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Pictures of your trees on the hit list for the mill

Started by Walnut Beast, February 14, 2022, 02:55:58 AM

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Walnut Beast

A few pictures of plenty dead and down Black Gold of all sizes. Eager to get into the treasure chest. The one big dog blew over on the creek several years ago that's half in the steep bank. Can't measure the lower part but the smaller upper limb on the fork is 22" and really long. The tree still had some life growing like that

 

 

mike_belben

Those could grow well in my region but are pretty much extinct except in front yards.  Ive hardly ever seen walnut other than slabbed up in bar rooms. 

Pretty awesome that youve got mature ones
Praise The Lord

Walnut Beast

It's time for some of these monsters to come down this one is way bigger up higher than the lower diameter. Notice the old time barb wire on the outside going in the knot

 

 

  

IndiLina

I like the idea of a thread for this.   
Walked around my tract in Virginia Saturday, trying to decide which trees to start with when my mill arrives.   
Think the timber could use a thinning, so will probably be taking some trees a bit smaller than the pros would be interested in.   
At least half the tract is red and white oaks. Black, scarlet, chestnut, and white.   



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Want to avoid high grading, but not sure what to do with the pines like these white pines, because I doubt they are financially worth hauling the 2 hours to my mill site, which already has a lot of Loblolly on site. 


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Tracts in So. Indiana, Nor. NC, SW Virginia

Walnut Beast

Looks  beautiful ! . Good idea to get the wheels turning on a game plan 👍

mudfarmer

Does it count if already down? This is what is left of a small pile of sale logs after "merchandising" and will go on my mill. There are a number of these piles that need to get moved to the mill yard before mud season. Anything that won't make at least a #2 log is not worth it for me to haul. I do not mind cutting 9" diameter or 4-6' long hardwood with the LT15. Also crotches, butts etc. that don't turn into firewood. These were cut off the side of a skid trail and had to be jump butted. Ash, cherry, hard maple



 



TroyC

Mine are already down. Took them out for my shed area. Plantation pines, 21 yr olds so don't expect quality wood. Might make another shooting shed or some siding boards. Hope to cut next week.

 

 

mike_belben

youre making a plantation look pretty good.  its not like i wont need some lumber in 20 years any less than i need it today. 
Praise The Lord

woodman52

I've been doing a lot of looking and marking, here are some from before the snow got deep. I have taken a number down over the winter. Some I will sell as logs, some I will mill. All have issues. The ones that have broken crotches or hollows I will mill what I can recover since the mills won't buy them. I will also save some of the nicer logs for myself.



 
This one is a cherry, 24+" dbh. Split right down crotch then half broke down about 18'up.



 

Easy to see what's going on here.



 

The two with the roots showing are candidates but also the two to the right look like they are not going to get any better with age, and are really close to the third one that looks good. Since I started managing these woods I have always tried to take the worst and leave the best.
Cooks HD3238 mill, loader tractor +, small wood processor, Farmi 501 winch, Wallenstein LX115 forwarding trailer, 60 ac hardwood, certified tree farm

woodman52

Here is my son working on one that is starting to hollow at the base.



 
Cooks HD3238 mill, loader tractor +, small wood processor, Farmi 501 winch, Wallenstein LX115 forwarding trailer, 60 ac hardwood, certified tree farm

Walnut Beast

Quote from: mudfarmer on February 14, 2022, 10:37:09 AM
Does it count if already down? This is what is left of a small pile of sale logs after "merchandising" and will go on my mill. There are a number of these piles that need to get moved to the mill yard before mud season. Anything that won't make at least a #2 log is not worth it for me to haul. I do not mind cutting 9" diameter or 4-6' long hardwood with the LT15. Also crotches, butts etc. that don't turn into firewood. These were cut off the side of a skid trail and had to be jump butted. Ash, cherry, hard maple




You bet it counts 👍. 

Walnut Beast

Quote from: woodman52 on February 14, 2022, 01:10:47 PM
I've been doing a lot of looking and marking, here are some from before the snow got deep. I have taken a number down over the winter. Some I will sell as logs, some I will mill. All have issues. The ones that have broken crotches or hollows I will mill what I can recover since the mills won't buy them. I will also save some of the nicer logs for myself.



 
This one is a cherry, 24+" dbh. Split right down crotch then half broke down about 18'up.



 

Easy to see what's going on here.



 

The two with the roots showing are candidates but also the two to the right look like they are not going to get any better with age, and are really close to the third one that looks good. Since I started managing these woods I have always tried to take the worst and leave the best.
Hopefully you will get some good stuff for the mill. Some of these storms can be nasty on the trees that were in good condition 

woodman52

Black cherry is notorious for splitting at a crotch. This is one of the things I look for when deciding what trees to cut. If the crotch is tight and the top is healthy it gets a pass. If the crotch is starting to split it goes on the short list, if the top is dying back it goes on the "someday when I get caught up" list. I also look at the butt for issues, that seems to be more of a hard maple issue than cherry but they all get looked at. As a cherry matures and gets heavier on the top the crotches get more susceptible. It seems like around 24" dbh is when you really have to start looking. If the crotch form is a V and not a U you have to start watching it when it get that big. I do have some that are 32" that are tight and sound so I don't go just by diameter. 

I look at the health of the tree, will it get bigger and better in the future, will it stay the same, will it get worse.
I look at nearby trees, will they be better off if this tree was gone.
I look at understory, what will happen if more light gets down to the ground. The understory is the future -- for my son.

I don't think I have cut down a tree just thinking - that will make some nice lumber. ---  Except some beech, they have little commercial value but I use them for building. So if I need some 20' beams I will look for beech trees that fit the bill. I have an overabundance of them.

Cooks HD3238 mill, loader tractor +, small wood processor, Farmi 501 winch, Wallenstein LX115 forwarding trailer, 60 ac hardwood, certified tree farm

Walnut Beast

I like that approach. Same here if the tree doesn't have any issues it's going to be left alone 👍

Woodfarmer

Quote from: woodman52 on February 14, 2022, 06:34:19 PM
Black cherry is notorious for splitting at a crotch. This is one of the things I look for when deciding what trees to cut. If the crotch is tight and the top is healthy it gets a pass. If the crotch is starting to split it goes on the short list, if the top is dying back it goes on the "someday when I get caught up" list. I also look at the butt for issues, that seems to be more of a hard maple issue than cherry but they all get looked at. As a cherry matures and gets heavier on the top the crotches get more susceptible. It seems like around 24" dbh is when you really have to start looking. If the crotch form is a V and not a U you have to start watching it when it get that big. I do have some that are 32" that are tight and sound so I don't go just by diameter.

I look at the health of the tree, will it get bigger and better in the future, will it stay the same, will it get worse.
I look at nearby trees, will they be better off if this tree was gone.
I look at understory, what will happen if more light gets down to the ground. The understory is the future -- for my son.

I don't think I have cut down a tree just thinking - that will make some nice lumber. ---  Except some beech, they have little commercial value but I use them for building. So if I need some 20' beams I will look for beech trees that fit the bill. I have an overabundance of them.
How do you store the beech beams, inside or outside?

Ed

The top broke on this 36" Hickory last year, beginning of the end for it. With the top still stuck and not knowing the condition of the trunk (Hickories tend to hollow badly here), I decided there are better ways to die. Had an exc. contractor working across the road take it out stump and all with the trackhoe.
Suprisinly, its solid, sawmill here we come!

Ed



 

nativewolf

Quote from: woodman52 on February 14, 2022, 01:20:12 PM
Here is my son working on one that is starting to hollow at the base.




One can tell you've been culling from below.  Very nice looking woods!  it looks in the pics as if the save trees might be a bit overstocked.  Is that the case?
Liking Walnut

Walnut Beast

Nice picture Ed! The wind here this past summer busted the whole tops out on some smaller walnut trees

g_man

I am going to cut this one and bring it to a friend who has a mill and likes to open these things up.



 

gg

Walnut Beast


TroyC

Woodman, how you safely take out that one hung up at 45 degrees? I have a pine about twice that big, hung and leaning. Still alive but on the cut list next week or so.

woodman52

Quote from: Woodfarmer on February 14, 2022, 08:58:18 PMHow do you store the beech beams, inside or outside?


Outside. I am building out buildings, sheds etc. I build with green wood and take into account that the wood is going to shrink/move. Beams take a long time to dry and almost all older timber frame structures were built with green timber. I build mostly post and beam but the same principles apply.
Cooks HD3238 mill, loader tractor +, small wood processor, Farmi 501 winch, Wallenstein LX115 forwarding trailer, 60 ac hardwood, certified tree farm

woodman52

Quote from: nativewolf on February 14, 2022, 10:25:49 PMOne can tell you've been culling from below.  Very nice looking woods!  it looks in the pics as if the save trees might be a bit overstocked.  Is that the case?


Not so much. In some areas yes, and I take that into consideration. I take advantage of NY states DEC forestry services. I have had foresters go through my woods periodically and I always walk with them and learn what I can. I currently have about 5 acres marked to be thinned and will have more marked when done with the current batch. Most of the trees marked to be thinned are not saw timber but mid story trees. Take down the worst to let the rest grow better and make room for some under story trees. In general, the saw timber is well spaced with some exceptions. 
Cooks HD3238 mill, loader tractor +, small wood processor, Farmi 501 winch, Wallenstein LX115 forwarding trailer, 60 ac hardwood, certified tree farm

woodman52

Quote from: TroyC on February 15, 2022, 10:14:29 AM
Woodman, how you safely take out that one hung up at 45 degrees? I have a pine about twice that big, hung and leaning. Still alive but on the cut list next week or so.
That is a good question. The answer is- it depends - on a lot of things. I have a Farmi winch so the first thing I usually do is try to unstick it. If it is cut from the stump that is often not too hard. Wrap the choker so it rotated the tree and pull from a direction that seems appropriate. When they still have the roots attached it gets a lot trickier. I still try to unstick it, but by hooking it up as high as I can. If it is really solid I have been know to use a ladder (I have one that collapses down and is easy to transport in the woods). Once hooked up I will pull sideways or down or shake or whatever seem like is might work. A snatch block can come in handy for this. If a no go I will cut it at the base as if it were standing. This can be tough because it is hard to tell which way the forces are. Always watch the cut and if it turns out the notch is on the wrong side stop and reevaluate. Maybe cut higher with the notch on the other side, maybe cut a from the notch side. It is a good idea to have a second saw with you because there is a good chance of getting a pinch.
I will sometimes attach the winch and put a little pressure on the side away from where I am cutting, so it can't jump that way. Maybe put some pressure toward the hang up so it can't slide back until after you have it severed. 
Just too many if, ands, and buts to tell you how to do it. This is just some of my thought process when I come up against it. There are people on the forum with lots more experience than I have, maybe post this question as a new post and get some better options.
IF IT LOOKS LIKE YOU CAN'T DO IT SAFELY - LEAVE IT.
Cooks HD3238 mill, loader tractor +, small wood processor, Farmi 501 winch, Wallenstein LX115 forwarding trailer, 60 ac hardwood, certified tree farm

Roundhouse

This one is on the list, just not sure how long it will be until I get to it. There are a number of projects and construction lumber that will be done ahead of it. It is the one I look forward to and sometimes daydream about the best way to mill it for some really wild live edge pieces etc. 


Woodland Mills HM130, 1995 F350 7.3L, 1994 F350 flatbed/crane, 1988 F350 dump, Owatonna 770 rough terrain forklift, 1938 Allis-Chalmers reverse WC tractor loader, 1979 Ford CL340 Skid Steer, 1948 Allis-Chalmers B, 1988 Yamaha Moto-4 200, various chain saws

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