What are compass timbers?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
February 15, 2005
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The southern live oak (Quercus virginiana Miller) is a graceful, yet massive tree and symbolic of the southern U.S. Live oaks produce long sinuous branches. Grown in the open, the lowest branches sweep the ground. At a distance the tree forms a dome of deep green leafiness. Live oaks growing in close proximity send their twisting branches any direction that reaches light. A cluster of live oaks take the shape of a single tree. In a forest, the trees stand taller with gentler arcs to the branches. (See Plant of the Week, January 24, 2005)
Live oaks produce a hard, heavy, and extremely strong wood. But it is not a popular wood with woodworkers since the curving branches and often leaning trunks have curving 'grains'. Most woodworkers prefer straight grained woods. By modern woodworking standards, live oak is usually considered useless.
But in the 18th and 19th centuries, woodworkers, specifically American shipwrights, sought out live oaks simply for the unique curving structure of the trees. The grain along a curved branch or trunk gave the shipwrights special pieces of lumber called compass timbers. The timbers were so named since compass meant circle and these timbers were shaped to a curve or arc of a circle.
Compass timbers formed the frame of a ship. Depending upon the ship being built, compass timbers could number into the hundreds of pieces—pieces with such names as ryders, knees, futtocks, transoms, flowers, and catts—to name a few.
Shipwrights studied the trees looking for angles and bends that would produce the best of each piece needed. The pieces were cut following the grain in the wood. The continuity of grain provided maximum strength; a live oak frame was durable enough to handle rough seas and sometimes, rougher sea battles.
The Florida Co-Champion live oak, the Cellon Oak, is in Alachua County and has a 160-foot wide crown. To view this massive old tree, click on the link:
http://www.championtrees.org/champions/oakliveFL.htm
(Compiled from: Understanding Wood, A craftsman's guide to wood technology, R. Bruce Hoadley, Taunton Press, Newtown CT, 1981; Wood Handbook—Wood as an engineering material, Forest Products Laboratory, Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture, 1999; Ships and Sailing, Eyewitness Visual Dictionary, Dorling Kindersley, London, 1991 and "Restoring Old Ironsides-Frigate USS Constitution", Eddie Nickens, American Forests, Nov-Dec 1993)
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Suggested Reading:
What is the mother of cork? Weird Plants - January 1, 2004
What is a California sister? Renfield's Garden - February 18, 2004
What was William's mission? Plants that Changed History - August 12, 2003
How did Portugal gain control of the spice trade? Plants that Changed History -December 2, 2003
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Wollemi Pine
National Geographic®
Exclusively from National Geographic, this survivor from the age of the dinosaurs is one of the greatest living fossils discovered in the 20th century. The Wollemi pine is one of the world's oldest and rarest tree species, belonging to a 200-million-year-old plant family thought to have been extinct for more than two million years. Previously known only from fossil records, it was presumed extinct until a single tree was found in the Wollemi National Park, Australia, in 1994. Subsequent research discovered 100 adult trees that have survived in a single canyon in this wild and rugged area.
Click here to view canyon, trees and fossil record.
You can assist in the conservation effort and enjoy the unique opportunity to ensure the continued survival of this rare species by giving the tree as a gift or growing your own. Suitable for indoor container gardening or as a landscape tree in certain areas of the U.S. Comes with a care manual with the full story about the discovery and fascinating history of the Wollemi pine. Comes in a copper-colored container and will be approximately 10''H when shipped. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of these plants will fund ongoing conservation research.
Click here to get your Wollemi Pine and assist in the conservation effort.
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