variety of appliances...most of that stuff is now on surge protectors.....sounds like I'll just have the tree cut down and sawn into eight foot lengths and see if I can tell about internal damage ....it's a really straight fifty foot maple so I'm hoping for some ueable wood....will keep you posted.
Neil
Lightening!
Do you have lightening rods on your house? Do they really work?
Frosty
lightning rods
Years ago a teenager who lived down the street from me and who eventually moved in for a few years put one somewhere around the house and the house was never struck again...I assume the rod works but not knowing where it is, I can't be sure of its effectiveness...an orthopedic surgeon I worked with who lived in Kokomo had his house struck by lightning about ten years ago...burned to the ground.....dangerous stuff....in the midwest we don't have to deal with earthquakes or hurricanes, but the thunderstorms and tornadoes can sure make for some uncomfortable times...I'd rather deal with a snowstorm any day.
Neil
Lighting rods
We all know the purpose of lightning rods is to attract and direct the lightning strike. So why would I put it on my house? A pole taller than the house is much more logical. All new homes have multiple ground bonding sources, water bond to copper pipe, electrical bonding from the service provider and connected to the steel in the foundation. Last thing I would want on my house, a Copper Roof!!
AZMO
Purpose of Lightning Rods
Yes a lightning rod is used to attract lightning. The purpose is to give the lightning an easy path to ground. Lighting takes the "path of least resistance" to earth. If rods are correctly installed they provide a preferred path as opposed to your roof, your tree or yourself.
So, a correctly installed lightning rod system makes your home much safer than it is without.
Lightnin in the air`
Fred,
Judging by your pixture, you have been standin to close to the strike zone. I suggest laying off the 'energy' drinks and don't stand next to the big wire....
Morgan
Yes They Do
If lightning rods are properly installed they work very well. You must avoid sharp bends in the down wires as lightning likes to go in a straight line so it will jump back to your house, barn or tree if it encounters a "detour".
Interestingly, we used to design lightning protection by rolling an imaginary ball with a 150’ radius up to the structure we wanted to protect. Then we rolled it in a 360 degree circle to create a “cone of protection”. Everything inside that cone that didn’t touch the edge of the ball was protected.
Of course now the standards have changed and we use computer programs to design protection. But the old way is still pretty good. (Is “pretty good” OK with lightning? I’m not betting my life on it…)
Best regards,
Fred
Whether or not the tree yields usable wood depends on the basic character of the wood created over the tree's lifetime.
Lightning damage is often limited to the outside of the tree so unless the tree split or blew out large chunks from the strike, the wood should be usable. I have taken down a few trees that were killed or damaged by lightning and the wood was like any other tree from the same species.
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