| Straws
A
question often asked is: "Where do I get those neat paper straws
you're using?" Straws (both paper and plastic) are used to store the cores once they're
extracted from the tree. They provide a sturdy "case" for
transporting the fragile cores and protect them from breakage. Keep in
mind that paper straws may not be best for your research, and that plastic
straws may be a better choice. Paper straws are hard to find, but can be
ordered in bulk from various locations. Check out these distributors of
both paper and plastic straws.
Artstraws
Limited in
Swansea, United Kingdom, makes paper straws that are ideal for increment
cores. These paper straws come in two different diameters, so be sure to
order the "jumbo" size (6 mm diameter, model number CK-9031),
ideal for both the 4.3 and 5.15 mm cores. These come 900 to a box. The
good thing is that they are 17 inches (43.2 cm) long! I simply cut them in
half with a paper cutter and this produces lengths that are ideal for use
with increment cores. Also, keep a few in their original length for those
extra long cores! They can be contacted using their email address below:
Artstraws
Limited
6 & 7 Wyndham Court
The Enterprise Park
SWANSEA SA6 8RB
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: 01792 796151
Fax: 01792 700540
info@artstraws.com
sales@artstraws.com
Note:
their web
site is currently (as of 23
August 2005) under construction, and may be worth visiting from time to
time to learn when they're up and running. A
distributor of Artstraws in the U.S. is Teachers'
School Supply and
their phone number is 800-477-7745 (thank you Catharine Anderson, for the
information).
Neil
Pederson adds: "Western Plastic makes straws to order, length and
diameter. They even say they could make colored straws! When we first
hooked up with them, they made a few test straws to meet our needs. The
test period only took a couple weeks despite being on the other side of
North America. They were very efficient.
Western Plastic
1-30991 Peardonville Rd
Abbotsford, British Columbia
Canada V2T6K3
Phone and FAX number: 1-800-668-1335.
They charged us $35.46/2000 for 18" straws and $40.71/2000 for
24" straws."
 |
Rob
Argent and Rob Wilson added this concerning straws: Serviceable straws can
be obtained from fast food chains such as McDonalds. Sometimes you don't
even have to raid the straw dispenser - in a recent visit to a McDonalds
store I explained what I was after and was given free about 200 straws
(and a free serve of fries - no comment!). In any medium to large city
there are often plastic straw manufacturers who can cut straws to length -
they will probably charge a fee for resetting the machine and then a
nominal charge for the straws, so it's best to order five or ten thousand
while you are at it. Ed Cook and Paul Krusic at Lamont-Doherty Earth
Observatory of Columbia University have a supply of 500 mm long clear
plastic straws from such a supplier.
Andy
DeVolder suggests "trying the local soft drink distributor in your
town for straws before buying them. They always have broken boxes of
straws and may be willing to give some of them to some crazy
dendrochronologist." He was able to obtain about 1000 10"
plastic straws 6-7 mm in diameter, a perfect size for increment cores.
In
the Pacific Northwestern part of the United States, Timothy Hyatt of the
University of Washington provides this information:
After
a lot of hunting around I was able to get a box of 18-inch-long, white
plastic "luau" straws from a local bar supplier. The straws are
just wide enough to accept a 5 mm increment core and the extractor spoon.
A year ago they sold for about $25 for a box of 500. I cap the ends with
masking tape and put a ring of tape near one end for labeling with a
sharpie, which works pretty well if the tape doesn't get too wet. I was
also able to con them into making me a batch of heavy-duty 34-inch plastic
straws, but this kind of overtaxed their machine and I'm not sure if
they're too keen on doing this again (but one can always ask). The bar
supplier is:
Eagle Bar & Restaurant Supply
2001 South Plum St.
Seattle, WA 98144 USA
(206) 328-0633
Some
people ask about the length of straws as one can not find straws 18"
in length to fit a core taken with a 20" increment borer. One can do
either of two things here. First, one paper straw can be pinched and
inserted into another straw for long cores. This may take practice but can
be done. Second, one can simply tape one straw end to another with regular
transparent tape or even masking tape.
One
word of caution if you do use plastic straws - cores should be
removed from them soon after they have been taken back to the lab because
the plastic straws trap moisture inside, which can lead to mold forming.
The mold can ruin your specimen by masking the ring boundaries.
Alternatively, you can slit the plastic straw down one side to allow
moisture out. |
