@ kaffee, my experience with wood was with santol and not mango for the stairs of our house. but the process is the same in preparing the tree into wood from what i have seen here in our place ...
- after the tree has been cut with a chain saw, the trunk is really the only one being use as wood for construction ... i think, the rest (still too young, and most are not straight) of the tree are just use for making charcoal 🙂 he he he
- the other big scrap materials (e.g. the trunk near the roots of the tree) can be made into furniture (tables, chairs, etc) once they have been dried.
- the trunk, after removing the branches, which is basically a log now, is then cut into lengths of 8', 10', or 12', depending on the length of the log - you want to maximize the amount of board you can get from the trunk ...
- each log is then cut across again using a chain saw ... the thickness of the board is normally 2" and the width of the board can either be 4", 6", 8", 10", or 12" depending on the size of the trunk ... so, in the end, you have a board/s that is 2" thick, with a length of 8'-12', and a width of 4"-12" ... these are the fresh boards that are then brought from the mountains or any location and are then sold to wholesaler/s or any person who needs hardwood 🙂 ...
- the price of fresh hardwood is by board feet depending on the type of wood. in our house, i use santol, red nato, and lauan, i would have preferred mangkono or tugas (molave), but it's hard to find it here during that time ... the price ranges from 18-30 pesos per board feet for the 3 types of wood/s that i used for our house ...
- drying (sun dried) time for a fresh cut wood is at least 3 months, the longer the better ... don't believe what others are saying that 1-2 months is ok, it's not enough, the wood is still not dry and it will warp due to changes in temperature ... minimum from my experience is really 3-months, 6 months is the best. you need to dry the wood standing in a slant position and then rotate it every 2-3 weeks to even out the drying process of the wood ...
- once the wood is dry, you can then bring it to a "tistisan" shop where they can cut it into smaller pieces based on your specs or you can hire a person with a chain saw to cut it for you ... the going rate back then when i had some of my woods cut is 6 pesos per board feet.
- sanding and finishing the wood is the same as how you do it for processed wood that you buy in depot (e.g. Citi Hardware) ...

why i like santol wood (same with mango as far as grain/knot is concerned)? ... it's because of their large grain and knot pattern/s that adds some character to the wood, plus the deep red color of santol when it's dry 🙂 ... hope this info helps ...

up to now, i'm still on the look out for loggers (not illegal loggers noh, but local tribesmen doing clearing operations at the SMI minesite in our municipality) who are selling mangkono or tugas boards 🙂 ... cheers

Boo!

Thank you for taking time out to reply,much appreciated ü

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...my experience with wood was with santol and not mango for the stairs of our house. but the process is the same in preparing the tree into wood from what i have seen here in our place ...

I think Santol (sandoricum koetjape) would be an interesting wood if given the chance to acquire or get hold off. The Mango tree I asked about is a 25+ year-old prolific tree in our frontage that gave way to Typhoon Glenda last year, most likely of the MMSU Gold Carabao variety if I were to trace its "roots" 😉 (that is according to my uncle who planted it).

- after the tree has been cut with a chain saw, the trunk is really the only one being use as wood for construction ... i think, the rest (still too young, and most are not straight) of the tree are just use for making charcoal 🙂 he he he
- the other big scrap materials (e.g. the trunk near the roots of the tree) can be made into furniture (tables, chairs, etc) once they have been dried.

The main trunk and larger branches were cut by a chainsaw because of the perilous nature in which the big tree itself, almost 4-storeys high, leaned against our property and of my neighbor's.

The main trunk had been cut into "manageable" lengths of 3-4 ft; more than half of the upper portions (relatively slimmer than the lower portions) we gave away to a community chapel after their parish priest saw the trunks in our frontage and asked for them. I did a check on his community and it is one within a low-income (some, disadvantaged) neighborhood where a couple of other salvaged trunks were being made, rather roughly, into pews and benches (these were then was finished by cheap varnish but, hey, it served their purpose ü ).

The larger portions, including about 4-5 ft. of the base with the roots still embedded into the ground, are the ones I would like to make something of.

As for charcoal—wow, did we give away many to whoever wanted it over a period of months—well, it seems Mango is not the preferred wood for charcoal because I learned that it gives off more smoke ("mausok") than other varieties or, so I was told.

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- the trunk, after removing the branches, which is basically a log now, is then cut into lengths of 8', 10', or 12', depending on the length of the log - you want to maximize the amount of board you can get from the trunk ...

- each log is then cut across again using a chain saw ... the thickness of the board is normally 2" and the width of the board can either be 4", 6", 8", 10", or 12" depending on the size of the trunk ... so, in the end, you have a board/s that is 2" thick, with a length of 8'-12', and a width of 4"-12" ... these are the fresh boards that are then brought from the mountains or any location and are then sold to wholesaler/s or any person who needs hardwood 🙂 ...

Sadly, I did want the length to be longer than 4 ft. but space wouldn't accommodate it and the nature of having the tree being drastically cut down. I kept some interesting "Y" branches or roots with gnarled or distorted growth just because ü ...

- the price of fresh hardwood is by board feet depending on the type of wood. in our house, i use santol, red nato, and lauan, i would have preferred mangkono or tugas (molave), but it's hard to find it here during that time ... the price ranges from 18-30 pesos per board feet for the 3 types of wood/s that i used for our house ...

SInce I'm basically a hobbyist when it comes to raw/fresh or wood not coming from the hardware, I have absolutely zero knowledge on prices and availability. Thank you for the info above ü

- drying (sun dried) time for a fresh cut wood is at least 3 months, the longer the better ... don't believe what others are saying that 1-2 months is ok, it's not enough, the wood is still not dry and it will warp due to changes in temperature ... minimum from my experience is really 3-months, 6 months is the best. you need to dry the wood standing in a slant position and then rotate it every 2-3 weeks to even out the drying process of the wood ...

Suffice it to say that whatever remaining Mango trunks I have and hope to work on are sundried since July 2014, left out to the elements due to lack of space, time and other real-life goings-on (and some termite infestation starting as we live where termites thrive: on adobe soil) ü

I did start to read on drying, keeping, etc., off-and-on since and have a fairly good knowledge on what should or shouldn't be despite plans on doing something about the stock of Mango wood I have in the yard, of which I am only taking action just recently Ü

- once the wood is dry, you can then bring it to a "tistisan" shop where they can cut it into smaller pieces based on your specs or you can hire a person with a chain saw to cut it for you ... the going rate back then when i had some of my woods cut is 6 pesos per board feet.
- sanding and finishing the wood is the same as how you do it for processed wood that you buy in depot (e.g. Citi Hardware) ...

I read about this cutting service ("tistisan") in another thread somewhere in Taytay and would be interested to check it out. I'd since been looking for this service after I learned that those in/within our area (northern QC) can only accommodate 12" max. of thickness—mostly saw mills that cut coco lumber, I was told, and that their blades might not be able to handle Mango. (At the time I asked, the Mango trunks were likely still have been wet or holding moisture).

My interest in a "tistisan" service, of course, is to have more control over the thickness vs. cutting with a chainsaw that is largely dependent on the strength of the person handling it and the noise (and residue) it creates as had been our experience during the emergency post-Glenda days ü

why i like santol wood (same with mango as far as grain/knot is concerned)? ... it's because of their large grain and knot pattern/s that adds some character to the wood, plus the deep red color of santol when it's dry 🙂 ... hope this info helps ...

Sure helps a lot to add to learning. I'd seen Santol wood used in sculptures, both raw and finished and I must say that Santol is a beautiful wood. Mango can be interesting, too, in that you'll never know what you get as it is susceptible, I read and had seen first-hand, to fungus. It is because of this nature that can give it its wild, interesting patterns (spalting).

up to now, i'm still on the look out for loggers (not illegal loggers noh, but local tribesmen doing clearing operations at the SMI minesite in our municipality) who are selling mangkono or tugas boards 🙂 ... cheers

Boo!

Never heard of Mangkono until today and just looked it up. Interesting. We need to re-start/re-energize a "Save the Mangkono Tree" movement. Also so you'll get better channces with your search 🙂

Thanks!
/k

with regards to the dried 3-4 feet trunks (i can just imagine the size of the trunk if the tree was 25+ years), i doubt if you can find a tistisan shop that can handle the cutting of it into lumber. you should also consider the task/cost (just loading them into a truck is already a huge undertaking if the truck does not have a crane) of bringing such big trunks to the shop. i have seen first hand, skilled person using chain saw cut a huge trunk into 2" thick boards (smaller than 2" is not good as it creates too much waste), and they are really quite good and fast at their work.

added benefit is that the saw dust is the perfect material for compost 🙂 ... cheers

Boo!

Hi Boo, [INDENT]

with regards to the dried 3-4 feet trunks (i can just imagine the size of the trunk if the tree was 25+ years)...

[/INDENT]
The main trunk (cross-section) is oblong, the widest diameter among the cut ones at about +/- 26" not including the base still to be dug out of the ground; [INDENT]

...i doubt if you can find a tistisan shop that can handle the cutting of it into lumber.

[/INDENT]
Really?? ohh...breaks my heart ,( [INDENT]

...you should also consider the task/cost (just loading them into a truck is already a huge undertaking if the truck does not have a crane) of bringing such big trunks to the shop.

[/INDENT]

I've noted a truck service in my area early this year that rents out several types including a smaller one with a crane and, in fact, was to get their rates whenI learned about the Taytay "tistisan" (and after we've checked them out both for their rates, capacity and distance), but: [INDENT]

...i have seen first hand, skilled person using chain saw cut a huge trunk into 2" thick boards (smaller than 2" is not good as it creates too much waste), and they are really quite good and fast at their work.

[/INDENT]

...now it seems I might have to reconsider the guys who had the chainsaw before :/ I'll have to see who among them has the steady hand and wood knowledge. [INDENT]

...added benefit is that the saw dust is the perfect material for compost 🙂 ... cheers

Boo!

[/INDENT]

True, we had sacks of them—gave away some, retained and have used some, too 🙂

Thanks!

/k