The job I did today:)

[cantcutter]

I had a custom job today milling a walnut and cherry log....together they came out to almost 600 bf. I did it with almost no help in under 4 hrs. The guy I did it for is a retired doctor and he had his neighbor come up to help him stack the wood in the barn, so I barrowed his help to turn the logs a couple of times. I almost felt ripped off when I got done and looked at the pile of boards from 12-20 inches wide Made me feel good to see it all staked and stickered like that. Sorry I didn't take any pictures.....I feel funny bringing a camera onto a job like that. Real nice old white columed house with some nice trees shading it.

His place sets at the end of an airport runway and the government has told him that all the trees have to come down in the flight path. I counted at least 6 large white pines. There was the largest pecan I have ever seen. It was at least 4 ft across at the base and maybe closer to 5 ft. It had at least 14 ft clear butt log and probably another two shorter logs after that as well as several branches large enough to be worth milling.....overall I would guess at least 2-4000 bf millable in that one tree. Right next to it was an elm that was probably 3 ft at the base and just as tall as the pecan. He has all ready taken down about 6 walnuts which he burned, before he got my number, and that one cherry that I milled today.

I called Timberking about getting a turner and they said that they are working on a retrofit for the 1600...to give them a year and not to waste my money on a manual turner as the hydraulic one is only going to be a few hundred more.

 

[dustytools]

Cantcutter, have you heard anymore about the Cedar milling job in Carlisle yet?

 

[cantcutter]

Cantcutter, have you heard anymore about the Cedar milling job in Carlisle yet?

No he hasn't called me back. If anything comes up that way I will let you know.

 

[woodshop]

He has all ready taken down about 6 walnuts which he burned, before he got my number...

ouch... I still cringe when I see a 10ft long 24inch dia cherry laying in a back yard somewhere diced up into 18 inch chunks of firewood. Hey, it's their tree, if they want to burn a thousand bucks worth of cherry lumber, they can certainly do that.

 

[oldsaw]

ouch... I still cringe when I see a 10ft long 24inch dia cherry laying in a back yard somewhere diced up into 18 inch chunks of firewood. Hey, it's their tree, if they want to burn a thousand bucks worth of cherry lumber, they can certainly do that.

Yeah, I saw that once at a construction site. 22-24" diameter, must have been 10-12 ft long, clear. The guy had just got done cutting it up and was rolling the pieces onto the trailer. I made a similar comment, saying that was $1000 worth of cherry, he said it was "firewood now"...all I could do was shake my head.

Mark

 

[stonykill]

ouch... I still cringe when I see a 10ft long 24inch dia cherry laying in a back yard somewhere diced up into 18 inch chunks of firewood. Hey, it's their tree, if they want to burn a thousand bucks worth of cherry lumber, they can certainly do that.

I know what you mean. I picked up some free cherry firewood off of craigs list this summer. The guy had a 32 inch cherry tree, clear for the 1st 25 feet at least, cut up into 18 inch rounds. I shook my head in disbelief, took it all out as firewood. After the last load, I told him what the tree would have been worth as lumber. He had no idea!

 

[Slvrmple72]

I have a White Oak that I am planning on taking down for a friend with the help of his buddy in addition to several Pin Oaks around the house. The problem is Pete sees that big White Oak and thinks only firewood. I told him that he can have the Pin Oaks for firewood ( 3 of the 5 are snags ) but since it is my liability to drop the Pins around Dave's house I want the White Oak to harvest for lumber in lieu of actual payment. I am amazed at fellas who just dont see the value of a tree! The White Oak is a little under 32" at the base and clear of limbs to about 40'. It was near a backfilled swamp and the base is starting to rot badly enough to pose a threat to a neighboring house.

 

[woodshop]

I have a White Oak that I am planning on taking down for a friend with the help of his buddy in addition to several Pin Oaks around the house... ... I am amazed at fellas who just dont see the value of a tree! The White Oak is a little under 32" at the base and clear of limbs to about 40'.

Sometimes they do have at least some sense of the tree's worth, but because of where the tree is, it can't easily be hauled out without damage to yard or whatever, and they don't want the noise and mess of milling it there. Firewood is quick and could be out of there that day. Also, most sawmills in this area won't come to you unless you have several real premium sawlogs for them. Even then, if they are yard trees they don't want to touch them because of the inevitable buried metal. Thus, lots of good lumber gets cut into firewood. Logistics.

The flip side is you get somebody that has a cherry or walnut tree in their yard and they think because it's cherry or walnut they can put their kids through college with the money it's worth. I tell them a tuna fish swimming in the ocean is worth a lot of money also... but somebody has to catch it, process the tuna and put it into cans first.

 

[cantcutter]

I tell them a tuna fish swimming in the ocean is worth a lot of money also... but somebody has to catch it, process the tuna and put it into cans first.

I like that.... I will have to remember to use it