Very Large White Oak

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I had a tree of that size last year. I milled very thing straight that was under 48”. Split the log in half, brought in a big crane and loaded it onto a semi and sent it to a mill in California that made slabs out of it that they sold as conference table. It takes quite an investment to make that all happen but the returns can be worth it if the tree is worth messing with. If not quarter it and mill it.
 
I can get my bucket truck to it on the uphill or lower side so I will use it to take the limbs off and get it laying flat. I told the fellow who owns the tree that I had been in tree work for a long time and the tree concerned me, let alone the firewood cutters with very little experience with large trees. I am in Alleghany county , east of Boone about an hour and fifteen minutes, just above Wilkes and Surry county. I know I may be wasting money and time on this tree but hope to do something . I have a picture I took on my cell phone of this tree green and standing but not sure how to resize it to post a picture.
 
i see potentially nice oak hardwood flooring for your new house. eventhough you could probably buy it cheaper.

oak mantle for your fireplace


widdle a peace pipe, or a couple of duck decoys


it doesnt have to be something huge and extravagant to serve as a memory holder or conversation piece.
worse comes to worse youll have plenty of firewood for years to come.
 
If it is real hollow then cut a short log, stand it up, put a roof on it, cut a hole in the side and call it a bus stop, or turn it into a fort with an up stairs. I would like to find a nice hollow log.
 
B-Edwards said:
I know I can get a few logs out of some branches but no-one here has anything that can touch the trunk .
Click to expand...
Don't waste your time getting logs out of the branches. They are all stress wood, and they'll all warp / crack / twist as they dry. There's a reason branches are not used in the mills.

Well, you can try it, but be prepared for bad results. If you stack and weight down the stack to prevent warping, then it will case harden the wood, and it can spring apart as you are cutting it on the tablesaw, causing kickback.

Short, quartersawn lengths might be OK....
 
If that tree is actually 3 or 400 years old, i'd mill every straight limb on it, as old growth tree's don't act like all the tree's do these days... They grew MUCH slower in the old days, and react differently, and are worth milling everything you can get out of it....

Find a ------------> swing mill, and get-r-done!

Rob
 
Sawyer Rob said:
If that tree is actually 3 or 400 years old, i'd mill every straight limb on it, as old growth tree's don't act like all the tree's do these days... They grew MUCH slower in the old days, and react differently, and are worth milling everything you can get out of it....

Find a ------------> swing mill, and get-r-done!

Rob
Click to expand...

I agree. This was a limb and I got 6, 40"+ wide straight slabs out of it.
 
My folks grandroom is nothing but cherry and oak. Not a peice of drywall anywhere. Beautiful! thats why that idea keeps ringing in my brain

I like oak floors So if it were mine Id have them milled down to floor slabs.

Or you can use it for trim in your new house.

crown, chair, base, window trim, shoe moldings, that type of thing.

I could see that now with a coat of stain and about 3 coats of polyurathane;)

cabinets! just another idea
A nice Oak Bar! :givebeer:
 
I would not hesitate to mill branches off that tree. (especially that tree) When I've done branches I've had good luck with it.

If the main stem is somewhat sound there is some amazing wood in there. You could spend a year milling on that tree.

I have a 60" bar that's not touched wood yet. :clap:
 
huskyhank said:
I would not hesitate to mill branches off that tree. (especially that tree) When I've done branches I've had good luck with it.

If the main stem is somewhat sound there is some amazing wood in there. You could spend a year milling on that tree.

I have a 60" bar that's not touched wood yet. :clap:
Click to expand...

Ain't that the truth! And a lifetime building stuff with what you milled!
 
not an ark

well since others brought up boats
old growth white oak is the wood that is prized, and very sought after and required for wooden sailing ship restoration
places like Mystic Seaport go after old growth trees in hurricane hit areas

right now they are working on the Charles W Morgan the last remaining whale ship and is a national landmark. They need something 50,000 bft of oak
I think they use large branches for their natural curves for the ribs.
They also would have the experience/equipment to properly harvest the valuable wood.

google mystic seaport and you can see a vid of the ship and info on the restoration

hey it might not be ax men but helping restore a national landmark is nothing to sneeze at

I live fairly close to the seaport, if you are interested in them checking out the tree and want some help facilitating let me know
 
B-Edwards...I don't know about you, but I think you should consider going for the money. :greenchainsaw:
You've had two very good suggestions to cash in on. Both require some research to get a big chunk in the size the customer can use, and moved. Either prep it and get it out to CA to be cut into huge slabs, or custom cut it into old boat restoration parts. Either way..big bucks I think. Clearly it's going to take you most of this year to get the limbs off, cleaned up, milled etc. You could mill all the limbs while you research the best thing to do with such a huge trunk. Consider trying to post photos with some dimensions, a custom cut clause somewhere...ebay, craiglist. Someone will pay for some/all of it. Maybe a heck of a lot more than you think. It's a special tree..needs an equally special project. There's time to find that project.
Ever thought of getting the media in to help you locate a buyer? They love to hear of stories whereby you are trying to give the 400 yr old tree a new life. Coast to coast media coverage with one interview and a few clips of a storm fallen tree. Marketing buddy..marketing.
 
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Years ago there was one like that in this area of Pa. They sold the bulk of it as described in earlier replies, but the landowner did one thing that made the history of the tree last forever. He had 10 feet of the butt log donated to the Historical society, and they in turn paid to put it in a permanent display in the Ag building at the county fairgrounds. They made a photo board explaining the process, and i guess for 20 years now people have been getting their picture taken next to it at the fair. You might consider something like that!:)
 
there was the butt of really big oak near where I grew up in NY
it was in a gazebo and had markers on the growth rings for important dates in history. it was interesting to see how big the tree was during its life when the major events were took place
 
Thanks for the replies!!! I appreciate all of them. Some of the suggestions seem like a possibility. I am going to take my time on this and weigh all the options. This tree deserves more than to become firewood. Thanks again and keep those ideas or suggestions coming, they are a great help.
 

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