Is Felled Wood Safe?

um wish I could help ya

-- Hrolfr

I’ve heard that if you slab it out and sticker it right away you’ll probably be O.K. However, it’s never a good idea to store logs in you garage because of the unwanted guests (insects, mice, snake etc…). Without knowing what kind of wood it is or why they cut the trees down or even if the city will let you take the trees, I would recommend that you leave them where they are.

-- Todd, Richfield MN

best thing to do would be to find someone with a small saw mill or a portable mill like a wood mizer or norwood. have it cut up the way you want it. I wouldn’t store it in the garage until after it’s milled. I know a local saw mill that keeps cherry and other select logs laying around for weeks and months. If it’s oak, I’ve seen it in the past get black streaks and marks in the grain if it lays around too long before being milled. I think it was red oak.
I keep some of my milled lumber stacked and stickered in my garage, and my wife is real understanding about it. I love her. considering it’s close to 500 bf right now.

-- Joey, Magee, Ms http://woodnwaresms.com

Since I have no way to mill it myself, nor do I know the history of the tree I guess I’ll leave it where it is. The allure of “free” wood and not wanting to be wasteful sometimes gets the better of me. I’m glad I asked; and thank you for the responses.

-- A King, realizing his incompetence, can either delegate or abdicate his duties. A Father can do neither. -Marlene Dietrich

Did you contact somebody with the Parks Dept, or whomever owns the land on which these trees sit? Maybe they can tell you what kind of wood, if you can take them…they may even have contacts to mill/move the wood and are just waiting for things to happen. It may not hurt to ask some questions.

Just up the road from us the provincial government is doing a major bridge reconstruction, tones of trees cut down and stockpiled. I’m in the process of finding out who owns the trees and if they are willing to share/sell and finding out what kind of wood they are. Now that I’m back home again I hope to find out this coming week if this wood is available. If it is I am going to need to find a mill to slab them for me.

It doesn’t hurt to ask.

-- ....next big purchase is wood for the next project, Mark

Mark-

Thanks for the information; that’s a great idea. I’m going to fire off an email tonight.

-- A King, realizing his incompetence, can either delegate or abdicate his duties. A Father can do neither. -Marlene Dietrich

If it was felled last this year it’s probably still in sound condition, maybe even last year. The first thing to think about is how much actual lumber can you get out of it. Look at the end and imagine 1” slices being made. If it’s big enough to yeild a reasonable amount, then you need to figure out how to get it out of there. “Green” lumber – not dried, is stunningly heavier than the stuff you get at a lumber yard. There’ll probably be an outer ring of sapwood that usually isn’t too great for lumer.

Guys with portable mills are usually around 50 cents per bf for milling, and kild drying is about 40 cents. If it’s a common wood like oak it’s probably not worth the effort. But if the end looks brown (Walnut) or red (cherry) that’s another story. Here’s a site that may help you identify it by the bark and any leaves that may still be lying around:

http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/LandownerFactsheets/results.cfm

After you click on a tree species there’ll be a picture of the tree in the uper right area. Click and that for closeups of the bark and leaves.

Oh yeah – if you do decide to have it milled, paint the ends asap. There’s this stuff called AchorSeal that the pro’s use, but any paint will really do. That seals the ends to prevent checking (splitting) on the ends.

Thanks so much for the info guys! The tree was felled just a few weeks ago so it’s still very green. I’m going to go see if I can ID it.

-- A King, realizing his incompetence, can either delegate or abdicate his duties. A Father can do neither. -Marlene Dietrich