Backyard Cherry

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BigV

Member
Oct 1, 2006
139
Akron, OH
Felled 3 big cheery trees in my backyard today.


wood.jpg

wood1.jpg
 
You aren't kidding when you say big cherry trees.
 
Nice size Cherry's.......looks like you got some splittin to do now. I burn a fair amount of cherry every year just because there is so much of it around.
 
Some nice cherry wood there. I have worked up several big cherries from my woods. Pretty good firewood, mixes well with oak and locust. Some splits easy enough, some splits really hard at least with a maul. Enjoy your wood, looks like you have a great start^5s.
 
As a woodworker (and pellet stove guy) all I see is lumber. Big, wide cherry boards could sell for big bucks, no? You firewood guys ever mill the trees you cut? Not critical, just curious.
 
mrjohneel said:
As a woodworker (and pellet stove guy) all I see is lumber. Big, wide cherry boards could sell for big bucks, no? You firewood guys ever mill the trees you cut? Not critical, just curious.

Most lumber yards will not touch back yard trees due to foreign objects embedded in the trees that could damage their saws.
I had a guy come by a few years back and offer me $25 for each cherry tree I had. He also offered me $50 each for the 12 black walnut trees I have. I told him I would burn it before letting him have it for that price.

Unfortunately these cherry trees had live way beyond their healthy status and it was only a matter of time (short time) before they came down on their own. I would rather take them down on my terms instead of waiting on them.
 
BigV said:
mrjohneel said:
As a woodworker (and pellet stove guy) all I see is lumber. Big, wide cherry boards could sell for big bucks, no? You firewood guys ever mill the trees you cut? Not critical, just curious.

Most lumber yards will not touch back yard trees due to foreign objects embedded in the trees that could damage their saws.
I had a guy come by a few years back and offer me $25 for each cherry tree I had. He also offered me $50 each for the 12 black walnut trees I have. I told him I would burn it before letting him have it for that price.

Unfortunately these cherry trees had live way beyond their healthy status and it was only a matter of time (short time) before they came down on their own. I would rather take them down on my terms instead of waiting on them.

Thanks. May they keep you and yours warm. (Pretty wood though!)
 
We grow big cherries around here in western ky. but most seem to have bad spots in them. Some though would have been great wood for cherry lumber. And I do some woodworking. But I have a great job and make enough money(rough lumber yards around too) that I don't want the headache of processing lumber. Working firewood is bad enough, ha!
 
BigV said:
Felled 3 big cheery trees in my backyard today.

Looks like some nice Cherry BigV. Does that train still run by?


zap
 
zapny said:
BigV said:
Felled 3 big cheery trees in my backyard today.

Looks like some nice Cherry BigV. Does that train still run by?


zap
Thanks zap.
The train runs about a dozen times a week, but the Cuyahoga Valley National Park is replacing a railroad bridge about a mile from my house so It's been out of commission for about 3 weeks.

Since these trees were very close to the tracks, it was a perfect time to cut them down without worry about the train.
 
Perfect timing. I might have missed it but how much wood do you think you'll get out of the Cherry trees.


zap
 
zapny said:
Perfect timing. I might have missed it but how much wood do you think you'll get out of the Cherry trees.


zap
Wow, I couldn't even guess!
These trees were huge!
I will have a better idea once they are split.
 
In Northeast Ohio the lumber dealers won't give you squat for anything. I was offered $600 for 12 walnut trees that are over 30 inches at base one 4 feet,I'll burn it before I get ripped.Another clown wants to give $6000.00 for 100 trees cherry,ash,walnut some oak,once again I'll burn it before they'll buy it. MY opinion only.
 
Those cherry trees make ours look like babies.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
Those cherry trees make ours look like babies.
No kidding! I thought the last two I got were pretty good-sized at 18"...
 
About the fuel v. lumber.....I've made friends with a local guy that has a small sawmill (mostly a hobby) at his house. He'll mill any log I bring him (within reason). He has a metal detector wand that he waves all over the log before he runs it and says it can pick up anything that might hurt his blade. Around here, rough sawn lumber (green or dried) brings good money on craigslist, but its always good to save some of it for yourself. Normally when dad and I bring down a tree, we'll find a 9-10 foot length and set it aside for milling.
 
mrjohneel said:
As a woodworker (and pellet stove guy) all I see is lumber. Big, wide cherry boards could sell for big bucks, no? You firewood guys ever mill the trees you cut? Not critical, just curious.

Just some more perspective - the guys who want just a few individual trees really do not want to pay anything for them. I even had a guy that was just like I am with firewood; if i was free, he would come and get it. If it cost anything, you can keep it. Only way you get $$ is if there is enough for someone to log it or from a rare individual.
 
ohlongarm said:
In Northeast Ohio the lumber dealers won't give you squat for anything. I was offered $600 for 12 walnut trees that are over 30 inches at base one 4 feet,I'll burn it before I get ripped.Another clown wants to give $6000.00 for 100 trees cherry,ash,walnut some oak,once again I'll burn it before they'll buy it. MY opinion only.

This is where a Forester comes in. I am a forester. Its kind of like a real estate agent. You can sell your house on your own but an agent knows where to market your house to maximize your $$. As a forester i know who to call and what your wood is worth and can advise you to take or leave anything. You can pay me on commission or pay for my time i bill you.

Ok im not trying to sell my self to you, im not in your area and i work for a Government agency anyway. Im pointing out things to you and others on this board who may or may not know bits about the industry. That said this guy may have been trying to pull one on you, buyers will do that when they feel someone may not know exactly what you have. Some you think give a fair price are still mostlikely holding a bit extra over their normal commission and costs. And if no one realized the market has tanked!! We have lost 50% of our stumpage prices with no sight of them coming back. Mills have closed are record numbers meaning mills now are farther away than they ever have been for solid wood products. Fuel is also higher than it ever has been, and so with that there is an economy of scale. Folks always ask me what their yard full of huge trees are worth, they give me a avg size and number and i always say nothing or you have to give them away or a few hundred $$ (we have mostly pine here). The reason is that any decent logger needs to be moving wood to make money, not moving equiptment. A move can cost upwards of $3K or more. This depends on the move distance and the pieces of equiptment he has to move. Its not just fuel and saleries here to figure in but lost loads that he looses to come to your place for 50 trees and then leaving to go up the road 50 miles. Thats why most loggers around here wont look at less than 10 acres or less than 40 loads (a weeks worth of work), that said there are guys who are straight shooters who own their own equipment (no payments) and can afford to move less wood a week and like small tracts. They also cant pay as much cause the mills dont pay them as much, its a biased system!
 
Wow, going to get some great splits & lots of firewood, from rounds that size. Looks like vertical splitting to me :) :)
Beautiful fire wood.
I bet you notice more sun this summer, you opened up the canopy removing those big trees.
Good job felling, I bet the ground shook when those hit the ground.
 
Nice job on your cutting, and a nice load of cherry. We cut down a huge cherry last winter (standing dead) it helped me cook maple syrup for a month! that stuff is good firewood, the only downside is it coals quickly and the coals last a long while before ashing down. Had to clean out my stove bi-weekly when burning it. But it sure smells pretty when it is burning, nice cozy smell.....
 
clemsonfor said:
ohlongarm said:
In Northeast Ohio the lumber dealers won't give you squat for anything. I was offered $600 for 12 walnut trees that are over 30 inches at base one 4 feet,I'll burn it before I get ripped.Another clown wants to give $6000.00 for 100 trees cherry,ash,walnut some oak,once again I'll burn it before they'll buy it. MY opinion only.

This is where a Forester comes in. I am a forester. Its kind of like a real estate agent. You can sell your house on your own but an agent knows where to market your house to maximize your $$. As a forester i know who to call and what your wood is worth and can advise you to take or leave anything. You can pay me on commission or pay for my time i bill you.

Ok im not trying to sell my self to you, im not in your area and i work for a Government agency anyway. Im pointing out things to you and others on this board who may or may not know bits about the industry. That said this guy may have been trying to pull one on you, buyers will do that when they feel someone may not know exactly what you have. Some you think give a fair price are still mostlikely holding a bit extra over their normal commission and costs. And if no one realized the market has tanked!! We have lost 50% of our stumpage prices with no sight of them coming back. Mills have closed are record numbers meaning mills now are farther away than they ever have been for solid wood products. Fuel is also higher than it ever has been, and so with that there is an economy of scale. Folks always ask me what their yard full of huge trees are worth, they give me a avg size and number and i always say nothing or you have to give them away or a few hundred $$ (we have mostly pine here). The reason is that any decent logger needs to be moving wood to make money, not moving equiptment. A move can cost upwards of $3K or more. This depends on the move distance and the pieces of equiptment he has to move. Its not just fuel and saleries here to figure in but lost loads that he looses to come to your place for 50 trees and then leaving to go up the road 50 miles. Thats why most loggers around here wont look at less than 10 acres or less than 40 loads (a weeks worth of work), that said there are guys who are straight shooters who own their own equipment (no payments) and can afford to move less wood a week and like small tracts. They also cant pay as much cause the mills dont pay them as much, its a biased system!
I hear-tell rumors of Chinese-owned barge/ships off of our East Coast, in international waters, that are buying our trees, milling them on the barge, and making huge profits selling them to who-knows-where. Not sure if that is true, but if it is, IT PISSES ME OFF! I have cut many, many large hardwood trees down (some of them fantastic veneer grade wood) and for all the more people want to give me for them to use as lumber, forget it! I will do a couple here and there with my buddies mill, but that will be wood for us to sell or use ourselves. I would rather do that or use it for cordwood than to practically give it away and be suckered into someone else making big money on them. Just my two cents.......
 
Scotty Overkill said:
clemsonfor said:
ohlongarm said:
In Northeast Ohio the lumber dealers won't give you squat for anything. I was offered $600 for 12 walnut trees that are over 30 inches at base one 4 feet,I'll burn it before I get ripped.Another clown wants to give $6000.00 for 100 trees cherry,ash,walnut some oak,once again I'll burn it before they'll buy it. MY opinion only.

This is where a Forester comes in. I am a forester. Its kind of like a real estate agent. You can sell your house on your own but an agent knows where to market your house to maximize your $$. As a forester i know who to call and what your wood is worth and can advise you to take or leave anything. You can pay me on commission or pay for my time i bill you.

Ok im not trying to sell my self to you, im not in your area and i work for a Government agency anyway. Im pointing out things to you and others on this board who may or may not know bits about the industry. That said this guy may have been trying to pull one on you, buyers will do that when they feel someone may not know exactly what you have. Some you think give a fair price are still mostlikely holding a bit extra over their normal commission and costs. And if no one realized the market has tanked!! We have lost 50% of our stumpage prices with no sight of them coming back. Mills have closed are record numbers meaning mills now are farther away than they ever have been for solid wood products. Fuel is also higher than it ever has been, and so with that there is an economy of scale. Folks always ask me what their yard full of huge trees are worth, they give me a avg size and number and i always say nothing or you have to give them away or a few hundred $$ (we have mostly pine here). The reason is that any decent logger needs to be moving wood to make money, not moving equiptment. A move can cost upwards of $3K or more. This depends on the move distance and the pieces of equiptment he has to move. Its not just fuel and saleries here to figure in but lost loads that he looses to come to your place for 50 trees and then leaving to go up the road 50 miles. Thats why most loggers around here wont look at less than 10 acres or less than 40 loads (a weeks worth of work), that said there are guys who are straight shooters who own their own equipment (no payments) and can afford to move less wood a week and like small tracts. They also cant pay as much cause the mills dont pay them as much, its a biased system!
I hear-tell rumors of Chinese-owned barge/ships off of our East Coast, in international waters, that are buying our trees, milling them on the barge, and making huge profits selling them to who-knows-where. Not sure if that is true, but if it is, IT PISSES ME OFF! I have cut many, many large hardwood trees down (some of them fantastic veneer grade wood) and for all the more people want to give me for them to use as lumber, forget it! I will do a couple here and there with my buddies mill, but that will be wood for us to sell or use ourselves. I would rather do that or use it for cordwood than to practically give it away and be suckered into someone else making big money on them. Just my two cents.......

Not heard that one?

We mostly grow pine here in the south, the only grade hardwood usually comes out of bottoms. But i have heard rumors that some of our primo stuff get cut into cants then goes on a boat to Japan or somewhere. Just rumors, i dunno if its true or not, BUT the guy buying them is an american white guy, and he pay double to triple your next best market for pine this size, so i really dont care what he does with it!! Some of it is usually actually to big to send to the normal mills as they have reduced the log size they are set up for, so that essentially makes it worthless, unless its used for a transmission power pole or a small independant mill buys it, but thier prices at the gate are usually a money looser at the price my loggers pay me.

NOW on the west coast you can bet our good grade logs go over seas, not sure if they go to floating mills or not? But wood since the 70's even on forest service sales ends up in the japaneese market. Wood is a comodity (im sure most realize this), and if you use a forester that can fully market your wood you will get what its worth. If a strange market pops up where they can take wood to a floating mill, the only way for them to get wood other than theft is to compete for it, thus paying a fair price. Yes you can argue they can hook up with a buyer that may not be the fairest in the world, but no one forces anyone to sell timber at any price. Also think of the fuel alone to get a log to a floating barge, there is no way they can pay what the mill 75 miles away can pay.
 
Well Clem, unless I get what I consider the value of the log is (including the nightmare that some of them present cutting it down, moving it, and getting it on a trailer, etc) I will keep it fer firewood, that's just the way it is.......it means more to me as firewood, in most cases, than the couple hundred bucks that it MAY earn me for the nightmare of dealing with it.
 
Scotty Overkill said:
Well Clem, unless I get what I consider the value of the log is (including the nightmare that some of them present cutting it down, moving it, and getting it on a trailer, etc) I will keep it fer firewood, that's just the way it is.......it means more to me as firewood, in most cases, than the couple hundred bucks that it MAY earn me for the nightmare of dealing with it.

Your Talking about you were delivering these trees and only getting a few hundred dollars!! Wow yea that is a screw job maybe? Depends on the amount of wood they yeild vs the actual payout and what that money could buy you in terms of cut and split firewood. Logs are only bucked to length.

But thats crazy around here you have loggers cut and remove wood, there is really only a few places an individual can roll up to sell wood to a mill and yes they call that "cheap gate wood" cause where else are "you" going to sell it?

I cant beleive that, i was thinking they were going to do all the leg work thats a different story now.
 
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