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Blackjack?

Started by isassi, January 17, 2006, 10:27:33 PM

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isassi

Around my part of Oklahoma, we have an abundance of timber, referred to as Blackjack, and I have heard some guys call it post oak. Anyone know the correct name and if it has value as sawn lumber? All anyone here does with it is firewood, but I noticed today driving by a patch of timber how tall and straight the logs are. When these blackjacks get really large, they go down in storms and seam disease prone. Any ideas?  :P

beenthere

And in some places Blackjack is young ponderosa pine.  :) The name Blackjack seems to be a catch-all, but locally will probably have a pretty specific meaning.
Do you have access to a tree identification field book?  Maybe when the leaves are out and developed, you can pin it down.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

jon12345

It could be Quercus marilandica also known as the blackjack oak, jack oak, barren oak or black oak. Inhabits United States everywhere east of the rocky mtns.


A.A.S. in Forest Technology.....Ironworker

SwampDonkey

Black oak is Quercus velutina and has a wider range. Blackjack oak is not a New England native. Leaves of blackjack oak are like webbed ducks feet (3-lobed). It is commonly found with black oak and most commonly on poor soils in the SW, poorly formed tree. However, black oak leaf shapes are similar to scarlet and red oak because they are variable.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

isassi

Sounds right..I have to look again, but i think the leaves are 3 lobed...puts off acorns...any thought to milling it?  :)

SwampDonkey

Quote from: joasis on January 18, 2006, 08:01:26 AM
Sounds right..I have to look again, but i think the leaves are 3 lobed...puts off acorns...any thought to milling it?  :)

Heck man, I've seen staghorn sumac sliced up here, so go for it. :)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Pullinchips

no idea what your trees look like but around sc they (blackjack oaks(querqus marilandica)) tend to be poor formed and very very limby, they do not self prune well and will hold onto dead limbs for years.  if you choose to mill it may have many small loose knots.  Small ones because most branches tend to remain small then die.

-nate
Resident Forester
US Army Corps of Engineers: Savannah District

Clemson Forestry Grad 2004
MFR Clemson University 2006
Stihl MS 390

populus

Blackjack oak, Q. marilandica, is a commercial species, but often small and poorly formed. The wood is incredibly dense and it is hard to saw, was formerly used for charcoal, railroad ties and for tannin. If you can find large enough blackjack oak, there is a market for it  We have 200-year-old blackjacks on hilltops in Kentucky that are 4 inches diameter, but I have seen better quality trees around cedar glades.

Common names can be confusing, and I have some old references that use the term blackjack oak or blackjack for black oak, Q. velutina, and for post oak, Q. stellata. These are both important commercial species, and are both found in your area. Post oak would be lumped with white oak in the wood industry, and black oak is a red oak.

I'm with Swamp Donkey - saw some up and see what you get. 


isassi

I wasn't thinking about marketability, but rather if it would work for the rustic beams, stair stringers, treads, posts in the new house I have to build to stay married ;). I think Pullinchips hit it right due to they hold dead limbs, ect. The ones around here, if not in a dense growth, tend to grow up pretty straight and look to be 2 ft in diameter or better. Hard sawing won't be a problem with the meadows...but I will go fell one if there are not some down in the timber piles I am clearing of walnut right now....more later.  :)

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