Cutting beech

[tyb525]

A trip around our nearly 100 acres woods revealed quite a few good straight beeches anywhere from 12" dbh to 20"+, with most of the trunks being straight and clear for around 40' or more.

This woods was logged about 20 years ago from what I've been told. It appears they only took the red oaks, white oaks, walnuts, and cherry. They left all the maple and everything else.

So what I see now is a ton of nice straight (40'+ clear trunks, many over 20" dbh) sugar maple, with a few white oaks of about the same condition that somehow escaped. I measured one of them to be 3' dbh and I would say clear for almost 50'.
There is also plenty of ash, hackberry, sycamore, hickory, tulip poplar, elm, etc.

Now here's my question: I want to cut some of the Beech. I've read that they can take over if not controlled? I see beech saplings all over. I also would like to built workbenches and other stuff out of it. Is there any reason that I shouldn't cut it? Is it too hard to saw, dry, etc?

I appreciate your feedback.

[Shotgun]

Ty, You might want to take a look at this http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/DNN/health/beechbark/tabid/5199/Default.aspx

Beech bark disease has been found in OH, and apparently you're not that far away.  The beech in the northern half of Michigan's Lower Peninsula is affected, and the beech range in the Upper Peninsula (E. 1/2) is being devastated.  They're harvesting heavily where possible in attempt to salvage it.  It looks like the Dutch Elm Disease of beech.  Just wanted you to be aware of it.

Norm

[tyb525]

Thank you for the heads up! I haven't seen any of that yet. Looks like it might be a good idea to cut then. If not lumber I know beech burns good.

[Radar67]

Beech looks good quarter sawn and makes good flooring.

[thedeeredude]

I said it in another thread somewhere, but I think beech is a very underestimated wood.  Be careful drying it, but once done I think its a pretty wood.  If I remember right you have a lathe?  That opens up all kinds of possibilities.  You may want to cut some into wooden plane stock.  Go to clark and williams site to see they're planes or size ideas, http://www.planemaker.com/products.html   

[SwampDonkey]

I'm kinda thinking it has to be dried slow. No experience with it, but I know it was used in a lot of horse drawn items. This is beech and maple country up here and most all the beech is diseased now except far NW New Brunswick where it is colder, Cambelton and Madawaska area. Beech makes our best firewood as long has it's sound and not that dead standing junk.

[lancek]

yes tyb beech is very underestamated  and is a very hardy tree you can use it for a veriaty of uses! And you should remove the older and destreested trees,  beech in your area tends to get alot of butt rot! I am down here in south centeral Indiana and we use a lot of it down here in fact my house was built of the stuff back in the thirtys!
Dry it slow and as sudgested earlyer quater sawing it will benefit you greatly by the way your photo gallery looks great glade to see young people that are still interested in this work. But may I make one sugestion look into horse power as a means to move your logs land owners in this area are getting smaller and not wanting the bigger machines in there wood lotts! LanceK

[chucker]

? " OK " so the BIG QUESTION, from a northern boy on beach. haveing never been south of lawton,okla. to much please answer a Q. ....what is beach like as to another type of tree??? never claimed to have all the answers????  ;D

[tyb525]

Okay guys, I cut a 22", with 1 40' trunk just to get started.

I do have a lathe, and thanks for the plane idea thedeeredude. I have made a bowl out of it before and I really like how it worked.

Somehow I have not seen any diseased, dead, or rotten beeches, except one dead on the edge of our property.

Chucker, try this page http://hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/beech.htm

[chucker]

thats some great looking ring growth as grain, looks somewhat like hard maple without all the colors........

[SwampDonkey]

Beech does tend to have a pinkish hue to it, very slight. Yellow birch samples sometimes have a stronger pink hue, almost like cherry. Those short fine black streaks from the pores are characteristic in flat sawn beech.

[rebocardo]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beech

I was wondering how edible the Beechnuts were since they named a baby food after it. Not surprising Wiki says it is both bitter and sweet in the same article  ;) :D

[SwampDonkey]

They are actually not too bad tasting. The bears go up them and pull in twigs to get at them. Looks like a nest when they get done gorging on the nuts.  ;D

Beechnut is also a licorice flavoured cough drop. I also believe there is a brand name of chewing tobacco you could get in Maine.

This page shows a small photo of a bear nest in a beech.

[Splinter]

It will sprout to a thicket you cant even walk through if you cut and run.

This has worked for me.

http://www.dnr.cornell.edu/ext/info/pubs/pesticide-vegatation%20mgmt/Controlling%20beech%20sprouting%20through%20limited%20use%20application%20of%20herbicides.pdf

[SwampDonkey]

Cutting beech firewood out of the rock maple will cast enough shade to supress the maple and allow the beech to flourish as stated in previous post. Thick as dog hair. Up here is mostly from seed, we don't get root suckered beech, we will get stool shoots though. Someone putting on a course about hardwood management was from New England and was amazed by that fact (no significant root suckering). Where he was from the beech suckered prolifically.