logging hickory for timber..

[tony_marks]

  got a chance to clear an area for an lake.. most tall strait an big..
  its my sons property abot 10-15 acres pretty stuff. he supplies equipment we need .. info on this  needed .. also best way to lay it out until we get it to mill. some o these trees got a house full o timber inum .. if hickory is acceptable as timber..
 i get 20 percent of proceeds..or adjustments if that aint gonna pay me.. but i also wanta help him.. hes a master at buying equipment ,,doing a job ,,then selling it at a profit..he ll be working with me a lot,, but his real money,, comes as  an adjuster in insurance ,,so if a big stom comes anywhere,, i may be working on m,y own a lot..advice appreciated.... thanks tony

[Buzz-sawyer]

The Hickory market is opening up and more is being used for cabinets and furniture...sooo you need to fing a buyer for hickory in your area....it will bring MUCH more in lumber than cross ties or pallet stock...it can be used for construction lumber but you MUST use an air nailer ..better set it at 120psi too!!

[tony_marks]

thanks for the info buzz.

[Ron Wenrich]

I've been sawing hickory for the past several years.  It has come around, but doesn't pay as well as the oaks do.  It is still worthwhile to find a broker or wholesaler that buys lumber.  Cabinets, furniture, and flooring.  

I don't cut on it too hard, since there seems to be more defect in hickory as compared to oak.  Bark pockets can be a problem.  Saw that stuff into ties.

Don't overlook the possiblity of veneer in hickory.  Pays much better and you don't have to fool with the lumber.

[rebocardo]

I cut down what I think is my first hickory tree (mocker nut?). One thing I noticed is it has not even been a week and all the small pieces have split of their own accord. Not being an expert on hickory, but, going by this tree milling it ASAP might be a good idea.

The bigger pieces have fairly large splits in the middle of the log like a star pattern.

[cringo]

I dont know what that stuff sells for out there but here in the panhandle of texas I can get $200 or more a cord for it for use as cooking wood.  

[oakiemac]

Tony, if the stuff is really good you might want to look for a stumpage buyer. Then you wouldn't have to worry about felling it or taking it to the mill. Some might be veneer, which would pay alot more money. Just some thing to think about.

I've been milling some logs that I think is pignut hickory. The sap wood is real white but heart wood is reddish brown. Does anyone know what is most desired in Hickory? White sapwood or the darker heart, or a combination of the two?

[steveo_1]

Oakiemac, i have worked in a cabinetshop several years off and on and we used hickory quite a bit.We would try to mix the wood colors on most of the cabinetry and the shop sold alot of it. Not much fun to work with but is a real good looking wood with a natural or very light stain.

[Norm]

Welcome aboard steveo_1, Jeff has some pictures of hickory cabinets that he just installed in his kitchen. Very nice looking wood.

Is hickory so hard it's difficult to machine? I've never worked with it before.

[Larry]

From the little bit of hickory I have used I didn't think the hardness was a factor.  It did have a tendency to splinter when using router bits so rejects were a lot higher than other woods.

If you saw any cut the boards a little thicker as it likes to twist and warp when drying.

[steveo_1]

Thanks Norm,I think the hardness only affects in the finish sanding of hickory,but as Larry said it does like to splinter when shaping edges, and nobody likes warped or twisted boards.Just plan on spending some extra time and care when working with hickory,it is well worth it.

[johnjbc]

I don't have any big hickory. All the hardwood  over 12" were cut before I got the place. In the process of building roads and opening up the site for my cabin I have cut a few hickory up to about 10 " and with in a month they get full of worm holes. Also the hickory treetops that I have cut for fire wood are the same way.
Is this normal for hickory?  

[Ron Wenrich]

We let hickory lay in the yards sometimes for months before we develop enough to cut.  I haven't noticed any wormholes, but then they aren't laying in the woods.

Have they burrowed into the wood, or are they just under the bark?

[johnjbc]

Ron
They have burrowed into the wood But what ever it is it doesn't seem to like oak.



You can see the holes they made in the bark

[woodmills1]

Looks to me like unless that thing has been on the ground for a long time it wasa dead before cutting.

[johnjbc]

That piece was from my woodpile. So I will have to answer generally. I cut the trees form the cabin site over the last two summers. They were cut into about 5 foots lengths, as that is about all I can lift, and piled by  my access road. They laid there until I was coming home without anything else to haul, usually about 6 months, They have been in my wood shed under roof sense then.
Most of the time they get buggy within a month or 2.  The strange thing is it only happens to the Hickory. Maybe it just taste good.
John

[rebocardo]

Since this is a hickory topic, I have to ask, how do you make hickory for BBQ smoking?

I have seen bags of chips, how about using small pieces from split wood?

Are pieces 12 inches long and an inch wide good (I saved almost the whole tree including the smaller branches).

I heard you take the wood (if it is dried), soak it in water, then toss it onto the coals.  

[Bigdogpc]

I have used small branches, splinters, and chips from hickory for smoking.  I use a gas grill with a cast iron box that holds the hickory.  I soak the hickory in water before use and use a spray bottle to keep it from burning up too fast on the grill.

I also use it in a normal smoker, same process.  In the smoker I'm more interested in the smoke so I spritz often to keep the flames down.

I'm not saying this is the right way to do it, it is just the way I do it.

[Kirk_Allen]

I use Hickory regulary in our charcoal grill.  I find a branch that is about the size of a silver dollar (have to be old enough to remember what one of those look like ;D) and I cut sections off the branch about the thickness of a hocky puck.  

I have always used green wood as it has plenty of moisture in it to prevent from buring up to fast when cooking. Works great.

If you dont have green, simply leave your supply of chips in a water bucket.

Kirk

[rebocardo]

Thanks. I am getting my hickory pile ready for slicing and dicing. I saved a lot of the smaller branches too. Going to give some chicken and sausage a try.

[ksu_chainsaw]

I used to have the same problem with the bugs eating the hickory.  I would cut it down green, split the same day, and stack it up on pallets at home to let it dry.  It didnt take but a couple months for the bugs to start in on the firewood.  they didnt bother any other wood in the piles there, but only the hickory.  The firewood ended up looking the same as the pictures already shown.  I ended up selling it for a loss, as the resturant didnt want the bugs in there to use for cooking.

Charles

[johnjbc]

I'm Bringing this thread up because the bugs are eating my Hickory Firewood again >:( >:(. But this time I found one of them and got his picture.


I split the log in this picture



The bug is laying on a piece of Hemlock slab between the wholly Hickory and the Picaroon. It is white with a dark end about 1.5 " long and .25" in diameter.
Any Idea what he is and how to control them. ??? ???

[Frank_B]

Those buggers are thick on my firewood, and I've always called them wood borers.  You might want to take a look at the following URL for more information:  http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/IG119  Or you could just Google "Powderpost Beetle"  Follow http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/struct/ef616.htm to get more bug knowledge than I'll ever need to know. :D