Firewood or sell in the length?

[towners]

I’ve always been a firewood man but over the years I’ve had a lot of trees come in up to 50 inch. I firewood the lot.

 

Am I right in doing this or is there money in selling butts and lengths?

 

Currently have a good straight bit of ash around 30ft long and around 35inch. A guide of value would be great.... or do I just chop it!?

[Rough Hewn]

It's all firewood unless someone can do something with it.
Most arb trees from sites or gardens won't be bought by commercial mills as they are bound to have nails or other foreign bodies.
I'd offer to Alaskan mill it for you but i don't mill ash anymore. Goes too hard too quick.
But a bandsaw would piss it.
Then you would have some great slabs.
After a couple or four years stacked in a barn they would be worth a lot more than firewood.
But it's time and effort.
I mill for myself on quiet days and weekends.
[emoji106]

[Squaredy]

2 hours ago, towners said:

 

I’ve always been a firewood man but over the years I’ve had a lot of trees come in up to 50 inch. I firewood the lot.

 

Am I right in doing this or is there money in selling butts and lengths?

 

Currently have a good straight bit of ash around 30ft long and around 35inch. A guide of value would be great.... or do I just chop it!?

 

If you can find someone willing to buy such logs they do have a value but they will have to be clean and straight with minimal shake and few knots especially dead knots.  The ash you mention I would pay around £450 for, but only if it is good and you can deliver or make up to a timber lorry load.  

 

I regularly buy from tree surgeons and I try to always pay well to make it worth their while.  It is true the value will be higher as firewood but this would mean cutting, splitting drying and delivering to multiple customers.

 

Does £450 sound attractive to you?

[towners]

Thank you very much for your reply. About as I thought. It’s the haulage and accessibility that always seems to crop up. Interesting all the same. Think I’ll stick to firewood! Thanks

[Squaredy]

3 minutes ago, towners said:

Thank you very much for your reply. About as I thought. It’s the haulage and accessibility that always seems to crop up. Interesting all the same. Think I’ll stick to firewood! Thanks

Chop that lovely ash log up for firewood?  That will be a crime!  Where are you based?

[towners]

Chop that lovely ash log up for firewood?  That will be a crime!  Where are you based?

Cumbria, South Lakes

[Squaredy]

1 minute ago, towners said:

 

Cumbria, South Lakes

 

Little bit far for me....from South Wales!

[Rough Hewn]

Got a photo or two?
What's the heartwood like?

[trigger_andy]

18 hours ago, Squaredy said:

The ash you mention I would pay around £450 for,

For one 30ft length 35" in Diameter? Really? What would you do with it to make it worth paying so much?

[Squaredy]

1 hour ago, trigger_andy said:

For one 30ft length 35" in Diameter? Really? What would you do with it to make it worth paying so much?

I am a small sawmill so I would mill it and sell the timber in a couple of years when it is dried.