Wood too far gone?

[DTREV]

I've been scavenging lately and came across a downed tree that's obviously been dead a while. Land owner says take it all. Bark is off and there's some rot on the branches. So, when is it not worth it to collect wood? I don't know the tree type - it'll definitely burn fast since we've had a dry summer here so I'd guess little if any seasoning needed.

Thanks - my tendency is to take any wood I find. Just wondering how other folks handle these kinds of finds.

 

[ozarkjeep]

if it is solid enough to split, I would snag it.

Ive cut some that were so "spongy" and light it was like balsa wood, or styrofoam, I pass up that sort of stuff.

Often, there is some soft wood on the outer portions, but once split, inside is good and solid wood still.

I've been scavenging lately and came across a downed tree that's obviously been dead a while. Land owner says take it all. Bark is off and there's some rot on the branches. So, when is it not worth it to collect wood? I don't know the tree type - it'll definitely burn fast since we've had a dry summer here so I'd guess little if any seasoning needed.

Thanks - my tendency is to take any wood I find. Just wondering how other folks handle these kinds of finds.

 

[DiscoInferno]

I've been scavenging lately and came across a downed tree that's obviously been dead a while. Land owner says take it all.

As in, "if you want any, you have to take it all"? Or "take whatever you want"? When I'm scrounging I only take the good stuff, I'm not a free yard cleanup service. I don't go looking to make a mess or anything, but why should I move their rotten wood to my house? Fortunately this has rarely been an issue. Anyway, the quickest way to asses the overall quality is to make a few cuts and look at the cross-sections. If the rot is only around the perimeter, then you're good to go. If you can't find solid wood, then leave it, obviously.

 

[pulldownclaw]

I just scored some oak from a huge tree that had been on the ground for awhile. I had to split the rounds into quarters just to be able to lift them into my truck. Some of it was rotten about 2 or 3 inches around the perimeter, but the interior still is good. The only thing was splitting it was much more difficult, my maul was bouncing off of a lot of it like it was made of rubber....

 

[Matt_W]

I found a whole red oak tree that was lying around my property for a good 6 years that the loggers cut and left lay for some reason. The outside was very punky and I really did not think it was any good until I cut it with my chainsaw. To my surprise the core was solid and made for some great wood! You never know until you cut it I guess.

 

[DTREV]

Thanks for all the comments. I'll check it out in the next couple of days. I'm guessing the landowner would love for me to take the whole tree but I've already told him the trunk is probably too big for my saw. Seems like a good guy and hopefully I can start with this and work out a deal to remove other trees as they come down. I've had some good experiences so far where folks are just happy to have some of the job done for free.