jayvee Posted November 19, 2018 Report Share Posted November 19, 2018 Have three 200+ year old oaks recently die on my property (3ft+ dia) ... who might be interested in the logs ? I would hate to just burn them ... state of Michigan suggested portable mills but I don’t know where to start and am looking for suggestions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanky Posted November 19, 2018 Report Share Posted November 19, 2018 Most sawmills want buy dead trees. If they do you want get much for the logs. Most portable mill guys post on craigslist. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted November 19, 2018 Report Share Posted November 19, 2018 Spanky, what is the difference in a dead tree and cutting a live one and letting it “age” for a year ? The chance of insect infestation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanky Posted November 19, 2018 Report Share Posted November 19, 2018 7 hours ago, K Cooper said: Spanky, what is the difference in a dead tree and cutting a live one and letting it “age” for a year ? The chance of insect infestation? That would be one thing. The chance in lumber color, down grade the lumber price for a big mill. A aged log for a big mill would be low grade lumber (junk). Ambrosia maple lumber a down grade to the big mills. They get more money for the white clear maple lumber than ambrosia lumber. I can’t sale the white maple lumber and I get more for the ambrosia maple lumber. Funny how it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanky Posted November 19, 2018 Report Share Posted November 19, 2018 If you cut timber on a cattle farm, the timber will have black streaks in the logs from the salt and minerals that the cattle eat. Low grade timber. I don’t like to cut timber on a cattle farm with the cows running in the woods. But, tell that to a farmer! He will think, you are full of hot air! Salt will kill a tree.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted November 19, 2018 Report Share Posted November 19, 2018 Oaks that large, old, and dead are probably hollow in the middle too. On the Woodmizer website, there is a list of people divided by state that own their portable sawmills. Also, you might post on Forestryforum.com Good luck in any case, but chances of getting lumber worth anything, or even someone to slice them is not too good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmac Posted November 19, 2018 Report Share Posted November 19, 2018 10 hours ago, jayvee said: Have three 200+ year old oaks recently die on my property (3ft+ dia) ... who might be interested in the logs ? I would hate to just burn them ... state of Michigan suggested portable mills but I don’t know where to start and am looking for suggestions... Go to Woodmizer's website. Here's the link; https://woodmizer.com/us/Services/Find-a-Local-Sawyer They can help you find a bandsaw mill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmac Posted November 19, 2018 Report Share Posted November 19, 2018 2 minutes ago, Tom King said: Oaks that large, old, and dead are probably hollow in the middle too. On the Woodmizer website, there is a list of people divided by state that own their portable sawmills. Also, you might post on Forestryforum. Good luck in any case, but chances of getting lumber worth anything, or even someone to slice them is not too good. Tom, looks like you beat me to the woodmizer rec. Arboristsite.com is another site to check out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayvee Posted November 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2018 thank you everyone for your help and suggestions... I will check out the websites and let you know if I have any luck. prob will end up just dropping and cutting and splitting and burning them. such a shame for such old and magnificent trees. by the way,.. the reason the went dormant ( we suspect) is because of some major excavations we did on the property to put in a barn. On one of the oaks, we buried the trunk by 10 feet and we knew we would lose that one.. but the other two, we didn't touch... however the excavator brought in a vibratory roller that we believe caused them to go dormant ... again just a theory. thank you all again ! great group on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyG1960 Posted November 20, 2018 Report Share Posted November 20, 2018 I ran a tree service many years ago and we looked into getting something for the nicer trunks we dropped, or at least attempted to not see good sawlogs cut up for firewood. None of the sawmills we spoke to had any interest in logs from trees growing in the suburbs or on roadsides, due to the chance of ruining their mill blades on various metal objects that the tree might have grown around. That was over 30 years ago and metal detecting technology is more reliable than back then, so I don't know if that's the issue it once was. As far as the reasons the trees went "dormant" (AKA dead!), it sound like what you describe. Raising, lowering or compacting the grade around the tree (as far out as the drip line of the canopy) can kill parts or all of the tree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted November 20, 2018 Report Share Posted November 20, 2018 Must be Red Oaks. A long time ago, an old man told me that you can scare a Red Oak to death. I have found that to be true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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