Dried standing

[Adios Pantalones]

Some lumber people swear by killing a standing tree and letting it dry like that to prevent board warpage during drying of dimension lumber. Others call it crap. Well, I don't care about warpage so much, but i did dry some standing trees over the past year.

Last summer I went crazy with my trusty Swedish axe and started killing stuff. I wanted to keep the canopy open in the yard to promote hardwood growth, so I girdled some trees that I didn't have time to process. 2 of these were red oaks- I figured they'd dry a bit better standing than laying on the ground, and I'd get a jump on my typical late firewood collection and drying.

One of the red oaks was maybe half a cord, the other is over a cord. I took the smaller one down and bucked/split/stacked it this weekend.

Pros: It does appear to have had a good jump on drying. Despite some minor beetle damage- it will be good to go this fall. Also- much of the waste brush came off by itself this past winter and just fell in the woods, reducing the needed cleanup. Dryer wood is lighter to move- a bonus.

Cons: This stuff was so much harder on my saw! It may be worth it- but yikes! It really slowed me up. Also mentioned above was beetle damage.

Will I do it again? Probably. I want to maximize new growth in my woods ASAP, and get a jump on wood drying. It does seem to have helped in this regard. Obviously dropping the trees and processing ASAP would be best, but I travel some for work and have less time than I'd like to do this stuff.

 

[Vic99]

Glad to know that standing dead works.

I thought about trying this myself with elm. I have several DBH 4-8 inch elms on my lot, small as it is. Want to open up the view to the river from my new balcony, plus also encourage sugar maple growth, my other dominate species . . . sugar maple is fast becoming my favorite all around species for processing & burning . . . a close second to white birch, even though they don't compare in heat.

I keep putting off taking the elms down because I keep successfully finding more free wood that requires bucking & splitting. (Was only 1 hour late today in scoring some red maple today. . . and only 1 block from my house! Left overs weren't worth the effort.) And because elm is such a pain to split as a heliotroph, even though these trees are smaller. Perhaps I'll girdle them this week in case I end up waiting even longer.

On another note, I used to really like red oak, but the more I get, the more flawed individuals I find. Carpenter ants and beetle larva both love it. Seems to dry rot and get punky real easy. That on top of taking a long time to dry below even 24% moisture, never mind 20%.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

I'm not sure I've had the same experience with rot in red oak, but I do see ants. I've personally always thought elm was sort of second rate, but hey- free is good! If you think it's worth it- take the elm to my house and we'll put it on the splittah.

If you have sugar maple saplings- I'd like to transplant some now that I've opened up some area.

 

[Vic99]

Yeah, elm is moderate-to moderate low on the BTU scale. But, yes it is free, and they are smallish for splitting.

"If you have sugar maple saplings- I’d like to transplant some now that I’ve opened up some area. "

We'll make that happen. Let me know when.

 

[woodconvert]

I thought about trying this myself with elm. I have several DBH 4-8 inch elms on my lot, small as it is.

I burn a lot of standing dead elm for fall and spring wood. You get good heat off it but it's not got a long burn time but works just fine for fall and spring. The stuff I cut and burn right away has been dead for a couple years and the bark is off of it. It's dry on the hoof.

On another note, I used to really like red oak, but the more I get, the more flawed individuals I find. Carpenter ants and beetle larva both love it. Seems to dry rot and get punky real easy. That on top of taking a long time to dry below even 24% moisture, never mind 20%.

It only rots/gets punky if moisture gets in it and it cannot dry like if you've got an ant colony in there. I've got wood (red oak) on my pile that I just split this last weekend that was cut to length in 2002 and it's not punky but the few pieces i've come across with ants there is the beginnings of rot. Gotta cut em' as soon as they die and spray the ants.

 

[gpcollen1]

Cutting dead wood sucks! Chews up my chains and costs me time. I am not about to refuse free wood for sure. I have cut about 2 cords of dead ash recently and that stuff has been a beast to cut as compared to when fresh. Had some sugar maple in there too and that was even worse.

I will not do it if i have the choice.

 

[woodconvert]

Cutting dead wood sucks! Chews up my chains and costs me time.

I've cut a lot of it and never noticed any extra time or chain wear...I mean, the chain see's the file every time I fill up so it makes no difference to me if it's wet or dry....it all hogs the same to me if my chain is sharp.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Depends on how dry it is. Saw chains are meant to cut green wood and not dry wood. There is a huge difference between the two.

Elm on the low to moderate???? It's really not that far below oak. Naturally, oak will last longer and that is the only difference.

Oak getting punky. Yes, oak sometimes will get punky but usually only the outer layer. Keep it dry and it will keep for years, even if the outside layer is a little punky. Still burns great.

 

[Henz]

how do you cull a tree

 

[Adios Pantalones]

how do you cull a tree

If you mean kill it and leave it standing- you need to girdle it. Take a sharp axe or hatchet, cut through the bark all the way around and strip it off in a band about 2-3" wide. That's it.

 

[Henz]

no sh*t really? I ahve heard of it but have never done it.

 

[woodconvert]

Depends on how dry it is. Saw chains are meant to cut green wood and not dry wood. There is a huge difference between the two.

I've honestly never noticed the difference but i've never had one next to the other and timed my cuts.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Ya, this is less likely to result in new growth springing up from that stump later (grows faster because of the serious roots already in place)- good if you want it gone, not if you want regrowth. I did in a mess of white pines like that- I wanted the canopy opened up, left many standing until I need the wood for the kiln. Now there will be more space for hardwoods.

Remember to get all the way down to the wood, but don't cut into it too much. Usually (80% + I'd guess) does the trick- some trees will bridge a small gap before it dies.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

It makes sense by the way- the bark and inner bark are the circulatory system for the tree. No bark, no goodies pumped up from the roots.

 

[gpcollen1]

Depends on how dry it is. Saw chains are meant to cut green wood and not dry wood. There is a huge difference between the two.

I've honestly never noticed the difference but i've never had one next to the other and timed my cuts.

Obviously it would depend how dry it is/how long it has been dead. All I can say is that the moisture in the tree makes it easier to cut. What the optimal percentage of moisture is - I do not know. I'm tellin ya, petrified Ash it was...