what to do with 30" dbh osage orange/bodark tree? actually 40" with Pic!

limbrat · October 31, 2011, 11:15:10 PM

Across the river from Natchitoches in the river bottom there is a old church with a hugh osage in frront of it. Across the side walk fron the tree there is a stump that is much larger than the standing tree. while i was looking at some of the other trees on the property i ended up behind the church and down the slope where they had been tossing trash toward the bayou. I uncovered a lump and it was a knot of a osage that had wood split off the sides of it there were dozens of lumps on that slope. I could help but think they took that hugh osage and busted it into firewood. Oh well whats a country boy gona do with a big hardwood that he need to get out of the church yard. There aint a lot of them around here but in that river bottom there are a few very big ones.

hackberry jake · November 01, 2011, 11:22:59 AM

Here is a pic of the tree up towards the crotch. The place I measured the circumfrence was 8'6" up the tree. I measured 127" which is about 40" diameter. The tree is already down, it fell over. If the tree had not of fallen over, he wouldn't have wanted it gone. My mill only handles 30" diameter, so I'm in the process of deciding what to do with it. Either take it to a local mill with a circle saw and run-around resaw, or take it to a guy with a lucas and a slabber attachment. The only thing I could find for scale was a plastic spoon. If you look close you can see it on the bark.

Coon · November 01, 2011, 03:33:32 PM

Looks like a baby spoon to me. ;) ;) :D That is one heck of a nice tree. Dit you find any rot? Why did the tree go over? Wind? Roots let go? I have quite a few huge spruce that are blown over due to the wet peaty soils and wind.

hackberry jake · November 01, 2011, 03:51:26 PM

My guess would be wet soil and wind, I don't know if it has any rot yet, been too busy on work, school, and dozer rebuild to get to it yet. Any swingers with slabber attachments or bandsaws that will handle 40" logs wanna help on this one? It's in the northwest Arkansas area.

logboy · November 01, 2011, 07:20:20 PM

If you were St. Paul, MN I'd come over with my Lucas and mill it into lumber or slabs. I was excited until I saw Arkansas, not Minnesota. But hey, if you want to truck it up I'll mill it. :D

jueston · November 01, 2011, 08:00:39 PM

Quote from: logboy on November 01, 2011, 07:20:20 PM
If you were St. Paul, MN I'd come over with my Lucas and mill it into lumber or slabs. I was excited until I saw Arkansas, not Minnesota. But hey, if you want to truck it up I'll mill it. :D

i thought he was in mn when i read his location too....

hackberry jake · November 01, 2011, 09:30:59 PM

I'm taking my chainsaw over there tomorrow to buck it... any guesses on how old it is?

WDH · November 01, 2011, 09:43:46 PM

Not as old as you might think, I bet. I'll guess at 75 years old.

SPIKER · November 01, 2011, 10:16:57 PM

I think they tend to grow rather quickly to about 12~16" dia then slow way down in rate of wood added to the tree. one that size maybe closer to 90~110 yrs old as a rough guess. around here they were used a lot as fence rows and for making cow pasture fence lines as the wood is hard quick to grow to a point to keep cows in...
mark

5quarter · November 01, 2011, 10:31:11 PM

Jake, Quarter it with a chainsaw and make as many 16"-20" 6/4 and 8/4 boards as you can get. Alot of work (don't ask how I know) but worth it.

hackberry jake · November 02, 2011, 06:10:31 PM

I got the brush cleared from around it, here's a better pic.

Marc Thornton · November 02, 2011, 08:46:17 PM

Looks like youneed a bigger bar on your saw.

What kind of tree is that under it, or is it a branch turned funny.

hackberry jake · November 02, 2011, 09:02:21 PM

It's a 20" bar, definitely needed a bigger one, but I got through it. It's a branch that broke off when the tree hit the ground. Does anyone know if bodark has attractive figure in the crotches?

WDH · November 02, 2011, 09:21:12 PM

Oh yes, it sure does. That is a grand prize of a tree. Simply stunning. I can't wait until you saw up that beauty.

hackberry jake · November 02, 2011, 09:49:01 PM

If I were to saw up a few pieces into gunstock blanks, is there a place to send them and get back gun stocks? Would bodark be ok to use as gunstocks?

WDH · November 02, 2011, 10:02:30 PM

I don't know about gunstocks, but a couple of wide 8/4 slabs would be nice. How many people do you know that have a bodark table?

(I know the good book says not to covet your neighbor and all that, but I really covet that osage orange tree........

).

CalebL · November 02, 2011, 10:15:03 PM

Quote from: hackberry jake on November 02, 2011, 09:49:01 PM
If I were to saw up a few pieces into gunstock blanks, is there a place to send them and get back gun stocks? Would bodark be ok to use as gunstocks?

I know of two guys that will pay good money for a bunch of it cut into 8/4. One guy makes marking gauges and the other duck calls. If you are interested in selling any of it let me know, I will put you in touch with them.

Celeriac · November 02, 2011, 11:03:29 PM

QuoteWould bodark be ok to use as gunstocks?

A quick look at wood density indicates Osage is about 43% heavier than Black Walnut ,59 lbs/ft³ vs 41 lbs/ft³. Maybe not the best bet for a gun that you're going to carry far afield. I have not made a stock, but I expect Osage would be considerably more time consuming to work.

hackberry jake · November 02, 2011, 11:20:42 PM

I'm going call a guy tomorrow about slabbing the largest log on his slabber mill. It will probably be pricy. I would like to have a 40" wide live edge bodark table though. >:( ;D

nlrwrangler · November 03, 2011, 01:53:12 AM

who has a slabbing mill around here. Can you give me his info. I have a 40-50in burr oak I need broken down and also have about 8 other logs that are too big for my mill.

hackberry jake · November 03, 2011, 02:00:15 AM

His name is Andy, his business is called 2nd Life wood. It's just on the outskirts of fayetteville. His number is xxxxxxxxx. The man can make some amazing tables!

5quarter · November 03, 2011, 08:27:51 AM

Jake, the crotch is first runner up. The grand prize is still partway in the ground. dig that jewel out and you will have something really special. Also, if you want a nice hedge apple tabletop, use 2 bookmatched 20" boards. If it were mine (and I wish it was ;)) I would have the crotch slabbed and saw the main log myself.

Chet

Jeff · November 03, 2011, 11:21:02 AM

Quote from: hackberry jake on November 03, 2011, 02:00:15 AM
His name is Andy, his business is called 2nd Life wood. It's just on the outskirts of fayetteville. His number is XXXXXXXXXXX. The man can make some amazing tables!

Please, never post another person's personal information on a public forum. It can open you up to all kind's of unforeseen liabilities. That has always been a rule here on the Forestry Forum. You can always share the number to someone via a private message or email, but never out for public consumption for who knows who or what to harvest.

hackberry jake · November 03, 2011, 11:35:07 AM

Sorry bout that, I thought about it but I figured since it was a business it was ok.

hackberry jake · November 09, 2011, 02:59:34 PM

Bad day... started the day by trying to load the dozer on the trailer. Steel tracks on steel ramps = no traction. So we pulled the truck and trailer on a downhill slope. We didn't have the common sense to scotch the tires on the trailer so when the dozer got on the back of the trailer, the truck and trailer slid down the hill, jack-knifed and hit a tree throwing the dozer off of the trailer. I jumped off just before the accident happened (thank you lord). In the process it threw a track off the dozer and the rest of today has been spent trying to get the track back on. I'm beginning to think these prize logs don't want to be gotten... wasted day and lesson learned I guess. All you FFers please remember to scotch the trailer before loading anything. It could've been a lot worse.