The correct and close detection of the age of a tree , is a super basic process in the woodworking activity , because many times the age of a tree can determine the “behavior” and properties of a specific wood piece .
Many times we want to supply wood for a specific woodworking project we work and this project requires specific wood characteristics , which means very careful wood choices .
The elite wooden furniture makers , the shotgun and rifle manufacturers , the musical instruments makers et.c , need to get wood supplies , with extremely accurate and specific properties , because their projects are highly demanding .
These people need to know the exact age of their wood as closely as they can , in order to make their decisions and actiions “surgically” .
There are some very basic , old and very well tested ways you can determine the age of a tree with great accuracy . Let’s see some :
How can we Calculate the age of a tree ?
If we take a piece of wood branch or a log , so we can see more clearly and cut it vertically , we’ll get in our hands two cylindrical wood pieces .
If we watch carefully one of this pieces we’ll see a central darkest spot which is the core of the log and around it , concentric rings .
The rings which are closer to the core are darker and harder then the others . These rings are the wood cells which are born between the spring and the autumn . The winter the tree is “sleeping” , so we have zero new woody cells .
One of those rings , represents one year of the development of the tree . So if you want to count the age of a tree , just count the rings of the log and you know the age .
If a log has 8 rings , the tree is 8 years old . If it has 20 , the tree is 20 years old and so on .
If you observe these rings you’ll see that , as closer we go to the center of the log to its core the color of the rings are darker than the ones who are in the external surface .
This is because the new rings have more moisture . The inside rings usually are darker and harder than the external ones .
As you see in the below video showing you a pine tree the forestry agency cut in my near park , this isn’t always 100% accurate . You see that all of its rings have the same light brown color , even if the tree is around the 10 years old .
The wood and the woodworking world is always surpise us .
These “newbie” rings have more posibilities to get affected by bugs or any other illnesses , than the inside ones which are more drier .
How many years is a tree Ring ?
Every tree ring you see in the inside of a tree represent one year of growth with a very high accuracy for all the wood types in the entire planet .
What is the Easiest way to tell the wood age of many years ?
If you count the number of the inside rings it has , combined maybe with the rythm of growing in the specific area this tree exists if you have some data and the diameter of its trunk , you’ll be very accurate .
How to determine the age of a tree Without cutting it ?
The best way to count the age of a tree without acting on it ( cut it , use radiochronology , et.c ) , is to measure its diameter and every inch , represents one year of life .
If you have a 15″ tree trunk diameter , you have a 15 years old tree .
What is the One method of calculating the appropriate age in years of a tree ?
If you measure the diameter of the tree trunk and you know the growth rythm of the specific tree type , you multiply these two factors and you have the tree’s age .
How do you know the age of a specific wood ?
If you have only a piece of wood and not a log that you can easily count the tree rings , the radiochronology is the scientific way , you can find the age of it .
How do Scientists tell how old a tree is ?
The radiochronology method , the count of the rings and their colors in majority of times , the width of them , the diameter of the tree trunk , and the growth factor for the specific tree type , are all the methods the scientists use to find the age of a tree .
What causes wood to age ?
The continuous supply from the mother earth of the tree with the soil’s nutritious ingredients , combined with the sun rays , the atmposhere’s oxygen and moisture and the general weather and environment conditions, make the trees to birth , grow , mature and eventually die .
There are no immortal elements and everything obeys the circle of life’s laws . Birth , grow , mature , grow old , die and start all over again .
What Chemicals ages wood ?
The basic chemicals that feed wood( which is an organic element ) and eventually age it are the carbon dioxide of the atmposphere , water , glucose , the inorganic salts it gets from the soil , the cellulose it contains , the lignin and several resin acids .
Of course the photosynthesis and the solar power are helping highly the entire process and there’re super basic age and growth factors .
Is there an App , that can tell the age of a tree ?
Yes , there are many apps for tree’s age and it’s the : my tree ID mobile app .
Can AI , count tree Rings ?
Yes of course and if you load your pictures you have for the specific tree to the so many AI platforms , you can have the answer you want , with a very big certainty , because AI combine all the known data we have for trees , wood , et.c .
Keep woodworking and enjoy your happiness from it .