Very Large White Oak

[B-Edwards]

This White Oak fell last year about 20 feet past my property line. I fugured someone would get it for firewood but when I spoke with the owner he had told all who asked "if you get any of it you get all of it". I have been in tree work for twenty years and know you need to be cautious cuttung this thing up. It is very close to the property line and people have to cross my property to get to it. So I told the fellow I would take care of it as I have equipment there and holes to put the stump in. The tree is right at eight feet in diameter at chest height but it is also hollow at the bottom and has been struck by lightning. I am guessing the tree is around five hundred years old + -. I want to get some boards out of it as I am building a house within a few hundred feet of the tree. I know I can get a few logs out of some branches but no-one here has anything that can touch the trunk .

Wanted to ask you guys for any ideas or suggestions. The tree falling was like someone dieing to me. We dont have many trees like this left around here and I'd like to use some of the wood to do something to honor the tree. I know it sounds silly but thats what I want to do. I appreciate any ideas or suggestions. Thanks

 

[twoclones]

Eight feet and hollow? Sounds like the perfect candidate for a Steve Blanchard style tree house. He uses much easier to saw redwood but his first 'tree house' was a solution for what to do with a hollow stump.

http://www.blanchardwoodsculpture.com/

 

[aquan8tor]

The tree is right at eight feet in diameter at chest height but it is also hollow at the bottom and has been struck by lightning. I am guessing the tree is around five hundred years old + -. I want to get some boards out of it as I am building a house within a few hundred feet of the tree. I know I can get a few logs out of some branches but no-one here has anything that can touch the trunk .

Wanted to ask you guys for any ideas or suggestions. The tree falling was like someone dieing to me. We dont have many trees like this left around here and I'd like to use some of the wood to do something to honor the tree. I know it sounds silly but thats what I want to do. I appreciate any ideas or suggestions. Thanks

WOW! That's a monster for sure. If you've done tree work; you know what kinda saw its gonna take, and probably already have it. I'd start by limbing it, and either using the limbs, or finding some railroad ties or the like to put under the main trunk both perpendicular and parallel to keep it from rolling, so that as you cut it up, you can keep it off the ground. Even a big tractor would have trouble moving just the quartered sections of a tree like that. From the picture, it looks like you can get several good sawlog sections out of it. Don't let ANYONE tell you that its not worth milling. As long as there's a foot or more of sound wood in it, its worth it. Quartersaw everything!

I have a Granberg alaskan setup; there's another attachment they make called a mini-mill that is great for quartering logs, but you're going to need a 42" or 48" bar even if its hollow, because it works best if its slightly angled. This log would be AMAZING quartersawn. If you were in VA I'd come and help for a share! I really might think about getting a professional bandmill operation to come and cut up the quarters. I've cut up a few trees that had been struck by lightning; the damage was far less than I thought, and really stayed mostly in the outside of the tree. Even if you had huge windshake cracks that were made worse by the lightning, you could saw around them and get some sweet lumber. It's going to take some time for sure to dry that tight grained wood!

Boy am I jealous! That's a monster, and really a shame; I know exactly how you feel about it being like losing a friend. Trees like that are few and far between.

 

[aquan8tor]

You might want to post this in the sawmilling forum as well. Here are a couple links you may want to check out.


http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?p=1983647
http://www.granberg.com/review_01.htm
http://www.scottbanbury.com/

 

[banshee67]

thats a big #####!

 

[rwilk]

that is one big tree. i like how the pictures were took w/ people on the tree to really show it's size. a had a woodmizer lt40 for a while & it won't touch that thing. The idea of quartering it, then milling it is the only way you can go. good luck, post pics of the results.

 

[isaaccarlson]

WOW....get that baby milled!!!! You could build a whole house with that one tree. Jealous here too.

 

[JimiLL]

thats a big #####!

Me want!!

You can rent MS880's from united rental then you gotta buy a bar and chain big enough

 

[Halling 51]

Why not do it yourself.?

that is one big tree. i like how the pictures were took w/ people on the tree to really show it's size. a had a woodmizer lt40 for a while & it won't touch that thing. The idea of quartering it, then milling it is the only way you can go. good luck, post pics of the results.

I have been sawing my own lumber for many years.The system Big Mill from logosol:

http://www.logosol.us/

is one of the best and cheapest you can find. It is worth the money - every cent - to buy this Big Mill system and use just for the tree you have on the picture. It will be a lot of fine boards and in any size you chose.

I will never change for anything else then equipment from LOGOSOL.

Steinar
NORWAY

 

[Halling 51]

Big Mill system

This White Oak fell last year about 20 feet past my property line. I fugured someone would get it for firewood but when I spoke with the owner he had told all who asked "if you get any of it you get all of it". I have been in tree work for twenty years and know you need to be cautious cuttung this thing up. It is very close to the property line and people have to cross my property to get to it. So I told the fellow I would take care of it as I have equipment there and holes to put the stump in. The tree is right at eight feet in diameter at chest height but it is also hollow at the bottom and has been struck by lightning. I am guessing the tree is around five hundred years old + -. I want to get some boards out of it as I am building a house within a few hundred feet of the tree. I know I can get a few logs out of some branches but no-one here has anything that can touch the trunk .

Wanted to ask you guys for any ideas or suggestions. The tree falling was like someone dieing to me. We dont have many trees like this left around here and I'd like to use some of the wood to do something to honor the tree. I know it sounds silly but thats what I want to do. I appreciate any ideas or suggestions. Thanks

Here is something you can get. Your tree will pay for this equipment before you know it.

Don't know it this works but the link you can copy to your browser.

Steinar
NORWAY

 

[discounthunter]

Halling51, nice picture. whats your set-up and powerhead? thats a good size log you cutting ,looks nice and clean,what do you use the lumber for?

 

[Halling 51]

Big Mill - Logosol

Halling51, nice picture. whats your set-up and powerhead? thats a good size log you cutting ,looks nice and clean,what do you use the lumber for?

Hi.
I use a Johnsred 100cc from 1990. I need to buy a new one and wonder about the Stihl?
At home I use a electric engine 6kw and 50cm chain. The Big Mill from http://logosol.us is very cheap compare to other ideas. You can use this system up to at least 100cm and the accuracy is a wonder. On the site is all kind of equipment made in SWEDEN and sold all over the world as it is CHEP. One oak like the picture pay for this equipment at once.
I do all kind of woodwork and just now I am doing a wood dryer as a log house. This is also from SAUNO and a cheap type and use about 150kW to dry down lumber to 6-8% i 3 weeks. About 3cubic wood stacked inside. The wood on the picture is birch. Birch is the hardest wood I can find here. Pine and spruce is common here. Below is some site I have some pictures on.

I really envy you all the nice wood you have in USA. Last year on my travel around I saw so many thing made of wood and I just wanted to move there!
Norway is to far north and not very good for making nice thing of different type of wood. I bought 3 pieces of lumber earlier and they cost me $1000! Can't afford that a second time.

Steinar


http://vissebraaten.no
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/16914
http://lumberjocks.com/Halling51/blog/11420
http://s438.photobucket.com/albums/qq101/Halling51/Norway woodwork/

 

[034avsuper]

Look at a tree, it's leaves, bark and branching again and again. Do this from several different points of view before deciding that you have truly identified what it really is.

Always use a graphite pencil for taking field notes. The pencil notes will not run as will ink if it is damp or comes a shower.

Start a photo collection of trees that you have learned to identify and those whose identities still escape you.


White Oaks make beautiful trees but are slow growing so are not often planted as landscaping trees. Oaks of the Red Oak family generally grow faster.

HUH!? What are you talking about?

 

[twoclones]

HUH!? What are you talking about?

Don't you recognize a poetry victim when you see one? :biggrinbounce2:

 

[Marine5068]

You could build a timber-frame gazebo on the site of the old oak tree.(on your side).
Put a slice of the tree as the floor and use some of the branches or milled squared logs as the posts and rafters. Could also have a plaque and a photo of the tree under the covered gazebo to remember the tree and to honour it for giving you a nice spot to sit in the gazebo. A green metal roof over the rafter frame would make a nice dry place to sit.
Nice tree and it looks like a VERY old one for sure. Probably older than the USA itself. Would make some fine oak flooring for the new house and some great mantels, bar top, table tops, counter tops, oak doors, etc.
Good Luck.

 

[cedarman]

How you making out with that there tree?

 

[Mark Emig]

Hi there,
How about someone with a Peterson or a Lucas-they can set up on some big stuff.
Mark Emig

 

[Wrangler55]

Wow, what a beautiful tree. It's a shame that it's down. Good luck processing it. I'd love to see how to buck it into sawlogs. A quarter section would be a tight fit on my sawmill. I've got 5 or 6 big white oaks and red oaks on my property. Not that big, but over 4' in diameter. One red oak fell in a storm 2 years ago and the sapwood is rotted, but the heartwood (35" at the butt) is solid and the log is over 30' in length. It fell on a couple of older logs and it's not been laying on the dirt. I'm going to quarter it and mill it into flooring for my old two story farmhouse.

 

[B-Edwards]

I haven't done anything yet, just haven't had the time and the log is not laying in contact with the ground. I had a fellow offer a Woodmiser lt40 with a cat engine, it has 73 hours on it, looks like new. He is asking 22k for it with a pretty big supply of Cedar logs (12 dia). I know that size mill won't do much until it's quatered up but is that a good price? Think he said he gave over 36 k for it.