You may have noticed that prices on ready-made trees are not exactly what you’d call “linear growth”. They pretty much get exponentially more expensive with every inch.
Amongst the smaller trees, 5 to 9 inches, this effect is not so pronounced. But it is much more obvious on 11 inches and larger trees. This is also true for snag trees and all other handmade models.
Why is this, you ask? Part of it has to do with how tree trunks are born. Smaller trees are made from dowel stock not produced on-site, but rather “down the street” in nearby Coquille, where Port Orford Cedar arrows are manufactured. Really small trees, such as background trees, start out as bamboo chopsticks that are tapered and bark-detailed. These dowels are plugged into the tapering machine 23 at a time and eventually pop out the other end of "Bob Barker" (the bark detail engraving machine) and subsequently the base hole driller.
Now, let’s step it up to a 13 incher: Hurdle #1: We make the dowels. We get the ½ inch stock PO cedar, so we don't have to cut that. But then we go forward with dowel turning, then proceed as usual (Taper, Bob de Barker, etc.).
So, there is approximately a doubling of time investment at this point, which I feel is not horrible but will drive the overall cost up. It also takes significantly longer to taper and barker a larger dowel.
OK, let’s talk 14 inches and up: A ½ inch dowel is just too thin at the base for anything other than a second-growth Doug fir. Therefore, we need to take 1 inch square stock and run it through “the lathe-router complex” to get the taper. Start with cutting stock on the tablesaw. Then cut to lengths, then load them individually for the tapering. This is where "time-to-trunk" really does absorb a hefty increase.
Subsequently, barking is not as simple as the Bob machine (three wire wheels / drills, etc). Each tapered form is drawn across the Sawzall teeth in the vice (multiple offset blades) multiple times (BTW: this is a good workout. People ask me how I keep my sexy figure. Answer: I don’t get fed and you all keep buyin’ the big trees.) Sawzall’s enough for ¾ inchers but anything with a base 1” or greater and thereby at least one more step; that’d be the "Dremel-with-a-gnarly-micro-tablesaw-blade", which does an amazing job adding deeper grooves and other interesting features, just wear welding gloves. Getting into the big trunks, say 18” and above, deeper grooves are possible with the Sabertooth disc in the grinder (don’t mess with this thing unless you really understand how to handle it. This is one very bad cat). This is how redwoods, sequoias, and large Doug firs get into shape.
Getting past trunks, larger trees require considerably greater dead-branch detail, and I currently have a personal issue with the roots. I just can’t let hardly anything go greater than 9 inches without adding some of the root detail. I love it. I know, you say it’s not necessary. But I can’t help imagining how the customers feel when they get the trees, pull them outta the box, and there they are, looking like they got plucked like carrots! Carrots? No. But perhaps like they were taken from the soil itself. This is a problem. I'm not supposed to fall in love with 'em. Love just gets in the way...everytime.
On 11” and larger trees, the dead branches need some greater variation. At least two or three of the dead branches must be “feature-able” dead branches, i.e. these are “of exceptional interest”, with many bifurcations, turns and twists. Just as well, dead branches must not fall off the tree. This necessitates multiple drills, greater numbers of holes, and everything I can think of to get branches adhered to the tree, from tree sap to super tacky glue to white glue to matte medium, wood filler, and paint. Physically, sustained construction requires focus, steady hands, breathing, and quality background music. The quality and nature of the background music is directly evident in the model. Advanced tree-making is not a hobby. It is a sport!
Packaging & Shipping: 5, 7, and 9 inch Standard trees drop nicely into shredded paper and line up like pencils. 11 inch double trunk dead snags require careful consideration if they are going to reach the intended destination alive. It is in fact one thing to produce the models, but what keeps the tree business lively is that these items absolutely must arrive at your doorstep in perfect condition, or I will be making them again. A large tree requires a special double-thickness box plus an incredible amount of shredded paper. I won’t back down on the shredded paper. That stuff really works. My apologies ahead of time for the mess! -RR
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