I am trying to find out just what the colour of a Giant Redwood is inside once it has been cut, this info is needed to paint the top of these great looking giant Redwood stumps which I have 18 of and I am making a special area just for them. If any others are interested in buying these, they can be bought from Walt Gillespie who's website is http://www.aimtrainers.com/fall_creek_rr.htm These are fantastic castings. The photo just shows one sitting on the baseboard, it is not buried in yet, in fact this one ain't even going to be here, it is just to show what they look like.
Thanks Slimjim, thats just what I needed to see in order to get these stumps the right colour, thanks again friend. Paul
Paul, The color of redwood depicted in that link is good for newly milled lumber. However, redwood that has been exposed to the elements for a time will oxidize and turns the wood a silver-gray color. People who have redwood siding and / or decks on the coastal areas of California purposely allow their wood surfaces to "silver" as it reduces the need to paint or stain so often. Accordingly, the cut surface of an old stump would be silver-gray while a fresh cut tree would be red. But don't let the environmentalists catch you cutting old growth redwoods ...
Yep, the tree huggers will be upset . All the redwoods I have seen are exactly as described red or reddish brown when first cut, silver/gray when weathered. Weathering can take as little as a year, depending on where the tree is (exposure to the forces of nature). John
Redwoods were highly prised because they don't rot as fast as other woods do. The other reason is that some of those trees were so huge, (150 to 250 feet tall) that three houses could be built out of just one tree! I have heard scholars speculate about maybe "The Cedars of Lebanon" (that King Soloman built the Temple with), were actually the redwood trees since both are a red wood, and smell good.
Hi Paul I live in the Humboldt/Mendocino redwoods of Northern California right in the middle of the logging/enviro old growth arguement. The info you recieved was mostly right. Newly cut redwood is Red, Brown and yellowish white inside. The colors follow the grain kind of. Untreated old weathered redwood turns grey, it takes a couple of years. It lasts a lot longer if it is stained. My deck is made out of it. About stumps and roots. Redwoods don't show much root above ground, they don't have much under ground either. High winds (50mph and above) can blow them over. On my logging outfit I use Sand Bar Willow (second growth for Redwood logs. I find it by rivers and streams. Sand Bar willow looks very close to N scale redwood when cut. The razor saw leaves perfect saw marks. A little light stain, and I think they look very realistic. I use the left over bits for stumps, in the pics you can see them used for clear-cuts. [ 29 May 2002, 00:50: Message edited by: ByronV ]
