Black Oak...we think

[Marmaduck]

We've made real progress on the bathroom remodel so I finally got back to the woods and tackled a standing dead (topped by Katrina) oak tree. We got 2 decent 9' logs and milled 4/5 of the first log before we ran out of day and energy.

My plan was to mill lots of quarter-sawn slabs that I could then re-saw on the bandsaw at home...Bwaa Ha Ha...these freaking things took 4-5 people to wrestle out of the woods. This was the wettest/heaviest wood I've ever seen. The rest of this log and the other get milled 5/4 max. Screw the extra lost wood from the CS mill. If you can't get it out of the woods, it's useless.

There should be some heavy machinery up there in the next couple of months that we'll get to cut some trails and maybe skid-out a few logs.

Ok, now please help with positive ID on this tree. Others there swear it's a black oak (South MS, NOT CA) but the bark looks too smooth and it's too long dead to see if it has the red layer just under the bark. Any help would be appreciated as I have a standing live black oak I'll get to after we salvage as much of the katrina wood as we can. I just want to be as sure as possible of any specied I mill.

New things and lessons learned:
*Tried my ladder-as-guide-rails and the system needs work...but I've already got ideas.
*Used the Granberg mini-mill for the first time to edge one side of this log and was surprised how easy and well it worked. The little MS 290 had no problems either.
*used kerf wedges as sugggested in my Malloff book...I made them too thick so they're heading back to the planer...maybe it's the ugly red paint?
*Only on the 2nd tank of fuel in the 395, so no milling with it yet...GAWD, what a beastie though. I'm too old to swing that 36" bar so I stuck on a 20" for general wood cutting/break-in.

Enjoy the pix.
Thanks.

 

[woodshop]

...Ok, now please help with positive ID on this tree. Others there swear it's a black oak (South MS, NOT CA) but the bark looks too smooth and it's too long dead to see if it has the red layer just under the bark...

From a wood perspective, black oak looks almost identical to any of the other red oak family like scarlet oak, pin oak, northern red etc. It's just another red oak to the sawmill and is sold as such here in the northeast. If you really have to know which oak it is, and don't have leaves or acorns from it, the best way to tell as you alluded to, is dig a little hole into the bark with your pen knife. Black oak will have an orange-ish inner bark. Most of the other red oaks have a more pinkish to tan inner bark. Live or recently dead, that orange inner bark will be there if it's a black oak. I'm only familiar with oaks up here in the NE US though. Maybe down south there that little trick doesn't hold water. As for smoother bark than you think in should be... depending on how old the tree is and some other variables, the bark can vary a lot in some species. Example, red maple is notorious for having variable bark, and can be smooth as beech or rough as oak under various conditions and age.

 

[tomtrees58]

oak

looks like white oak tom trees

 

[MotorSeven]

Jeeze as far as Kat blow downs, you should be busy for a year or more. Unfortunatly 80% will rot before anyone will get to them. WIlma knocked down 40-50 cypress trees in the county park i lived in. Watched them cut 'em up & bobcat them into a dumpster I didn't have a mill at the time & only managed to save some cants for carving. Some of them were 20+ inches & straight/no limbs for 30'......
Godd looking lumber you have there though. Stay at it & save all you can!
RD

 

[rayvil01]

From a wood perspective, black oak looks almost identical to any of the other red oak family like scarlet oak, pin oak, northern red etc. It's just another red oak to the sawmill and is sold as such here in the northeast.

I'm glad you posted that, Woodshop. My reaction was, "Scarlet Oak."

 

[kruege84]

Not sure...

I often have trouble telling oaks apart without leaves and acorns.

But, that wood looks AWESOME!!

 

[Matildasmate]

We've made real progress on the bathroom remodel so I finally got back to the woods and tackled a standing dead (topped by Katrina) oak tree. We got 2 decent 9' logs and milled 4/5 of the first log before we ran out of day and energy.

My plan was to mill lots of quarter-sawn slabs that I could then re-saw on the bandsaw at home...Bwaa Ha Ha...these freaking things took 4-5 people to wrestle out of the woods. This was the wettest/heaviest wood I've ever seen. The rest of this log and the other get milled 5/4 max. Screw the extra lost wood from the CS mill. If you can't get it out of the woods, it's useless.

There should be some heavy machinery up there in the next couple of months that we'll get to cut some trails and maybe skid-out a few logs.

Ok, now please help with positive ID on this tree. Others there swear it's a black oak (South MS, NOT CA) but the bark looks too smooth and it's too long dead to see if it has the red layer just under the bark. Any help would be appreciated as I have a standing live black oak I'll get to after we salvage as much of the katrina wood as we can. I just want to be as sure as possible of any specied I mill.

New things and lessons learned:
*Tried my ladder-as-guide-rails and the system needs work...but I've already got ideas.
*Used the Granberg mini-mill for the first time to edge one side of this log and was surprised how easy and well it worked. The little MS 290 had no problems either.
*used kerf wedges as sugggested in my Malloff book...I made them too thick so they're heading back to the planer...maybe it's the ugly red paint?
*Only on the 2nd tank of fuel in the 395, so no milling with it yet...GAWD, what a beastie though. I'm too old to swing that 36" bar so I stuck on a 20" for general wood cutting/break-in.

Enjoy the pix.
Thanks.

You got some nice looking wood there and some exelent photo's too , thank's for sharing . Cheer's MM

 

[big daddio]

woodshop, you hit the nail on the head for IDing oak trees in southwest virginia. i'm probably halfway between you and marmaduck. i frequently mill barkless oak logs and all but white oak look like red oak. that was a great milling job and from that stack of boards well worth the effort.

 

[Semi-Hex]

I often have trouble telling oaks apart without leaves and acorns.

But, that wood looks AWESOME!!

We have two Oaks out here that you can only tell apart by the acorn. Or at a lab I guess.

 

[jefferyc22]

We have two Oaks out here that you can only tell apart by the acorn. Or at a lab I guess.

White oak looks NOTHING like a Black oak.
Totaly different wood,bark,leaves and growing pattern.

 

[1953greg]

i lean towards cherrybark oak, Quercus pugotafolia if its in a relatively low/wet area. other folage looks like a lower lying vegetation. too dense for upland. black oak is an upland tree.

excellent looking work either way

 

[ropensaddle]

Oak is a beech lol

 

[GeeVee]

Oaks are Incestuous

Oaks cross breed so easily, it almost makes it worthless to try and get closer ID than what you have.

Coming from owning a hammock, one thats closer to Slidell, than some of the others respondents, I can say, be happy with the pretty lumber.

I'd be calling it Red or Black oak too.

By leaves and acorns, I have ID'ed my standing, and cut, and thats my suggestion.

 

[woodshop]

http://www.amazon.com/Identifying-Wood-Accurate-Results-Simple/dp/0942391047

Best way to ID wood... grab a 10X hand lens and a razor knife and you're in business. One of the best books I ever invested in.