Burr Oak questions

[Big J]

can you give me your mobile number and i will send you them as i dont know how to put them up here thanks

 

07832 106156

[tuttle]

I cut some well seasoned oak today, dead off the fallen tree.

 

the one piece was small, 12" x 5ft....would that have any value?

 

it was ready to be worked, had a nice grain, no burr.

[Big J]

I cut some well seasoned oak today, dead off the fallen tree.

 

the one piece was small, 12" x 5ft....would that have any value?

 

it was ready to be worked, had a nice grain, no burr.

 

Not really, beyond firewood. Only people interested in that size of Oak would be woodturners, and without pipping or burr, it's not of much use to them.

[agg221]

I cut some well seasoned oak today, dead off the fallen tree.

 

the one piece was small, 12" x 5ft....would that have any value?

 

it was ready to be worked, had a nice grain, no burr.

 

If it was dead straight and perfectly round you would just squeeze an 8" x 8" out of it, which at 5' long would be a shade over 2 cu.ft, so it might be £40 as a cut beam. It would be about the right size for a fireplace lintel. Also, assuming it's a branch rather than the main stem, it's likely to be stressed and move around a bit, but should be fairly stable if left as a big section like this.

 

Setting up to mill it would take pretty much the same time as setting up to mill something bigger, but will only yield the one piece. If you factor in someone's time travelling to get it, fuel etc, then to recover anything like a sensible hourly rate they would need to pay no more than £10 for it, even if local. This is about in line with the typical £5/cu.ft level (without me bothering to calculate Hoppus feet which would be more accurate).

 

So in summary, probably not worth it, but if you had the option to do it yourself, you might just decide to mill it - I've done small bits like this sometimes when they're with something else.

 

Alec

[ucoulddoit]

I wondered if another thread could be started from this one. Pictures of trees/logs suitable for milling and graded something like:

 

Fencing grade

'Craftwood' grade

Furniture grade - small user

Furniture grade - manufacturer

Green oak framing

Veneer grade

Other

 

It is not something that I could do, but perhaps if people post pictures, opinions could be given by those experienced at milling?

 

Andrew

[Rob D]

It's a very good discussion - what is it worth - all my dealings in wood have told me 'it's worth what someone will pay for it'.

 

 

You could have wood worth x y and z - but if you have no one to buy it this value is irrelevant.

[Big Beech]

guys,

thanks for the posts, but keeping on the Burr oak original question it appears after speaking with several people there appears to be no oprion of getting a trekkersaw in as hoped, again due to the remote wooded location and the trouble of getting the power pack near enough to drive it.

so it does in deed look like the alaskan will be the only route, as i can cut it soon and leave it stacked and undercover to allow to air dry in the wood waiting for a dry summers day.

So,given the size would i be best cutting 4" slabs, then getting them re cut on another mill once i can get them out or just go straight it at 2"? and should i cut through the burr or under them in to teh main trunk?

 

TIA, Simon

[tuttle]

If it was dead straight and perfectly round you would just squeeze an 8" x 8" out of it, which at 5' long would be a shade over 2 cu.ft, so it might be £40 as a cut beam. It would be about the right size for a fireplace lintel. Also, assuming it's a branch rather than the main stem, it's likely to be stressed and move around a bit, but should be fairly stable if left as a big section like this.

 

Setting up to mill it would take pretty much the same time as setting up to mill something bigger, but will only yield the one piece. If you factor in someone's time travelling to get it, fuel etc, then to recover anything like a sensible hourly rate they would need to pay no more than £10 for it, even if local. This is about in line with the typical £5/cu.ft level (without me bothering to calculate Hoppus feet which would be more accurate).

 

So in summary, probably not worth it, but if you had the option to do it yourself, you might just decide to mill it - I've done small bits like this sometimes when they're with something else.

 

Alec

 

thanks for the advice, I got no milling tools, only saws, seems shame sometimes, the tree is fallen and this was just one branch which had easy access, might post a pic of the full stem and see if it worth getting a crane in

[agg221]

guys,

thanks for the posts, but keeping on the Burr oak original question it appears after speaking with several people there appears to be no oprion of getting a trekkersaw in as hoped, again due to the remote wooded location and the trouble of getting the power pack near enough to drive it.

so it does in deed look like the alaskan will be the only route, as i can cut it soon and leave it stacked and undercover to allow to air dry in the wood waiting for a dry summers day.

So,given the size would i be best cutting 4" slabs, then getting them re cut on another mill once i can get them out or just go straight it at 2"? and should i cut through the burr or under them in to teh main trunk?

 

TIA, Simon

 

If you're going this route, I would suggest cutting the thickest slabs you can move. One big downside to chainsaw milling is the wide kerf. For making beams this doesn't make any odds, but it means wasting a larger percentage of the total the thinner the boards you're milling. Re-sawing on a bandmill will reduce this wastage significantly.

 

If the owner of the land will let you leave it there, I would aim for extraction from around September next year - I don't like exposing unseasoned timber to hot sun as it tends to crack, so I would be looking for one of those dry, cool spells you sometimes get in early/mid Autumn. It won't be anything like seasoned, but at least it will be a bit lighter.

 

You will still need to figure a way of rolling it to make the most of the burrs. Big J knows about the best pattern of milling to go for on this - I haven't tried it myself as I've tended to mill more structural stuff.

 

What size actually is it btw?

 

Alec

[agg221]

thanks for the advice, I got no milling tools, only saws, seems shame sometimes, the tree is fallen and this was just one branch which had easy access, might post a pic of the full stem and see if it worth getting a crane in

 

Worth posting the pic, with an approximate location in the country. Several people on here are sometimes interested in single butts.

 

Alec