Small Green Oak Butt

[Yorkshire Brummie]

Hi Guys, I am after some advice regarding a 4 metre Green Oak butt I took down today. It's approx 450 mm in diameter and pretty straight. Is it worth anything kept as a whole? Or should I ring it up ready for splitting and firewood, and easier to move. Thanks in advance, Cheers Ian

[Big J]

Worth keeping for milling, just don't mill it now. It's too hot and the inevitable cracking will devalue it.

 

There is about 18 cubic foot in it. Would take a couple of hours to chainsaw mill and stack. Stack it well, sit on it for a couple of years and it's worth at least £540. More than firewood, certainly.

[yoz1881]

Hi, if you get 300x300 or 12x12 inch sq section 4m would be a good structural section length. However if you use it in construction you would need a structural calcs for main structural span over 3.3m for say roof purlin. Shakes, knots or defects would limit its use for structural timber. I would plank it and make some chunky furniture?, gate posts?,sell to carver?

[yoz1881]

Worth keeping for milling, just don't mill it now. It's too hot and the inevitable cracking will devalue it.

 

There is about 18 cubic foot in it. Would take a couple of hours to chainsaw mill and stack. Stack it well, sit on it for a couple of years and it's worth at least £540. More than firewood, certainly.

 

Hi Big J

 

You look like you mill. Any advice Ive been looking at alasken mill but only have a 20 inch saw.....

[Big J]

Hi Big J

 

You look like you mill. Any advice Ive been looking at alasken mill but only have a 20 inch saw.....

 

You need a bigger saw!

 

Seriously though, if you are going to be doing much with hardwoods, you need a larger saw. I usually don't do anything with butts smaller than 18 inches in diameter. An 18 inch cut requires a 25 inch bar.

 

90cc and 30-36 inches of bar is a good start. In reality, anyone who does any amount of chainsaw milling uses either the big Husky or the big Stihl (3140XP or MS880). Also, anyone who does a lot of chainsaw milling will tell you that the best thing to do if you have a lot of wood to cut is not to chainsaw mill any more than you have to as it's wasteful and very hard wood. That being said, it's truly invaluable in the right circumstances, like entirely inaccessible trees that would otherwise end up as firewood. I rescued a lovely 20 inch diameter pippy yew the other day this way.

 

Jonathan

[yoz1881]

pmsl, thought I might need to go bigger. I'm playing in my woods with 12-36 inch ash trees mainly but would have to mill in situ with no transport other than a wheelhorse mini tractor as very steep terrain. I looked at an american 24 inch mill you can sit on a ladder rail but it looked small to me I'm hobby use rather than commercial so need to keep cost downs but can buy S/H. Need to get a big stihl first me thinks and buy the mill after. Ive cut loads of huge ash into firewood before due to its size and i'm guessing 20 inch or so x 2m planks would be just about manageable to get out the woods for me. 30-36 would be ample. Thx regards Andy

Edited August 31, 2013 by yoz1881

[agg221]

pmsl, thought I might need to go bigger. I'm playing in my woods with 12-36 inch ash trees mainly but would have to mill in situ with no transport other than a wheelhorse mini tractor as very steep terrain. I looked at an american 24 inch mill you can sit on a ladder rail but it looked small to me I'm hobby use rather than commercial so need to keep cost downs but can buy S/H. Need to get a big stihl first me thinks and buy the mill after. Ive cut loads of huge ash into firewood before due to its size and i'm guessing 20 inch or so x 2m planks would be just about manageable to get out the woods for me. 30-36 would be ample. Thx regards Andy

 

Hi Andy,

 

I've been in a similar position to you, but with oak rather than ash, processing trees on a canal bank about a mile from a road. I milled oak up to about 28", into 20' long x 2" thick boards and hand dragged them the first few hundred yards, to where I could get a dumper. It's slow going, but do-able, so the size you're talking about would be fine.

 

A big old Stihl works well - 100cc+ is ideal so the 075/076/070/090 are good, although the more modern ones are of course fine. There's a slight anomaly in that you can still get all the parts for the above, both OEM and pattern, but the 084 has a few parts which are nla. The 088/MS880 is of course still current.

 

Have you come across the Granberg Alaskan Mark III mills? A 36" Alaskan is light for carrying into the woods and sounds like it might do what you need (when you have a suitable saw). If you haven't seen it, Chainsawbars ? chainsaw chains, chainsaw bars and chainsaw accessories shows a good range of mills and accessories - run by Rob D on here.

 

Alec