Have a large oak that has been dying back over several years. Took out some big dead limbs 2 years ago and it finally died completely. So it's on the ground now and cut to lengths. Stump is 42" across a couple feet up but it had some big forks fairly low so not as huge as the stump would make it seem. Still lots of wood. Just discovered about a 20" large dead oak that needs to come down. Looks like it had a few leaves this year but already brown. So wondering what to do with it. I suppose I could find a local bandsaw mill and slab it up although I don't really know if it is worth it. I could try to sell the slabs but don't have any experience with the market. Thinking cutting and splitting will just speed the decay unless I stack it off the ground so thinking about just getting it cut down (it's in a forested section and could just be dropped whole as there is a direction that only has a few small (few inch) size trees and mostly just low brush. Then just leave it a few years. The first tree probably has wood for two winters. Might cut some next year just so I don't have to do so much the next year... In case there was any doubt I will be using a splitter - I'm not Paul Bunyan!
Tons of oak. Wait to cut up some?
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Every area is different. In my area selling logs to be milled isn't a thing. Not many band saw guys. Most aren't buying logs. They have their own. I would cut up every thing you have and get it split and stacked and covered. Most oak needs two years to season well. Then sell off what firewood you don't need.
3 years or more is better for oak. If you css now it should be ready by the time you're done burning the first one. Leaving as logs will promote rot, splitting and stacking will slow the rot down by allowing the cellular moisture out (off the ground...get some pallets or something).
There are some bandsaw guys around here. I think most don't pay for logs but charge others to mill logs or perhaps mill for a part of the result. I talked to one several years ago - he was mostly interested in burls and other interesting grain patterns. It's still hot here so splitting isn't going to happen for at least a few months when it gets cooler. Some of it is pretty dry already and has about an inch of rot around the outside so I doubt I need much drying time for that. I should sort as I split or actually as I pile it for splitting. Going to be some serious time to split it all.
Wood dries slowly when it's in log or round form. Some species of oak dry slowly even when split, so you need to split them years before you plan to burn them. Logs or rounds sitting on the ground retain more water than when they're off the ground. Wood rots when its wet. All the rot organisms such as bacteria, fungi and insects need a certain amount of moisture. Dry wood can last forever. (wood also lasts a long time if it's totally submerged in low oxygen water, which is useful for archaeology but not for firewood).
The best thing to do for firewood is to split and stack it in a dry place a soon as possible. Failing that I stack logs on sleepers. That at least gets them off the ground so they don't rot there, and then I can split and stack them when I have room. If you don't have a way to move logs you can cut it into rounds that you can move and place them so they're not in contact with the ground, or as few as possible are in contact with the ground. And then split and stack as soon as you have space.
The best thing to do for firewood is to split and stack it in a dry place a soon as possible. Failing that I stack logs on sleepers. That at least gets them off the ground so they don't rot there, and then I can split and stack them when I have room. If you don't have a way to move logs you can cut it into rounds that you can move and place them so they're not in contact with the ground, or as few as possible are in contact with the ground. And then split and stack as soon as you have space.
Cutting to length then splitting and stacking can slow your rotting. It's gonna take longer to season than you think, (by a lot).
if it's not split it's not dry and won't start drying until it is.
The only unsplit oak i've ever burned that's been good is what i call petrified oak. And that takes many many years and somehow also has no rot on it. And i've only found that in 3"-8" diameter sizes from branches.
I was all happy yesterday, I saw my oak wood around 10 percent, playfully picking up a piece of wood and splitting it, 65 percent 😤
it is wood less than a year but never rain on it, and local is always ventilated, I thought a good summer could be enough to dry in these conditions, but... for which it takes at least 2 years, at least..
![[Hearth.com] Tons of oak. Wait to cut up some?](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/315/315092-13a141e585338b45a12ab25246f99fd8.jpg?hash=R3zfg-_ACz "[Hearth.com] Tons of oak. Wait to cut up some?")
yes, the composition does not help, but in that period only in that area I had a concrete base, however the piece of wood tested was taken in the external corner, where the sun also arrives, but nothing, for the moment the difference between external and fresh split is very high
