Brown oak

[Alycidon]

Had an old oak ripped in half by the gales on Friday.

 

Basically the top of the trunk has been blown off. I have two lumps of trunk, each about 5 feet long and at least 2 feet in diameter. One of these lumps has some significant bends in it The outer 6 inches or so are natural oak colour, the center is brown but feels pretty solid.

 

Is this worth milling?., rest of the tree is still standing all be it with a rip all the way down the trunk exposing the brown.

 

Thanks

 

A

[Jamespepperpot]

If its proper brown oak I've read its worth 4 times as much as normal milled oak so probably worth it!

[lgl]

If its proper brown oak I've read its worth 4 times as much as normal milled oak so probably worth it!

 

Its not proper brown oak, I can assure you

[Copford sawmill sussex]

Brown oak is fine for joinery as long as it is hard but if it goes soft it's no good for no one. It's allowed in construction if hard but it is not favoured by the majority. We had aassive lump that was brown and ended up getting hardly anything out of it !

[youcallthatbig]

If its proper brown oak I've read its worth 4 times as much as normal milled oak so probably worth it!

 

sorry, but you heard wrong!

[Woodworks]

sorry, but you heard wrong!

 

 

Agreed

 

Last lot I bought was 10% more and have got it for less as the merchant had no demand for brown oak.

[Alycidon]

Its a lot browner than the pic of that massive trunk, Cadburys Dairy Milk Brown. I thought it was all rot until I got up top it.

 

If I could cut a couple of mantle beams out of it that would be nice but if its crap then it can go into a firewood bag.

 

A

[lgl]

A true brown oak is almost black , rock hard and touches as cold as marble on the sawn end

[agg221]

Agreed

 

Last lot I bought was 10% more and have got it for less as the merchant had no demand for brown oak.

 

Yep, that's the normal pattern. It's supply and demand - there isn't much of it but does anyone want it? Sometimes it's in fashion, when it costs more, sometimes out of fashion and costs less.

 

As it happens, I am on the lookout for a nice bit of brown oak as I want to lay my living-room floor in it like I did at our old place.

 

Alec

[se7enthdevil]

if its brown and solid then it is worth milling. i milled up the small bits from my supply as it's too good to go on the fire.

 

is it as brown as this stuff, http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/woodcraft-forum/68940-brown-oak-woodcraft.html

 

ebay would be a good outlet for turning blanks.