what makes twisted grain?

[DaveGunter]

I was splitting some blue spruce that I cut from my property the other day and ran into a whole trees worth of very twisted stuff. The twist on an 18" piece ranged anywhere from 90 to 120 degrees, add in a couple of knots and it was very tough to split by hand. Was wondering what causes a tree to twist like that, would like to avoid them. The only odd tree I remember cutting was a partial blow down where the trunk was at 45 degrees but the root ball was still in the ground enough so the tree was still alive and kept growing, I guess twisting in the process of trying to get vertical again?

 

[blujacket]

Wind

 

[Jags]

Wind does - but species can also be a big factor.

 

[AJS56]

My understanding is also wind. I didn't realize this until I was harvesting some trees out of an open fence row. It was elm and extremely twisty and tough to split. Some similar trees in the woods just down the lane were not nearly so ... challenging. The good folks on here confirmed my suspicion that wind stress over the years caused the tree grain to be wistey and tough.

 

[will711]

Googled this some interesting stuff there. Don't think there is a real answer but several theories. One has to do with roots and transporting food & water up the tree the tree will compensate for root damage on one side by twisting to make sure that all branches get food & water. Another was genetics if the parent twisted so did the off spring. Any how interesting ???

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Definitely there are more than one factor involved but for sure you'll find more twisted trees in fencerows and yards than you will in the woods. And of course, in the woods you'll also cut trees that have fewer limbs to mess with so that is one more big plus for cutting in the woods vs out in the open.