Alder trees

If you are going to use the alder for woodworking, just cut them to any length you want and seal the ends.

I am just planning on using it for firewood.

Cut it now. Having all the ends open will allow it to dry faster.

My sources tell me that alder is THE #1 wood for smoking fish and a bunch of other stuff…I wouldn’t know the wood if I saw it (it’s a west coast thing I think) but it sounds a lot like our poplar/aspen…rarely growing in diameter to make a decent board.

figure out some way to chip it/bag it/ship it and you’ll afford a nice tool for your efforts (that smoking wood probably works out to $100/bd ft). If you want to do it yourself, run through the bandsaw, then the planer. Make sure all tools and collection areas are spotless before you start (hate to kill your customers). I’ve done both cherry and apple that way…would love to try some alder.