Old Oak Trunk worth milling?

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Burkesw

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There's an old black oak trunk on my family's property that's been sitting there for about 5 years. There are some pretty harsh cracks on the ends but do you think it's worth milling up? I'm new to CS milling so do you have any advice on the best way to approach this?
 

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Well, there is a bit of rot in it, and lots of pockets for dirt to hide in. But you never know what's inside till you get there. If you get a couple slabs off and it's all rot, stop. You might wind up with some very interesting grain on some short pieces. Worse case you get some practice setting up on a crooked log, and some dull chain, and it still burns well. Good luck, Joe.
 
In addition to what rarefish said, if solid it could make some really nice live edge tables. The wood near the center probably has a lot of moisture yet. I would paint the ends and let the slab dry a few years to make sure the cracks are stable, especially with all the crazy grain from all those branches. Then you can inlay some keys to reinforce the cracks.
cherry table 2.jpg
 
Thanks for all the great advice. Hope there's some good useable wood with some nice crotch grain but I won't be able to mill for another month or two depending on if we ever get rain in drought ridden Cal. I'll will post pics when I do. Thanks again!
 
Ha I wish! I'd probably start a fire if I tried to mill it right now. It's down a deep gully in high grass so I'm going to have to wait until it decides to rain if it ever does. Praying for an El Nino rain this year but we shall see. I will make sure to update this with some pictures when I get to it. :picture::)
 

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