Hick Leaner

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jrcurto

Member
Nov 3, 2009
85
Southern Connecticut
My neighbor wants this leaner off his property and I am first in line. I will try to winch it down and then approach other safe tactics. I snapped when I saw what I am sure is Shagbark hickory right? Its in the middle of a
White Ash grove, go figure.

Jim
 

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Got a white oak that size but leaning from higher in a tree that I have been circling around for four months.
 
When I was a kid, that would be a fun tree to play on :)
Now that I'm older, be careful ;)

Some real good wood there, looks about 20"diameter or so in the pic.
 
Looks like a few things at play there...side slope of the hill, the brush and then all that mass up in the air. Great score close to home. Looks bigger than 20" to me. With that size that straight and that long, it might have better uses than firewood.
 
Great find! If you are careful and know what you are doing, those can be cut down without winching out but if you can get it down first, perhaps it will be better for you. Either way, that is some excellent wood.
 
I'd say it is Shagbark Hickory. The bark is too shaggy for most other trees. It will be great firewood once you get it down.
 
It is 36" diameter at the base and a beauty all the way up. My father thought the same thing, "that would make some nice lumber". When it fell it crushed a white ash and is now 16 ft in the air where they lock. I honestly dont think I can winch it off so I am consulting all experts. Never thought I would obsess about bucking up a tree and getting it CSS...thanks to Hearth!

Jim
 
If you can clear some of the brush off the base area, just start 8-10ft up the trunk somewhere around hip level(yours looks more horizontal than some i've cut) Make top cut ~8inches, then offset cut from bottom about 1-2 inches towards base of tree. Should drop down and may be the rest of the way for you. Make a path to get out of the way.
 
That's a beauty. Drop it & mill it!! 2"-3" planks 8'-10' long,seal the ends with melted wax or roofing tar,stack & sticker them properly not in direct sun but airy spot that gets good winds,cover top of stack with weighted plywood or old metal barn roofing for 3-5 yrs. Keep everything under 18" diameter as fuel.
 
jrcurto said:
It is 36" diameter at the base and a beauty all the way up. My father thought the same thing, "that would make some nice lumber". When it fell it crushed a white ash and is now 16 ft in the air where they lock. I honestly dont think I can winch it off so I am consulting all experts. Never thought I would obsess about bucking up a tree and getting it CSS...thanks to Hearth!

Jim

High dollar lumber there. ;)
May want to check with a saw mill. Hickory is gaining fame for kitchen cabinets.
May get more $$ for a few good logs & buy a new saw or some other wood processing toy (Tool) :)
 
You guys are killing me, I go from obsessing about burning Hickory, to milling it and building a chest and humidor
 
The LOVE of wood;
Burn or build ???
36" diameter is a pretty big hickory.
Tough choice: Both are good, both are money, you can't make a wrong choice :)

Good luck
 
Its hard to sell one log unless you can transport it yourself, the mills wont usually send a truck unless you can fill it, and picking up 8ft lengths w/o a loader or backhoe would be fun
 
Thats some good free wood but your gonna end up earning it in the end. Its worth the work though, I had some last year and loved it.
 
All good advice here. Me, I would cut it for fire wood....not interested in the amount of work getting one like that to the mill will take the average wood cutter, with not the right equipment. Be careful, but if you can't winch it down, that tree can be put on the ground. Just think everything through and head the warning signs. The tree will tell you what it is going to do. Look it over carefully. I would go up the trunk to a comfortable cutting height and top cut half way through. Then undercut and let both sides drop. That is if the tree is balanced and not going to go towards you, At that point you can try winching it down again as there will be less weight to deal with. Every situation is different. Good luck and be careful.
 
Do you have any pics of the top/branches? I have a tree here that I was showing off to folks as a fantastic example of a shagbark hickory, that looked just like that tree. However, this past summer, I took a look at the leaves, and realized that it was an "exfoliating" (actual term) sugar maple! I've seen a couple older sugar maples do it before, but nothing as extensive as that one. It looks very similar to what you have there.
 
Our maples look like that(exfoliatting) toward the base, but further up the trunk the bark is more smooth. The hickory appears to be just the opposite and the trunk looks to be too straight and without side branches for a long ways to be any of our maples.
 
Strange that it would snap at that height. You may find some punky wood at the break and below - but the rest of the trunk above looks great. Tough wood to hand split. I had a big one this summer and black wood ants had gotten to the trunk. Rounds are heavy! It's a work out.
 
That doesn't look too hard. If one end is on the ground start at the bottom and work your way up. Use some plastic wedges with your cuts to keep from getting the saw pinched. Or winch and notch it from the side and pull it down. That is some nice firewood, enough motivation. I had a 20+ inch oak that got caught in another tree and had to cut it off at the bottom piece by piece until it slide all the way down. That was a pain.
 
That's impressive! With those lines on the bark, I'd say Shagbark for sure.
 
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