Craigslist find- Worth it?

[elektrobot]

http://fortwayne.craigslist.org/zip/842107064.html


It would cost me about $50 in gas for the # of trips I would need to take in my truck. I've never tried to buck a whole length fallen tree before- most of the stuff I scavenge is already cut to 4 feet or less. I would imagine my chain will really get in the dirt on this one.

Any advice- worth the time and gas money?

 

[avalancher]

From the size of that tree, I wouldnt think it would be worth the gas money. he also doesnt mention what kind of tree it is, it could be just some worthless wood for burning.
I have had mixed results from Craigslist, some good, some bad
Some folks seem to think that any tree is good for firewood, and they expect you to clean up their yard for them "giving" you the wood.
Do you have any idea what kind of wood it is?

 

[avalancher]

I was looking a little closer at his pics,does he want you to take the piece on the ground, or the whole tree?
If he wants the whole tree gone, you might want to find out if it can be safely taken down without power lines, other trees, or houses nearby.
Lot of folks on Craigslist just dont want to pay for a pro to come out and take the tree out and have to pay him what his work is, instead they hunt for firewood guys, never taking into consideration the chances of a tree falling on their house. Many have no idea how tall a tree is compared to how close a building may be.
Just my two cents worth.

 

[elektrobot]

You know- I was so darn worked up over finding a tree that I completely forgot to ask him what kind it is. If you hadn't asked me that I would have thought it was maple.... I don't 'know why- just had that in my mind for some reason. I've replied again and asked if he could measure the diameter and let me know what kind of tree it is.

 

[mga]

http://fortwayne.craigslist.org/zip/842107064.html


It would cost me about $50 in gas for the # of trips I would need to take in my truck. I've never tried to buck a whole length fallen tree before- most of the stuff I scavenge is already cut to 4 feet or less. I would imagine my chain will really get in the dirt on this one.

Any advice- worth the time and gas money?

$50 in gas versus how much in heating cost savings?

 

[Madspeed]

Sounds like he just wants the downed tree gone! borrow a trailer off a buddy and go get it! Heck, they might even help for a few beers

 

[elektrobot]

I was looking a little closer at his pics,does he want you to take the piece on the ground, or the whole tree?
If he wants the whole tree gone, you might want to find out if it can be safely taken down without power lines, other trees, or houses nearby.
Lot of folks on Craigslist just dont want to pay for a pro to come out and take the tree out and have to pay him what his work is, instead they hunt for firewood guys, never taking into consideration the chances of a tree falling on their house. Many have no idea how tall a tree is compared to how close a building may be.
Just my two cents worth.

.........and again, I assumed something- He didn't specify only the fallen tree. Thanks for bringing that to my attention, I will ask him the details to be sure.

 

[Wet1]

It doesn't look like it's softwood, it appears to be on the ground with few branches to deal with, and the owner is willing to help buck and load? I'd say it's probably worth the trip.

 

[danrclem]

If I'm looking at the right leaves it might be an ash.

 

[elektrobot]

The person replied and said they are not sure what type of tree it is- but think its walnut. The measured about 35" across at its widest point. ....Doesn't look that big in the picture, does it? I wonder if they measured circumference instead of diameter-

 

[PA Plumber]

The person replied and said they are not sure what type of tree it is- but think its walnut. The measured about 35" across at its widest point. ....Doesn't look that big in the picture, does it? I wonder if they measured circumference instead of diameter-

My guess would be Ash and 12" stump diameter is probably more accurate; That is if the standing tree is not included.

 

[excess650]

Its definitely hardwood, but difficult to see what kind. I don't think it to be walnut. Its also difficult to judge the size, but I would be surprised if its more than 16"-18".

 

[pinemartin]

it is ash for sure. not the greatest burning wood and green to boot but free is always a good price. The 35 inches is probably where they measured across the flat part of the bark inclusion at the bottom the actual DBH is closer to 18-20 inches...

 

[wdchuck]

it is ash for sure. not the greatest burning wood and green to boot but free is always a good price. The 35 inches is probably where they measured across the flat part of the bark inclusion at the bottom the actual DBH is closer to 18-20 inches...

Ash is the one prime firewood hardwood that you can burn green and not lose many btu's. Darn near perfect in this situation. It's an easy size to deal with, easy to split manually, and it's amazing what you can fit in pickup if you stack the rounds neatly, starting cab high and work your way down and to the rear.

The log pictured will fit nicely in a standard box and a little high in a short box.

:greenchainsaw:

 

[KsWoodsMan]

It looks like it is all trunk like a Hickory/Pecan. The creamy color of the exposed wood under the bark make me think Pecan. Not walnut there were nuts on a couple of the closer branches but not walnuts. The branch collor and joint looked more like a nut tree rather than Ash too.

The yard ornament in the foreground of one of the pics is probably 3 feet tall . this trunk doesnt look that like moe'n 12 - 14" at best. If it was laying on the ground within 35-40 miles from me I'd be figuring out a way to go after it with a trailer in tow to take as much as I could in a single trip. Nice that he has a saw and willing to help out. 2 guys cuts the time in 1/3 that it seems to take getting a load on by yourself.

Nice find if you can end up with it.

 

[yukiginger]

Tree type

I agree with others posting on the size - probably 14-16" at the most. More importantly I think it might be a basswood. The bark does look a lot like ash, but it also looks a lot like some of the basswood I see around here. Look at the one picture of the closeup of the remaining standing stem of the tree. Are those suckers coming off near the base? Look at the leaves. I think those are much too wide for ash leaves. Also the closeup of the downed part of the tree has the same leaves appearing to come off some of the branches.

Basswood is pretty much the lightest, least dense "hardwood," and some would call it a soft wood. Check the leaves shown on this site for comparison. Look at the entry about half way down, a variety they refer to as a lime.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilia


Anyway, $50 in gas for a load of basswood would definitely not be worth it to me. Ash, maybe.

Good luck.

MarkG

 

[JBinKC]

I also think the tree is a basswood looking at the 3rd picture in the set. It is definitely not worth $50 in gas for somewhere between a 1/3 to 1/2 cord of likely volume.

 

[ms310]

For $50 in gas i would go down the road and buy a pickup load of already cut and split! Looking at the size of the tree i think that is all you will get out of it. Bark says ash to me but, the leaves are telling me otherwise, I dont know what bass wood is so i can neither agree or disagree on that. One thing i can disagree on is that ash is not junk wood. It is some of the best burning, fresh cut "green" wood out there btus arnt that far below white oak, and is surely one of the easiest woods to split!

 

[NDtreehugger]

If it were ash and you would get both trees I would go. heck would even split the cost if I got one!

 

[mga]

i'm going to call on this one, but i'll bet it's gone by now......

I had a huge tree (appears to be walnut, looks alot like an oak tree) fall down in the wind storm. It is on the west side in the city of rochester. I will help cut up. It is yours...just come and pick it up!