![[Hearth.com] Does an oak tree dry as a log? No!](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/162/162783-a674d1b2c09c9668c459db073b387826.jpg?hash=1_ZGbnw2X9 "[Hearth.com] Does an oak tree dry as a log? No!")
I cut this Oak tree when it died seven years ago. As you can see in the pics. There is no bark left on it. There is still a lot of good wood left but check the moisture meter reading.Does an oak tree dry as a log? No!
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I cut this Oak tree when it died seven years ago. As you can see in the pics. There is no bark left on it. There is still a lot of good wood left but check the moisture meter reading.
chazcarr
Minister of Fire
Little Digger
Member
Had it been up off the ground, it likely would have been fine, but, laying out on the ground like that, it has wicked up ground moisture and probably some rain too.
Probably So. At the time i cut it. I wasnt burning wood. So it got forgot about. I only just remembered it.
Yup, cut it, split it, stack it and it dries out damn quick.
Cut a green tree down,css for a control standard and compare the "seasoning" rates of the two over the next three months.
I had a buddy who had a huge oak tree come down years ago... like 7 years ago. This oak was huge and was on the back part of his land deep in the woods.... we got to it last year and started cutting it up.... not easy... this tree produced a whopping 5 cord of wood (counting all the little branches etc that I took)... the center trunk of that tree was still very wet... after being down for 7 years we were still getting MM readings in the 40s-50s out of the center mass of that thing... being that it was like 5 foot across and took some heavy duty equipment to cut up and split... people were excited because they thought they could burn it that year due to it being down for so long. The only thing that used that year was my branches... some of it a little punky but the heart was still good.... I was laughed at for being out there with my little 16 inch saw... until I had a couple truck beds full of dry MM 16-28% depending were you cut from oak.
point is unless its been CSS it does not dry....
point is unless its been CSS it does not dry....
Ive got some green oak cut. Im working on getting 3 years ahead. Just started last year so im fighting marginal wood the next two winters.
I usually only cut standing dead or damaged trees. My neighbor said i can cut all i want off his land. And my boss has several hundred acres. Said i can cut all the standing dead oak i want. He hate em cause they fall on his fences.
A couple years back I inherited supplying mom and two sisters with firewood. Fortunately at the same time a friend of a friend also has family with acreage with lots of dead standing that I can cut down and take plus there are adjacent property that had the dead oaks cut down to be less of a fire hazard and that wood can be hauled out but it has to be by someone with equipment and insured - no weekend warriors.
Dead standing ( especially 5 or more years dead standing ) can be very water wet/soaked but it dries out real quick when CSS.
It's a real good way to have decent wood for this year and next and trying to get ahead.
Dead standing ( especially 5 or more years dead standing ) can be very water wet/soaked but it dries out real quick when CSS.
It's a real good way to have decent wood for this year and next and trying to get ahead.
Little Digger
Member
Well, if I need to provide heavy equipment, likely a crew, as well as insurance for dead standing or previously felled and otherwise worthless wood other than for firewood, How much are you offering to pay me? Do you also have one of those highly valuable walnut trees to go with the package?
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Some walnut trees are very valuable but most are not. Most are either to small or are yard or pasture trees that can have metal in them which mills wont touch. Funny video though
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
I paid about $40/cord for the last three cords he pulled out but never got loaded on a trailer because he couldn't get 4 more cords to go with it.
Had to C+S right in the staging area beside the pile of logs. I didn't think that was too bad a deal. A log load of hardwood here is about $125/cord now. If you can find one.
He had a rig setup like this there:
![[Hearth.com] Does an oak tree dry as a log? No!](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/162/162903-9e67df6463b1c61d0bce305d9d761390.jpg?hash=j_bLl03fOY "[Hearth.com] Does an oak tree dry as a log? No!")
but with skinny tires, so when it rained a bit too much he'd have to quit as he'd get stuck. It is fairly wet land.
I got a big piece of ash the other day that was laying on the ground. No bark and as I was cutting it I thought this sure does seem dry. Put some on the splitter and checked the moisture. 24%, not nearly as dry as I thought. If I did not have a meter I would have been tempted to burn that wood before it was seasoned good. Big rounds I do not think ever get that dry.
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