An old red oak.

[Delawhere Jack]

Milled some red oak in Chester Co. PA Monday. An 80'+ tree had succumbed to rot in the stump and came down in high winds. The client and his neighbor recovered some really nice logs from it.  In the process, they found out that logs coming down a steep hillside have a mind of their own...  Luckily, no one was hurt, and no damage done.

The logs ran up to 27", and even the upper logs were about 24-26". When I first saw them I thought it was white oak, due to the flaky bark. It even had very pronounced spiral to the bark. I've never seen that in oak before.

The real jaw dropper came looking at the growth rings. The client said that he'd tried to count them and got up to 130. They were really hard to see since they were so fine. Looking at some of the photos, I've counted 28-30 rings per inch. This tree was very likely over 300 years old.



 

I would have taken more pics, but I had a couple minor mechanical issues with the mill and I didn't want to delay things anymore. The logs turned out a full spectrum or wood from FAS boards to rustic. Not even a hint of tension in any of it.

The house was also pretty cool. Stone farm house built in 1793.



 

Great client, awesome logs, and lunch! The only thing that would make it better would be a little cooler weather!  ;)

[Knute]

Very interesting. Based on the rings, that was a very slow growing tree. Must have grown in the shade or had a lot of competition.

[wetdog]

If that old tree could talk, I would love to hear the stories. Thanks for sharing, I love to see the old growth stuff.
Great looking mill to be one of the older models. Is that original paint or did you re-furbish the mill?

[Delawhere Jack]

Wetdog, It's a 1995 LT40. I've repainted most of the mill except for the saw head. Used paint from Tractor Supply and within a year it is already fading. I should have known, you get what you pay for.

[Magicman]

From your picture it looks more Post or White Oakie than our Red Oak.  I realize that different locales have different species, but our Red oaks are much redder and the bark has no hint of flakiness.

[wetdog]

Wetdog, It's a 1995 LT40. I've repainted most of the mill except for the saw head. Used paint from Tractor Supply and within a year it is already fading. I should have known, you get what you par for.

Last year I bought a '93 like that. I wish mine looked half that good, maybe one day.

[Delawhere Jack]

From your picture it looks more Post or White Oakie than our Red Oak.  I realize that different locales have different species, but our Red oaks are much redder and the bark has no hint of flakiness.

Lynn, the boards told me it was definitely red oak. From the color and the ray flecks. We QS's the first log, and once I saw the color and the narrow rays it was obviously red. The rays were narrow and angled upward, where white oak rays are wide and perpendicular to the pith.

The odd thing was really the spiral bark. It was running 15-20 degrees off vertical, but the grain in the boards didn't reflect this twist. I wish I had gotten more photos, but I had a leak in the hydraulic pump tank (drain plug came loose), and a guide roller came loose. I'd given an estimate of 4 hours and we got well beyond that, so I didn't want to drag it out taking pictures.

[drobertson]

I was just wondering how the lumber turned out?  most definitely an old slow growing tree. 

[Delawhere Jack]

I was just wondering how the lumber turned out?  most definitely an old slow growing tree.

We cut most of it 6/4 and thicker. Many of the boards from the lower logs, about 6' long, came out dead clear and over 20" wide!  ;D. The client was actually more impressed with the common grade boards from the upper logs.

[Magicman]

I was just curious about the color and if I was 300 years old I guess that my bark would be flaky and spiraled too.   ;D

[WDH]

If the earlywood pores are not open, i.e. clogged with tyloses, it is a white oak.  Looks like a white oak from what I can see in the pics.  Color can be misleading.  The truth is in the pores. 

[rasman57]

Wow that is some tree.  Great photo of the growth rings.  Lots of history made while the Oak stood.  They sure did the admirable thing in harvesting  wonderful old growth wood from that gem!  Nice.

[hackberry jake]

You dont see oak like that very often these days. I salvaged a board off of an old falling down barn a couple years ago. I like tight growth rings. You don't see much "cathedral" type grain on oak like that.


 

  

[Ron Wenrich]

It looks like white oak to me.  I'm guessing if it grew on a steep hillside, the soil was pretty thin.  If it had a southern or western exposure, there would be less soil moisture. 

Here's some old growth:   

 

I counted about 20 rings per inch.  It came off of my house when I put new siding on it.  The house was built in the 1850s according to the architectural style.  The species is white pine.

[WDH]

That is true old growth. 

[Delawhere Jack]

Thanks guys. It may have been white oak, and frankly, as a "professional sawyer", I'm kind of embarrassed that I couldn't say for sure.

There were a couple minor mechanical issues with the mill that slowed us down, I'd given an estimate of 4 hours and we went over six. I felt compelled to get the job done and didn't want to slow things down taking pics. Now I wish I had taken a few after we finished.

In any case, it produced some of the best wood I've ever milled. Even this Uglee Log



  

Pretty much no signs of tension in any of it.