Best time to drop trees?

[Davej_07]

:stupid: Well gents,
While visiting my Grandmother at the family farm today we got to discussing the idea of my taking some of the dead trees down for firewood. My Grandfather(gone to the back 40 in he sky) had a knack for Black Walnut. EVERY nut the squirrels would bury and sprouted he'd leave it grow. Now there are ALOT of Walnut trees and Grandma told me I could cut any and all of them if I wish. (Bless her!!!!!!!!) Some of these trees are 3ft in diameter and 50+ft tall......Im drooling at the possibilities!!!


My question is should I cut them down now? Should I wait a little while longer so the water will all be back in the roots? Im SUCH a rookie at this that I feel stupid asking such questions :stupid:

Thanks alot
Dave

 

[ngzcaz]

You might want to get a quote for selling them from a logger/sawmill/etc. I cut a few black walnut and wasn't that impressed with burning them. Maybe I had a bad tree or two but they just didn't work that well for me. But they may be worth a bit for lumber purposes. A lot of gun stocks were made from walnut and black walnut....

:greenchainsaw:

 

[forestryworks]

call your county forester, have him look at the trees, listen to everything he says, and go from there

 

[savageactor7]

Dave I usually harvest trees in the fall when they're dormant. But the logs I stage up may lay in place for a couple years or more. Dormant trees are not as quick to rot if left unattended for a few years.

If you're cutting for firewood I say start right now, things are much easier when the leaves are gone. Safer too cause it's easier to see those bent limbs under load. When spring comes you should be a few years ahead and enjoy the summer.

 

[nametrux]

walnut

Defiantly have your forester give you advice and follow it.

 

[excess650]

IMO, walnut is too valuable for firewood unless its small gnarly trees, limbs, hollow trees, etc. I think it a better idea to thin the smaller stuff and let the bigger trees grow, and burn everything other than walnut and cherry. You might want to get someone in there and get some ideas as to how much the bigger trees are worth for lumber or veneer rather than burn you grandmother's $$ in the stove.

 

[Davej_07]

We tried that route about 10 years ago. We were told by several places that they would not take the walnut trees for lumber due tothe fact they came from a working farm and the chance of nails, fenceposts etc were too great. I was told it had to do with the high speed blades at the mills.

I agree that the walnut doesnt burn as great as other hardwoods, but then again I dont have 13 acres of Oak at my disposal

I do have access to box elder, willow, norway pine, jack pine, and a few old apple trees. Im going to take some apple but I didnt think the elder or willow would be worth it. Ive got lots of dead standing pine that would burn nicely but IM still hemming and hawing as to whether or not its worth it. I hear alot of people saying NEVER burn pine, but then I hear lots of people saying to mix it in with my hardwood and I should be fine.
I always thought it was funny how you can askthe same question to 10 people with the same hobby, profession, etc and you'll get 8-10 different answers...... and of course each one of them are the right way to do it!

Thanks
Dave

 

[KsWoodsMan]

I would think that his prized possesions he wasnt going to be driving nails in them or using them for fence posts.

I'm pretty sure he allowed them to grow as an investment in his grandchildrens future. Of course that was what I was always told about a Walnut Grove. Since it takes 50-60 years for them to mature the original owner probably would never realize the income from the investment.

I'd keep checking the mills. Let them know it was from his grove not his yard or fence rows.

Try posting that you have standing Walnut timber in the Milling and Saw Mills forum here on AS, you may get a better responce than the local mills gave you.

Some might only be firewood but the good logs have more value than that.

Walnut , 2 years to cure for firewood. This coming from a guy that has cut wood one week and burned it the next in hard times.

 

[MR4WD]

If you're going to burn the wood you cut this year, then now or even later is better. There's still lots of sap in transition in the trees around here... As far as pine, well there's millions of canadians that'd freeze to death every year if they didn't burn that. Me included!

 

[turnkey4099]

<snip>

I do have access to box elder, willow, norway pine, jack pine, and a few old apple trees. Im going to take some apple but I didnt think the elder or willow would be worth it. Ive got lots of dead standing pine that would burn nicely but IM still hemming and hawing as to whether or not its worth it. I hear alot of people saying NEVER burn pine, but then I hear lots of people saying to mix it in with my hardwood and I should be fine.

<snip>

Thanks
Dave

The "don't burn pine" etc. guys are all ones who never burned it themselves and never knew anyone who did. They are just repeating old wives tales.

The facts are that if it weren't for burning pine/spruce/fir and the like, 3/4 of the country couldn't heat with wood at all. They also have no problem with "burning the house down". Keep your chimney clean (once or twice a year) just as you should with hardwood. You will find you burn more of it than good hardwood but that is only because it is not as dense.

As for elder - I have no knowledge how it would be.

For Willow - not bad. I have heated my house almost solely with it for over 25 years. It works up easy, splits easy, keeps fairly well in the stack. Drawback - you burn a lot of it as once dry it doesn't weigh heavy.

Bottom line - All wood, regardless of species, contains the same amount (approximately) of BTUs pound for pound.

Harry K

 

[Mike Van]

:agree2: Good reply Harry -

 

[John D]

Using black walnut for firewood is like burning $100 bills to stay warm! Get a professional in there,if thats really good black walnut,they are worth way more than firewood.I dont think you have any idea what you got there.

 

[coog]

All lumber prices are low right now, but even though I am burning some Black Walnut (dead standing), you should probably leave the better trees grow for lumber.If the mill won't take them hire a guy with a bandsaw mill and tell him you are good for the blades. I think you can probably find all the wilt-killed Oak that you need nearby. Always cut the Boxelder (acer nogoodnik!) even if you don't burn it.It is taking the place of a good tree.

 

[AKKAMAAN]

Fell your trees when they start grow "mouse ears"...

Fell your trees when they start grow "mouse ears"...This method have been practiced for 100´s of years in Sweden.....works great on birch, and should work on other leaf tree speices aswell...
After you have them on the ground, let them stay untouched, with all limbs left on the stem, for 2-4 months, till leaves are dead and falling off......how this works is that tree keeps assimilating (basically growing) as long there is "water" in the sapwood, then leaves die...after this process you chop and split, to dry the rest of water out....if you lucky you´ll have nicely dried wood at the fall...I dont know how this works on oak, ash, beech etc, but you guys give it a try and weäll all learn from it...

ps. If you fell the trees so they will clear the ground while "drying" will prevent start of ruttening...

 

[coog]

I know that the settlers used a variation of this method.Instead of dropping the tree, they would girdle it during the growing season and cut it down the next year.The beaver are doing this for me this year, so I will leave a couple of them to see if they are any drier when I cut them next year.

 

[KsWoodsMan]

Fell your trees when they start grow "mouse ears"...This method have been practiced for 100´s of years in Sweden.....works great on birch, and should work on other leaf tree speices aswell...
After you have them on the ground, let them stay untouched, with all limbs left on the stem, for 2-4 months, till leaves are dead and falling off......how this works is that tree keeps assimilating (basically growing) as long there is "water" in the sapwood, then leaves die...after this process you chop and split, to dry the rest of water out....if you lucky you´ll have nicely dried wood at the fall...I dont know how this works on oak, ash, beech etc, but you guys give it a try and weäll all learn from it...

ps. If you fell the trees so they will clear the ground while "drying" will prevent start of ruttening...

Earlier this year I discussed the possibility of doing just this and successfully tried it a few times when I could get to trees that weren't going to be in the way while laying beside the field. The link to the thread is http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=74735. Odd that it has been in practice so long and yet so hard to grasp that it works. In post #41, of that thread, smoothED provided this link http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_rn450.pdf . The study was solar wood kilns vs. air drying in Alaska and included the possibility of severing them at the stump and leaving them till winter to be processed.

The last sentence of the last paragraph does support that it is affective to leave them 5 - 7 days to reduce the MC by up to 10% in hardwoods.

Leaving them whole the entire season is not an affective method of seasoning firewood.

 

[AKKAMAAN]

Leaving them whole the entire season is not an affective method of seasoning firewood.

I said "till leaves are dead and falling off" whatever time it take, depends on local conditions and biothops....

Thanks for the links I´ll checkém out....:greenchainsaw:

 

[AKKAMAAN]

I said "till leaves are dead and falling off" whatever time it take, depends on local conditions and biothops....

Thanks for the links I´ll checkém out....:greenchainsaw:

And it have to be done in the spring when the leaves are just to develop from mouse ear size...it will draw a lot of sap out of the wood while leaves are grong on that "dead" treeon the ground

Per
Swedish Forest Engineer
"aw come on"

 

[KsWoodsMan]

I said "till leaves are dead and falling off" whatever time it take, depends on local conditions and biothops....

Thanks for the links I´ll checkém out....:greenchainsaw:

Oh , I agree ! Only till they wither. That was why I emphasized the till when I quoted you. In the other thread a number of people were stating how they left it lay the whole year and it wasnt dryer than cut and split wood. Nearly as wet as green wood The discussion in the other thread as I understood it was to only let it lay a week or 2 before coming back to finish the job. Sounds like this practice has been going on a long time and isn't a new concept except to some.

I was trying to figure out what mouse ears were on the trees. I see plenty with step mushrooms that indicates heart rot. But not mouse ears . I guess I was thinking of Mouseketeer ears. Mushroom in trees are not a good sign.