When is downed wood too old?

[SilverBox]

I cut a downed oak into 8.5 foot sections the other day and took some pics of it today, I think its gtg for milling.

2 logs at base.

Butt end of 1st log

Upper end of 1st log

I ran across this cedar when I was widening the property line and it still has some good wood in it, but I don't think it would be worth milling, its pretty rotten.. Theres about 20 feet of it like this.

What do you all think?

 

[the westspartan]

That last log looks a little rough. The rest of them look pretty good. I mill old stuff all the time. What is the worst that can happen? You get in there and it is worse than you thought or it dulls your chain? I'd give it a shot. You'll have a lot better idea after that first slab about what is going on in the wood.

Good luck,
Dan

 

[Brmorgan]

The oak looks OK from what I can see. The outer sapwood might be useless as it tends to rot or get soft faster in most trees. Having very little experience with oak trees though, I have no idea how they keep once on the ground. The birch I deal with around here MIGHT last two years in a dry spot, if you're lucky. As for the cedar, that log may have been down for a couple centuries to deteriorate to that point. The stuff takes forever to rot away. The center wood is probably fine to use, but might not be worth the trouble. You're going to have to scrape away all the rotten mess on top of it first, just to get a solid surface to mount your mill guide(s) to. Either way, there aren't any rules! If you can get something usable and it's worth the effort to you, cut away. One man's trash is another's treasure, as they say. Personally, I really enjoy scavenging every last little piece from a log, especially ones that other people would normally discard or burn. I've found some really interesting pieces doing this.

 

[woodshop]

...One man's trash is another's treasure, as they say. Personally, I really enjoy scavenging every last little piece from a log, especially ones that other people would normally discard or burn. I've found some really interesting pieces doing this.

My sentiments exactly... I've gotten some really nice stuff from logs other sawmill guys have marked for firewood because it wasn't worth their time economically. That is the key point here, whether it's worth YOUR time. If you're willing to spend the better part of a day and go home with less than 100 ft of lumber, or maybe only a few nice boards, go for it. It's lumber you didn't have that morning at breakfast. As with so many things, you have to ask yourself what your time is worth and wether that even matters in cases like this. One caution though... with that oak and most species other than cedar, osage orange or locust, look for beetles. I've come across many a log that has been down only a year or so, and when bucked to lengths looked fine, but when slicing into lumber found the wood riddled with beetle tracks and eggs, right down through the entire log to the center. It only take one good hot summer with the right conditions to fill a log with bugs around here. Sometime you luck out and there are none, but more often than not you will at least have some infestation if it's been on the ground a year or more.

 

[BIG JAKE]

The log sections in 2nd or third pics? Heck ya I'd mill those. Cedar looks like it has some good wood in it too. Question is how bad do you need the cedar? I might take a stab at that one too!

 

[woodsrunner]

salvage logs

Downed timber can be a real find if you are willing to think outside the box. In January of 2008, I mounted a salvage operation on my timber land. I had grown increasingly frustrated with seeing a good sized tree go down and not be able to recover any value from it. I asked a good friend of mine who is a professional logger (he owns the business) if he would bring his skidder in and help me salvage some of this down timber (for pay of course). He said sure be glad to. Long story short, in one weekend we brought out 5 logging truck loads of timber (red oak, white oak, chestnut oak, black gum). All of the stuff we salvaged was dead standing or down on the ground. After we got it all out, my buddy says, "Scott you can sell this". It brought top dollar. One big red oak in particular had been down for at least ten years, but the main stem was off the ground, all of it solid no rot except for the bark gone. It was really nice when we stuck the saw in it. All the white oak went for to the stave buyers. Dont be afraid of it even if it has some decay or defects in it you will probably get plenty of good usuable lumber from it. If you are using a CSM you can get some really nice stuff for woodworking projects, especially if you like the more "organic or natural look of live edge pieces. So I say go for that downed stuff!!!
Scott

 

[BobL]

This log has been laying on the forest floor for about 100 years.

Still plenty of good wood in it.