Does anyone out there have expertise in preserving/displaying large tree cross-sections? My family has a disk that was cut from the base of a loblolly pine tree in 1954. It measures about 48 inches in diameter, is some 15" thick, and probably weighs around 500 pounds (my rough estimates). The growth rings are distinguishable and easily number in excess of 200 by my quick count. It has been sitting in sheds and out-buildings for 38 years, with a choker cable still wrapped around it. The bark is still on and it appears to be sound. We are interested in displaying it as a museum exhibit, but it is in dire need of cleaning, sanding, and some kind of preserving treatment. There is also the possibility that the disk could be sliced to make two or more lighter easier-handled disks, though I am not confident this could be safely accomplished. Any advice would be appreciated! The disk came from a tree known in my family history as "the Big Pine." This giant loblolly pine was a well-known landmark on the floodplain of Hard Labor Creek in Greenwood County, South Carolina, for as long as anyone remembered, until if finally died in 1954. Its total height was 134 feet, the diameter at the stump was 54", and it had 93 feet of clear bole to the first limb (where the bole diameter was still 30 inches). Seven logs were cut from the tree (4 12', 2 14', and 1 10') totalling 5433 board feet, according to our records. Its age was determined to be 210 years. The tree's diameter and height place it "in the ballpark" (but not in excess) of the largest loblolly pines on record. Because of its unusually superior form, the tree may well have had more total VOLUME than any other loblolly pine. (Records on volume and upper-stem diameter of other such trees are difficult to come by.) --Wade Harrison--
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