Don't want to waste this

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TimJ

Minister of Fire
Apr 10, 2012
1,231
Southeast Indiana
Coming out of the woods tonight dealing with that cherry, I decided to take a picture of this white oak that got hit by lightning maybe 4 years ago.It also stands about 3o feet tall. I measured the diameter at 45" To me that is a big boy and I do not think I can take it with my 039 stihl with a 25 " bar
What say yee
and what can I do to not make my pictures come out so small
 

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cut her from both sides. I manages to cut 30" cotton wood with my 18" ms 290. Sharp chain and take your time. It can be done !
 
Nice log, I wouldnt want to leave it either, your pictures are fine, they set it up to be a thumbnail and if you click it it gets big.
 
If its standing dead realize that there are some risks to consider. High dead branches can decide to rain down at any point. Wear a hardhat. Also hinge technique can be hairy as you dont know how much good wood is left in the trunk. If you assume there is a hinge and it tunrs out to be rotten, the tree can kick back. Take you time and make sure you have a clear escape route preferable with some blocking cover.
 
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Good advice from peakbagger but hopefully the trunk is still solid. You should be able to tell by how fast the saw goes through it and by looking at the chips being thrown...dark chips can indicate rotten wood.

I would leave some holding wood at the back of the backcut; Then if you don't have enough bar for the backcut, you can plunge-cut through the face of the hinge to clean out the middle of the backcut. Then just start trimming the holding wood until it pops.
 
An 039 with a 25" bar might be a bit slow, but you can do it. Cut from both sides and they will meet in the middle. I have also had trees so big, that I had to cut from the side, then from the butt end (let drop) and then come in from the side again.
 
Thanks to all that responded..................I will make this a winter project for wood to use in the future. There's alot of wood just in that big branch laying beside it. I'll get that up and then drop the trunk.
 
I grab White Oak whenever I can but I don't come across it as often as other woods; They are just more durable trees. I've got probably two cord stacked now, and I just scrounged another big trunk that I saw, not too far from the house. It's not 45" but it looks to be 35, anyway. Somebody already grabbed the easy, smaller limbs so all that's left is the big trunk, with a good share of crotches. :oops: With the bad crotches, I've been considering just cutting them short, like 9", so they would be easier to split and the resultant chunks would fit in the stove sideways. I don't know if I want to be making any more chunks than necessary, though. I've got a pile of them to deal with as it is. I'm trying to look ahead a bit now as I cut so that I just make a few shorter rounds at the end of the limb instead of making the last one very short...
 
White oak is primo fire wood.
A good winter project, it won't go any where.
Whittle away at it when yo can. Looks like fun & a challenge :)
 
Tim, you can cut it with your saw. You've got some good advice above. Be sure of what you are doing and then do it!
 
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