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Supplies
for Tree-Ring Research
One
of the most commonly asked questions posed to tree-ring scientists
concerns the supplies we use to (1) obtain cores and cross sections, (2)
prepare the surface of our wood, and (3) date the tree rings. Finding the
proper supplies is not an easy task. You'll need the right tools to do the
job right the first time - remember, you often don't get a second chance
when doing tree-ring research. Some of the supplies I list below are
optional - you don't have to have them all.
This
list will also provide hints about what supplies will make the task of
tree-ring dating even easier. For example, to clean your increment borer,
you can use a 22 rifle gun cleaning kit. If you have any questions about
supplies used in tree-ring research, contact me, and I'll see if I can
help. If you know of a particular supply I don't have listed that would
benefit others, let me know.
Lastly,
if you would like to help me maintain and keep these web pages updated,
please consider buying some select supplies from my Tree-Ring
Supplies
store with Amazon.com. I receive a small (4%) royalty for any item
purchased when accessed through the links on this page!
BELT
SANDERS
Belt
sanders are the standard for providing both rough (coarse) and fine
surfaces to increment cores extracted from a tree as well as for full or
partial cross sections. The fine art of sanding wood is discussed in a
vast amount of trade journals. Even your local wood shop can tell you how
best to sand your specimens, but keep in mind that surface is everything
to a dendrochronologist! An improperly surfaced specimen will be useless
for dendrochronology! Take the time to learn and do it right the first
time - you may not get a second chance.
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You
can buy belt sanders from a local store like Sears and True Value
Hardware. Here in the United States, they come in three sizes: 3" X
21", 3" X 24", and 4" X 24", with the latter
being widest and covering more area of wood. I've found the 3" X
21" sander, with optional legs to hold the sander upside-down, is
best for sanding cores, while the larger 4" X 24" is best for
sanding cross sections. Prices are about US$150 for a good Bosch 3" X
21" belt sander, while a Makita (highly recommended) 4" X
24" goes for about US$ 250. Be sure to check out (and hopefully buy)
the belt sanders I've selected on my Tree-Ring
Supplies
store page.
HAND
PLANERS
Hand
planers are considered the best means for initial preparation of the
surface on cross sections because they remove the cuts left by chain saws
very rapidly. I was amazed at their ease of use (but they are dangerous)
and the quality of the surface left after planing. In general, these can
be purchased at all hardware stores, such as True Value, Ace, and Sears. A
good Bosch or Makita 3" planer is about $US 150.
PLASTIC
WRAP FOR CROSS SECTIONS
This
plastic wrap is the kind you see wrapped around large palettes to tightly
hold boxes in place (it's usually light yellow, but opaque). We've found
this type of wrap to be ideal for wrapping cross sections collected in the
field to hold them together. I highly recommend using the plastic wrap in
the 5" size. These can now be found for very reasonable prices at
many office supply stores, such as Office Depot! Look in the aisle with
large mailing envelopes, boxes, and shipping supplies, on the bottom
shelf! However, you can also order these from Amazon.com through my Tree-Ring
Supplies
store.
GUN
CLEANING KITS
Did
I say "gun cleaning kits?" Yes, I did. Why on earth would you
want to buy one of these? Because they are the absolute best way to keep
your increment borer clean! An extendable rod with a small bit of linen
inserted through a slot in the tip is used to clean out the debris from
inside your expensive increment borer. They're cheap, and well worth the
investment. They can be bought at any large variety store, such as K-Mart
and Wal-Mart, and can also be found at any gun shop. Be sure to purchase a
cleaning kit for a 22 caliber rifle.
BAND
SAWS
Another
heavy-duty item for the well-stocked dendro-laboratory! All tree-ring
laboratories either have one of these band saws, or they have access to
one in a nearby carpentry shop. These saws are an absolute must for
"downsizing" the cross sections you collect in the field, and
are also used to cut up the sticks used to mount increment cores.
These
are expensive, and deserve a lot of safety training. The best models have
a "throat" (the width of a section that can be cut) of about
12", available on 20" band saw models (the 20" refers to
the width of the wheel that turns the band saw, not the cutting
height). Prices vary, but Grizzly
Imports offers their 24" model
for $2,195.00. The Tool
Peddler has a 20" Delta Wood
Bandsaw (my favorite brand) for $2,095, and is the same one used in my lab
at Tennessee and at the Tree-Ring Lab in Tucson.
MAP
TUBES
Another
strange item - while dendrochronologists are fond of carrying maps into
the field, we actually use map tubes for another reason. They make an
excellent storage container for all those increment cores we collect and
place in straws! They're largely water-proof, they're sturdy, and they're
made of light-weight plastic.
You
can buy map tubes from any map and flag store as well as your university
book store, as these usually have them as well. The map library at your
university library will also some but try to avoid the cardboard map
tubes, as these will get soggy when wet. These days, you can buy such
plastic tubes online at office supply stores
Alternatively,
you can easily make such a storage container for your straws using
ordinary PVC pipe from your local hardware store! Just buy caps for both
ends, cut the 4" pipe to your desired length, then permanently glue
one cap on one end. Keep in mind that you may be taking cores up to
18" long if you have a 20" borer, so make your tube of an
appropriate length. Use the other cap to close the container. Simple.
FIELD
SUPPLIES
OK, so
what about all the miscellaneous field supplies used in tree-ring
research? You'll need:
- a dbh tape
(also called "d-tapes" - required) - measures the diameter
of the tree at breast height (hence, "dbh").
- plastic
flagging (usually needed) - to mark
your trees, plot boundaries, whatever. Also wrap some of this around
the end of the extractor on your increment borer so it won't get lost
if you drop it. Try to get biodegradable flagging tape.
- a sharpening kit
(required) - for your increment borers, a must in the field.
Learn how to properly sharpen your increment borer.
- an increment borer
starter (optional) - a plate that fits between your chest and the
borer, holding the borer steady while you get it started in the tree.
- 2"
strapping tape (optional) - ideal
for holding together pieces from a cross section of a tree, if you
don't have any plastic wrap (see above).
- WD-40 or some
such lubricant/protectant to keep your increment borer clean and
rust-free.
- field
notebooks to write in, preferably
the "Write-in-the-Rain" types.
- Sharpies (or
some type of black felt-tip marker). Use fine-tip Sharpies to write on
your straws and thick-tip Sharpies to write on your cross-sections.
All these types of
supplies can be purchased from forestry supply companies, such as:
The
Ben Meadows Co.
Box 80549
Atlanta, Georgia 30366 USA
mail@benmeadows.com
Phone: 1-800-241-6401
Fax: 1-800-628-2068
International: 770-455-0907
Forestry
Suppliers, Inc.
205 West Rankin Street
P.O. Box 8397
Jackson, Mississippi 39284-8397 USA
Phone: 601-354-3565
Fax: 601-355-5126
Telex: 585330
fsi@forestry-suppliers.com
LABORATORY
SUPPLIES
I would be remiss if I didn't list all the "little" things you
will need to ensure a well-stocked dendro laboratory. Things like:
-
dissecting probes - you know, those sharp long
needle-like things you used to dissect "Happy," your high
school frog. These probes are used for marking the decadal rings of
wood once they've been crossdated: one tiny hole for each decade ring
(e.g., 1960, 1970, 1980, etc.), two for each 50th year (e.g.,
1850, 1950, etc.), and three for the century years (e.g., 1700,
1800, 1900, etc.).
- graph
paper -
you'll need something to graph the narrow rings when you construct
your skeleton plots. The best kind is made by Keuffel & Esser (K&E) and has 25 squares per centimeter (5X5).
You can order this from
DraftingSteals.com,
order number 461610. I
actually print out my own graph paper for creating skeleton plots, in
the traditional light green color, using software called
Graph
Paper Printer.
- mechanical
pencils - the kind of pencils with
very thin lead that you can click down. These are ideal for making
preliminary markings on your tree rings, because the tip is very
narrow.
- single-edge
("Treat") or double-edge razor blades
- these are used to put a clean, flat surface on a core, but this
takes practice. Don't attempt to surface a core with a razor unless
you've been trained!
- artist's
(or "gummy") erasers -
place these between your fingers and small strips of your sandpaper
when fine-sanding your increment cores. Also good for erasing mistakes
on your skeleton plots as they don't chew up the graph paper.
- steel
wool (fine) - used to remove resin
from a very resinous increment core. Burnish the surface lightly, and
the rings will appear!
- beanbags
- tiny little beanbags about 2-3" long, that are best if filled
with lead shot. These are used to hold and position your increment
cores on the measuring stage. I've only seen home-made ones, but I'm
sure you can buy these somewhere.
- scissors
- to cut your graph paper, Elmer's glue - to glue down your
cores on wooden mounts, string or masking tape - to hold
the cores tight on the mount as they dry.
Dave
Yamaguchi notes that "the
Japanese have these cool pens called SHARBOs that have a 0.5 mechanical
pencil plus a black pen inside the same pen. They are perfect for
dendrochronology microscope work, where one is alternately writing on a
core, and occasionally writing in a lab notebook."
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