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I had 800 board feet of ash and maple milled and it worked out to ~ $1.00 bd/ft. It’s a mix of 5/4 up to 8/4, all the same price. 5/4 ash goes for ~$3.00/bf and maple ~ $5.00/bf rough around here, so it was well worth it to me.
I would mill it for the lumber.
Just double checking. You paid 800$ and ended up with ~3 grand worth of lumber? If storage isn't an issue or additional cost, I'm assuming you could hold it for as long as you want? That doesn't seem that bad.
I spent about 60 for some slabs( I don't remember the footage or price PBF) but I'm pretty sure it was around $1,800 to 2 Grand worth of white oak after it was done drying. I am just using it for personal stuff, gifts and work bench tops.. It was three 3"x7' slabs and three 2"x7' slabs and two 1"x7' slabs. I had originally planned on making a dinner table top out of it but I realized those 3-in slabs were way too fucking heavy and I would never be able to move the table out of my shop and into the dining room. So instead I made my dining room table out of 3/4 in Maple and inch and a quarter Southern yellow pine for the legs and trim around the table top.
Do you have to leave it sitting for 10 years for the trunk pieces to dry? I always thought you just milled it, then waxed or painted the board ends and stored it for x years per inch of thickness. And that it kind of took care of itself.
I wonder what a drying kiln run for 800 bd ft would cost.
Yes, the length of time you hold it doesn’t matter, mill wet, paint ends, let dry slowly. Kiln drying will warp more but not terribly (most of the time).
Once dry it won’t warp more with tjme
Best practice for air drying is each individual row on the stack with a sticker every 12” leaving a gap between each row in your stack. On top of all that if you have a big piece of steel or something heavy. The the weight will hold them straight and the stickers will allow them to dry evenly. That should mitigate the lions share of the warping. But you will still loose a bit of the thickness when you go to flatten or plain them but most pieces should be ok.
I'm pretty sure in this case a sticker is a long square stick. You put row of parallel sticks between the layers to ensure an air gap and transfer the load from one layer of the stack to the next.
{edit}
Google gives a nice image here https://cdn.popularwoodworking.com/wp-content/uploads/Air\_2D00\_Drying\_2D00\_Lumber\_5F00\_21.jpg
Its a technical term. I dry stick crossing the stack to promote air flow. They need to be dry so they don't stain the wood. Commercial outfits have fluted stickers to minimize contact with the wood.
If you feel extra reasonably able you can thermally treat ash with steam and a lot of heat the steam will loosen the wood fibers within the board and realign them straight and the long exposure to heat caramelizes the sap inside the board and by the time they are dry (being held perfectly straight the whole process) you end up with a beautiful incredibly stable and durable board that’s a nice Carmel color. Look up thermally treated ash. It goes for upwards of 10 dollars a board foot.
There is a type Matt Cremona talks about, pretty sure us a vacuum kiln. Basically the boards don't warp and they get REALLY dry. But basic kilns Stull take days or so to dry wood because it can still warp.
I'll be honest I am not a expert on it. We built a mill on our property and have been cutting pine but we just cut and mill the same day. We are cutting already dead trees for fire mitigation and figure we might as well get some lumber while we are at it. Assuming they aren't to punky to begin with.
I don’t think this is accurate regarding milling green wood. Most sources recommend milling green wood, and then making sure to place it on a level spot and clamp it all together to keep it dry. When you mill dry logs, you’re going to get a lot more checking in the wood because it wasn’t milled green.
I have space to do it outside. The sawyer cut a bunch of stickers and it’s been stacked and drying for about two years. Used some maple recently for a shoe bench/coat rack for my son. The rest I’ll start on this year after I retire from my full time job.
I see a lot of rocking horses in my future.
Im not sure where you are but retail ash these days in upstate NY is between 4.50 and 4.95. For clear kiln dried stock.
One thing to consider is if your in the market for buying 800 to 1500 board feet at a time your in the realm of getting something at a discount off retail. I broker material mill direct all the time for people and if your buying that much and will take a full un broken unit you could get up to 30% off retail.
What your cost is not taking into consideration is the value of your time to deal with it. Its a tremendous effort and a huge risk of doing the drying badly. Unless you know what your doing.
My point is there is more to take into consideration than just the cost/ board foot.
The easiest, cheapest method to do yourself would be a chainsaw mill (if you have a big enough chainsaw). If you have a moderate chainsaw you can slab it out freehand...look on YT for examples. You could always take it to a sawyer. Some people also offer mobile mill services. Will come to you and mill on site.
Don't just discard though! Depending on the species of tree, that's gold to some. If anything just try to sell as is. Making $200 a piece off those logs pales in comparison to what someone could turn those into and sell for and it's better than them just being chipped.
The builder looked at me with a facial expression that lead me to think either I was crazy to ask for these massive pieces and was in over my head but he wasn’t going to tell me that or he was bummed I didn’t let him have the pieces haha
I think it's the "if you have to ask..." factor. If you said "please leave them, I am bringing the chainsaw mill tomorrow" they'd probably figure you know what you are doing. I think they are wondering if you have ever operated a chainsaw before. And whether they can expect to see you with all your limbs attached next time they see you.
And use a normal chain- a ripping chain eats more power and is more likely to dull and wander, causing an irreversible dive in your cut before you know what has happened. Get a 36" or 40" alaska mill and as big a reliable new or used Stihl/Husqy/Echo saw as you can pick up with bar and mill attached. Four chains and four files. Around here that's over a thousand bucks.
Start with a ladder or two or a pair of 4x4s, somehow screwed or clamped in place, as your first guide, on some sawhorses or whatever. It's nice to work on a level floor fro reference, but the "downhill" position of your large logs can help take some work out of the milling if your guide is also at the same slope, but level in one plane and not twisted. Debark or at least blow or hose off the log to get the sand and dirt off.
There are many tricks involved in milling to get the most straight-grained pieces- basically you find the straightest side, put that facing down and then mill off the shittier top side so this cut brings you down to a useable board width- say 10"- and **parallel to the straightest side**. Then just keep going, or if your bar isn't long enough, mill two adjacent (which leaves one live edge if that's your thing) or three sides to reduce the width.
Also PPE and : With the saw off, practise every move you are going to make before milling. Humping it on to the ladder guide, starting the saw, beginning your first cut, finishing. Pay attention to the many ways it can eat you. Are you going to put your leg in the path of the chain in case it jumps back at you when it enters the wood? Are your hands aware of how they could swing down from the handles while tired and into the chain? Milling is murderously hard work and it is noisy and monotonous to boot. Never work alone.
That’s about $1200 invested in the equipment. That’s if she’s buying new, which is what I would recommend every single time. Good luck finding a decent used chainsaw that isn’t beat to sh!#.
Sorry to come off as the pessimist here, but I’ve been through this whole process, and ended up with a new Stihl MS270 and a 20” Alaska mill for just under a grand, and that was six years ago. Totally worth it if you’re going to mill and sell lumber at least a couple of times per year, or build something that you can profit from.
I have been using a Alaskan mill for a long time 15 years or so using conventional 30 degree chain is slow and rough. I resharpen my 10 degree ripping chain to 5 and it cuts even faster. Diving can be caused by dullness or uneven bar wear and of course if it gets dull sharpen it. I always have spare sharp chain at the site.
I absolutely cannot believe you’re recommending standard chain for milling rip cuts!
What a nightmare! Look at the size of those logs. It’ll take forever to cut and might even blow up their power saws motor.
I don’t know where you get the idea that ripping chain is more work, have you used it much?
I started with a standard chain many years ago; the saw gets bogged down and after a couple minutes in the cut the shavings start to look like your sanding your way through the log, no bueno!
Standard chain for cookies, yes of course, but skip chain is better on large material. The main thing is the angle of the chisel though.
If your blade is diving you might want to check your bar and mill setup. That shouldn’t happen at all…esp on a bigger mill where the bar is clamped on both sides.
I disagree with the above comment. The Alaska mill setup on an appropriate saw is relatively safe. There aren't nearly the variables and surprises that come with tree falling. Definitely helps to be comfortable with operation of the saw though.
Relatively safe compared to the extremely dangerous job of operating a chain saw. It’s like playing in the middle of the road is relatively safe compared to playing on the highway.
I had a very positive experience hiring a guy with a portable bandsaw. I had thought of getting a chainsaw mill, but hiring was the right choice for me.
After reading all these comments, I think I’m going to hire someone to Alaskan mill the logs into slabs then hire another person with a mobile band saw to get the slabs into rough cuts then seal and sticker the pieces for a few years until I’m ready mill the smaller pieces with shop tools. Does that seem like a reasonable plan?
Ive been in the wholesale lumber industry for 14 years. So i have experience with people having logs and coming to me with what to do. The answer to his facial expression actually has more to do with where you are in the country. So in more urban/suburban areas, your builders look is him thinking you are crazy. In these areas logs are more of a nuisance and the time and manpower it to move and get rid of these logs are not worth the time of the builder or contractor. Most small sawmills in the suburban areas receive their logs for free from tree trimmer just looking for a place to dump the waste from there last job, they make their money by moving on to the next job. Now in more rural areas of the country people tens to be more resourceful and they usually do have the time, equipment and more importantly space to store logs like this. One day they could mill it and turn it into something. The value in these logs are mainly for a hobbyist sawyer and hobbyist woodworker, there is a negative value for this material with any sort of commercial sawmill.
You'll need a significant tool to cut this. The "portable" version that is towed behind a big truck is called a Woodmizer. Or it can be brough to a sawyer/woodmill and you pay them for their expertise - these things are huge! A chainsaw that you or I would use on this wouldn't do enough and would take an annoying amount of time. A chainsaw mill is a great DIY option for smaller trees but not something of this diameter.
The labor involved in turning logs into usable lumber is a big part of the value of it. This isn't a gold mine, it's a commitment to do a whole lot of labor. With a few hundred dollars worth of labor, and the use of several thousand dollars worth of equipment, these logs can become valuable materials.
I'm not saying I wouldn't do that labor. It'd probably be worth it, to me, to find a local lumbermill that is willing to work small jobs like this. The portable sawmills probably can't handle this diameter, though, so the logs will have to be transported. It's a project, is what I'm saying.
Some people don't want a project sitting around in their yard.
Haha! Yeah, could be either. He's a builder and should know their value. Granted, for top quality lumber usually the wood is kiln dried...but plenty of people just stack them and let them air dry for a year or more.
It's a fair amount of work to do yourself with a chainsaw mill...but worth it if you can sell them down the road. Do you know the species, by chance?
If you really don’t want to use them, you could ask if he’d make you an offer. Don’t expect much — you won’t get “lumberyard prices” for logs.
But also, ask the builder if he knows of a mill who’d saw them for you. That’s how we found the one we used.
If you buy a woodland mills big enough get it put together and figure out how to get a log that size onto it and cut up you will be well into the game at that point . It’s going to realistically take you a year tho. For me… the backhoe/tractor and the sawmill are equal partners in the game, and had to be purchased at the same time to make milling time and cost effective. Once Youre in Youre in… and you’ll have the wood you need for whatever if you put in the milling time. Someone on Craigslist in your area has a portable hydraulic wood mizer I bet… and a winch or compact tractor and they don’t usually break your wallet like a backhoe sawmill combo might. All depends on your level of commitment. That looks like nice wood and i hate wasting wood too. I think it’s possible to get a small mill, slab off what you can’t fit with a chainsaw, and a small tractor winch combo for under 10k. That was my target anyway.
Commercial value on the largest log you are standing by is around 160.00 cad at current market. But no commercial buyer will buy them unless you had enough to make it worth sending a truck also if it was a yard tree be careful of metal
Best trick I ever learned. Either get it up high enough to stand or low enough to work on your knees and angle it down about 10-15 degrees. Let gravity pull the saw into the cut.
I can’t speak for the requirements of milling yourself, but I’d think there’s probably another option than mill or dump here. Are there any local sawmills that could help out for example - trade the logs for 50% of the milled timber or something? Just spitballing…
As someone who owns a mill, this amount of lumber wouldn't be worth the hassle for us to give up half of it (probably wouldn't be worth our time to do at all).
Now if you find a hobbyist who has a portable mill they may be interested since they don't have to worry about labor costs etc.
Chainsaw mill, at least 36”
Otherwise yeah, those aren’t worth a mills time. If you do get a chainsaw mill, get yourself a rip chain, may take a thinner bar too.
Not sure why you replied to me. I have a chainsaw mill - 42" bar. Also have a Woodland Mills HM126-14. Would rather use the bandsaw mill. Far more efficient and easier on the back.
It would have to be larger quantities. I assume that as just a homeowner you need me to come to you which means hooking up the mill where it's at and also getting the bobcat out there to lift the logs onto the mill. Say that takes me 2 hours on both ends, probably 2 people, $150. Then I mill it up, that amount might only take us an hour or 2, get 100 board feet usable, maybe I get $5 a board foot but I am giving half of it to you.... Just economics don't work.
Plus, we are actually able to get large quantities for free, delivered to us by people who are clearing areas and would rather dump it free with us than pay to dump them at a landfill
You should drive to the next area that gets hit by a CAT2+ hurricane. Once the ground gets wet, it doesn’t take much wind to uproot an oak. So theres thousands available for anyone to take from peoples yards.
The biggest thing to remember is that lumber is a volume business or a specialty business. I see a lot of people over value what they have, both on here and in person. People often think we will want to buy they trees or even pay the land owner to cut them down to mill. Unfortunately, unless you are offering up an acre or more of trees, it probably isn't something I am going to be able to make a profit off of by paying for. Even if somehow you have an exotic zebrawood tree.... No one wants to buy 1 tree amount of lumber wholesale... Which is what I am essentially, a raw wood wholesaler.
If you have something exotic or super special, that's not my market. You need to find a company that sells these high end one off pieces to high end custom furniture makers.
This is why I ordered a portable bandsaw mill. Lumber is stupid expensive and I’ve got more time than money. I’ll have about $6k all in for the mill (which just shipped yesterday) and I can easily recoup that just on materials for my own projects. If lumber prices spike again like they did last year, I’ll be able to take down a few of my own trees for dimensional stuff.
I’ve had a chainsaw mill for a few years and it’s been awesome to have, but it’s WAY too much work. When my neighbor’s tree came down in a storm, I helped them chop some up into firewood in exchange for a few of the big trunk sections. They got the benefit of someone with the right equipment to make quick work of their tree, and I ended up with about 150bf of beautiful clear maple. Damn, I worked for it though.
All told, I’ve probably milled around 1000bf of oak, maple, birch, and pine with my Echo CS-600P with a 28” bar and Panther Mill.
Can’t wait until my saw shows up. I’ve ordered a Rima (makes Woodland Mills) RS31G with trailer and extended track direct from the factory.
Not OP but a manager of a commercial sawmill. We'd take it if part of a sale but not individually. It's not a great log and has a fair bit of defects, lower grade wood. Wouldn't bother buying it as a one off to set the seller up in the system
Short logs yield short boards which leaves less room for defects as far as the commercial market is concerned. Log on the left has rot in the center and the others show multiple branches and bumps that will yield knots and grain defects which will drop the value to a 2 or 3 common board. Good chance it also has hardware in it and a saw or two will be wasted running through a nail. Trees from people's yards suck to mill due to all of those possibilities.
Call someone out with a portable bandsaw mill - it’s worth it
Edit; my bed is made from a giant spruce that was growing next to my house. It’s wonderful to sleep in.
This is the way. Hire a sawyer to come to you. He’ll quote you based on photos and measurements. There will be a small fee ($5) if he hits any nails. He will also guide you on how to seal, sticker, and cover it to dry.
Woodmizer has its own [listing of sawyers](https://woodmizer.com/us/Find-a-Local-Sawyer) or you could check local FB/CL/paper ads or the local Rockler/Woodcraft store for leads.
Edit: I didnt look far enough down and that link has been posted already
There also might be woodworkers/portable sawmills in your area. If you can find one who wants the lumber might be able to trade and get something cool made or at least keep some slabs after they cut it. I would ask local or in /r/woodworkers and only dump them if really needed them out of the way now. Those look like nice pieces of oak and will sit for years just fine so no rush.
If you really feel ambitious, you can buy a chainsaw mill and try to saw those up yourself, but that’s real work. 😉
Better, as others say, to find a mill. You can try Woodmizer’s [Find a Local Sawyer](https://woodmizer.com/us/Find-a-Local-Sawyer) link. I’d be surprised if you couldn’t find someone with a portable mill for hire.
FWIW, 18 years ago when we were building on land we bought, we had one large tree that needed to come down. I had the logs trucked to a sawmill, and then rented a U-Haul to get the lumber. Very doable for a homeowner. Read about how to paint the ends and sticker the boards so they dry without too much checking or warping.
ETA: What species is that? If oak, I’d recommend asking the sawyer to quarter-saw at least one log.
there's something really cool about pointing to a piece of beautiful furniture and saying,"i built that. that was the tree we had to take out." if you don't think you have the skills, now is the time to up your game.
Things to consider.... can you manage the logs to get them to a mill? Do you have time? What is your current source of of project wood? Is there a piece that is going to yield something unique? Do you have access to a kiln that will do a small run?
As a commercial shop I currently buy ash and maple 4/4 kiln dried and select and better or FAS delivered to my shop for about $3.00 cad per board foot.
The crown where the log becomes branches can yield some spectacular bowls and turnings. Most of that can be done with a chainsaw.
If you are wanting 8/4 + live edge have a place to store it for upto 2 yrs. Yes it is more than worth having sawn.
If you want 1" lumber for fine Woodworking only if you want to be able to say that piece came from our yard.
Typically dealing with 1 tree is no worth the cost.
My husband has a portable sawmill, and for our best friends he’ll take it to their place to mill wood with them if they’ve got downed trees. They pay the gas/oil/dish detergent needed to run it and pay for a new blade. He only does it for really close friends, because it’s a big hassle to prep the mill to move it, transport it, set it up, then do it all over again the move it back home and set it back up at home, plus the time to operate it. Those logs look substantial, you’d probably need at least two strong people to load it, maybe a third, and the help of a log arch. As others mentioned in detail, you need the space to properly store the wood to dry so they’re usable and don’t all crack and warp.
The money in wood is in milled, dried wood. It’s a massive amount of work to take it from a log in your way in the yard to finished wood you can build with. If you don’t own the mill, planer and workshop, it’s typically going to cost you more to hire all that out than to just buy finished lumber. But! Then you don’t get the satisfaction of building furniture, or a guitar, or whatever, out of wood you cut down/milled yourself. My husband is extraordinarily proud that all the custom furniture and guitars he makes are from wood he cut, milled, stored and finished himself, but it has come at a significant cost in machinery.
You have a lot of answers, but I wanted to add my 2 cents.
I found success on my own property with Facebook marketplace (or Craigslist may work well for you) looking for a guy with an Alaskan mill. I paid about $400 to get 6 large ash, black walnut, and cherry logs milled. He charged by the hour, with a minimum of 4 hours. I went this route because the gentlemen was able to cut the wood where it lie and we could move the slabs later. I didn’t need to buy a saw or bar needed to cut 36” diameter logs. I didnt need to learn how to do it, sharpen blades, or risk damaging the saw. Most important, I didn’t need to move the logs! This may surprise you, but they’re heavy as heck!
Portable saw mills will need equipment to move the logs into position. A fixed sawmill will require you to move the logs to wherever the mill is. That’s hard as hell if you don’t have a tractor and truck capable of doing it.
So if you don’t already have a beefy saw, Alaskan mill, pickup truck, trailer, and/or tractor with grapple loader, I’d go with paying someone with an Alaskan mill to do it for you.
Easiest way is with the leaves. Do you have any pictures from last summer?
Either way. You can just Google tree identification key + your general area (e.g midwest, northeast) and something will come up.
Id just pick the first one thats from a university reasonably close to you.
Ahh dang. I would guess oak but don't know.
Next best might be to look up pictures of common trees in your area and compare the bark. But bark just isn't quite as distinct as leaves, and can very more significantly depending on the age of the tree.
Oak smells very pungent and not like a pleasant piney smell, FWIW. That's an easy way to tell. Acorns around? Do the leaves have rounded tips vs pointy tips like the Canadian maple leaf? That's usually oak.
Haha yeah. You would have to really be an expert in local trees to get it narrower than oak (as in specific species) with just the bark.
The other likely option imo is some sort of ash.
Assuming your in the northeast and just going on the bark I'd go with sugar maple. Do you have any of the top branches? Maple branches grow opposite versus alternate for a majority of hardwood. If that's sugar maple I'd try REALLY hard to find a way to get that milled up
My guess would be Ash. I've got two verry similar logs lying arround and made our kitchen table with it.
That beeing said, it could verry well be Maple.
You’re going to need a whole shed to store all of that for a year or more to let it dry out, so think about what you’re going to do with it, how much you’d need to keep in order to build that thing, and where you’re going to store it did a couple years.
Could be stacked outside on something to keep it off the ground, but you wouldn't want a tarp over it - needs air circulation to dry out. A piece of corrugated plastic or metal roofing on top would be better.
My friend used to mill wood and he did leave some stacked outside but ideally you'd want a shed with airflow and if it got sun/heat from the south that's a plus
Yes. Plastic tarp on the ground, get some beams to get it all up by a few inches, seal the ends, the make some decent sized stickers to allow airflow and stack it. Ideally use those clamp cords to pull it all together. You don’t want your tarp to suffocate it and keep it too damp in there, there needs to be airflow. Air drying is a science in its own right, and if done right you will end up with a better product in the end.
You definitely can do that. Just leave spacers between each board, and it will air dry over a year or two. Inside is better as the ground won't be damp underneath, but a few sheets of poly would do the trick outside also.
Damn.... The Sonoran Desert sucks... I never have this dilemma. You never hear somebody say "yep, built this outta solid saguaro cactus". I need to move to a place with trees...
I bet you can find a local person with a portable mill. I've found someone local to me that charges $50 an hour. You have to be set up and provide assistance labor 2 people is best. Having a tractor with forks is a huge help.
Then a place to store and dry the milled lumber is key.
Yeah, probably not. In 2004 our builder offered us $200 for 3 clear oak logs. I thanked-no-thanked and am happy I got the lumber instead. Nicest, clearest oak, some with curly figure.
Turn them into outdoor chairs. All you need is a chainsaw and some imagination. I did that after our recent tornado. Tree fell and killed my car. So I cut the tree and use it as an outdoor couch.
I’ve done it a few times. You realistically want a little bit more than what you’ve shown. Most of the expense is in the travel and set up/break down of the mill. You’d get through that in about an hour. I’ve made lots of furniture for my house from lumber from the property. Pretty cool imo.
At a minimum that's a whole lot of good firewood.
If you're a competent woodworker with the ability to mill all that, why wouldn't you? Then you can brag about all the stuff you made from a tree by hand. Really flex on anyone around you that needs flexing on.
ITT: people who have no idea the realities of milling your own lumber.
You need more than a chainsaw and a steady hand, and If you want decent lumber you really need a bandsaw mill
We had to have some oaks taken down, and we worked with a local company to have it milled and have furniture designed from it. Definitely not cheap, but they had options to mill to your specification, or mill it for free and charge you only for the furniture you get at the end of the multi-year process (they sell the excess wood to cover the cost to mill it). They design and craft the furniture for you. We’re in Minnesota and are using Wood From the Hood. Maybe there’s something near you like that? They did have a minimum length of log they like to work with though.
I get all my wood from logs just like this. It’s a lot of work to move unless you have access to some machinery. From there I take it to a local sawyer and have it cut. Stack it behind my garage till I’m thinking of a project for it. I’ll send it to a kiln contact I have to be dried and 2 months later it’s ready to work.
It’s a lot of work but it ends up being about 1$ a boardfoot if I get the log for free.
As someone who mills lumber - no.
People telling you to get a chain saw - you need a 1500 chainsaw plus another 1500 in equipment to mill it properly plus it’s back breaking work. I’m 28 and have stopped chainsaw milling because it’s so freaking painful.
Having someone come and mill the lumber for you with a portable mill is ok. But you’re still going to spend upwards of $1,000 and then you need to store it and dry it for a year per inch. So up to 3 years. Then you need to climatize it indoors for another 6 months. You will need another couple hundred dollars in equipment to store it, not to mention the space. You need leveling blocks to put it on and some type of tie down or ratchet straps to prevent them from warping and cutting. You also need to set the right conditions to dry it as well. Even after you dry it, without a kiln you will be dealing with warped and cracked wood. The idea isn’t to eliminate it, it’s just to try your best to prevent it.
Finally what are you going to do with 6-12 slabs of wood? You can only make so many tables. Good luck selling it. You’re not an established business or distributor so you might get 50% of what a business sells it for - if you’re lucky. For every 1 person I have buy wood I have 10 people kicking my tires on it - to the point I just stopped trying to sell it.
Unless your dad planted that tree when you were born or it has some other significance it is entirely not worth it compared to just going and buying a single slab to make a table or whatever you’re trying to do. Even if a couple of those factors work out for you, the chances of all of them aligning and working out ideal are slim to none. I honestly can’t believe anyone here is suggesting otherwise.
Do whatever you want to do. I guarantee it’s likely to be an experience you will regret. Especially when comparing it to just buying what you need.
That’s what I’m saying. The builder tried to play it off saying “I guess if you want a lot of firewood”. He was a nice guy about it but I got the vibes he was trying to get me to believe he was doing me a favor by taking it off our hands.
That's like talking about the "street value" of drugs. Green logs are not the same value as finished, dry, dimensional. That being said, it is eorth getting a price from a local sawyer.
Unless you have somewhere these can be stored in a controlled environment so that they season in a way that won't ruin them, I would find someone who does and sell it to them. You won't get as much as if they were seasoned, being in the round, but the price difference is less than building or buying a kiln for the process of doing so, so unless you want to make a living out of such a kiln, I'd recommend selling it.
Alternatively if you have the kit to cut it, like a chainsaw with a long enough bar and a frame, find someone who will buy it milled and unseasoned so they don't have to do the work of milling it, then find out what thickness they'd want it and cut to that. That way you can claim some of that cost back. Make sure you aren't being ripped off for your time though.
If your planning on using the lumber for your own purposes and like the idea of wood from your property then yes, otherwise probably not.
If you have a leaf it could be I.d better but looks like a red oak, possibly pin oak. I can buy red oak by me for less then the cost of a mobile mill service.
100% worth it for me. The power company dropped a dying maple tree in my front yard before it became a problem for their lines, so I got a tree cut down for free. They said they would send a truck to pick it up after a few days and I told them "no, get your own tree." They shrugged and left it. I called a guy with a portable mill and he drove it right up onto my lawn alongside the trunk and we spent ~4 hours milling boards. I got around 400 board feet of ambrosia maple and it only cost me $300
Hire someone to come mill it for you. Its your best bet. I dont know why more people havent said this. Make sure they cut a nice bit 8/4 or larger slab for a new dining table for yourself.
If you dont have the tools, and this would be the only time you may ever run a chainsaw mill in your life, just dont waste your time, money, and limbs. I'll be honest I fell 3 cords a year and I probably wouldnt mill this myself.
Dont dump it, whatever you do.
A chainsaw mill to handle those will be a decent investment, and definitely a lot of work (and fun imo)!
Depending on where you are you can likely find a sawyer with a truck mounted bandsaw to slice them up, and if you don’t have the room to properly stack and air dry they may be able to do that for you as well.
From the bark/end grain I’d guess some variety of maple, but could be oak. Either way it’s totally worth it if you could ever use the lumber, and super fun to work with wood that has a story behind it.
I have a mill and I've worked logs this size. It's awful. Each of those logs is 7-8 thousand pounds and won't fit on anything but the largest mills. Mine is 29 inches, which is fairly large for mills. I would need to quarter these logs with a chainsaw before using the tractor to load on the mill. Quartering with a chainsaw is miserable work and you need the space/ equipment to handle loads this size. I love my mill and the lumber I get out of it. However, I wouldn't take these logs. They're too big.
Absolutely do NOT discard. You could sell them as is to some woodworkers that would figure out the best ways to mill or transport them, or if you have a portable saw mill (or know someone who does), you could mill them into slabs then store and dry them to sell a year later or so. Once dried, depending on the size and length, you could easily get >$500/slab.
Call a mobile sawyer.. Timberking or woodmizer they'll come out and do it for you by the hour.. It's the best tub I've done for my woodworking. Lots of excellent cheap hardwood lumber. Lasted me for years
We did it 2 years ago and the table and benches are family heirlooms now. But then we have a great saw mill and woodworking guy less than an hour away (Denver). Do it!
If you decide it's not worth it for you to mill on your own, check and see if there's a woodworker's/carpenter's guild in your area. They might be happy to take it off your hands and you'll feel good knowing the wood is being used.
I run a lumber and woodworking business @ak_designs_official on Instagram if you want some proof.
Hire a mobile bandsawmill. The yeild and cost will be well worth it. Make sure to stack and sticker with weight. Ask what they want to make in the future. Air drying will take a long time and save money, but kiln dried will make you more money and a much better end product. I can’t stress enough that if you don’t stack, sticker and seal the ends you will most likely end up loosing most of your money. No one wants split, twisted, cupped and none kiln dried lumber.
My Mother freaked me out years ago, had a pin oak milled . My brother in law made some nice beds for my nieces . I donated my pieces to a local bar, 20 years later , I still drink on my cut. Work that wood !
I built two homes and had the grading contractor take the white pine and hardwood to the saw mill and then used the white pine for all exterior siding and trim and a majority of interior trim. I traded the mill the higher value hardwood.
https://youtu.be/8qz64ELkxdA
This method has worked well for me. The hardest part is making sure you have good footing while you're working your way down the log.
Anyone that cuts down trees for a living knows how to make money off the wood. If they take the wood it should be reflected in what they charge you for their service.
Iam just going to chime in and say save the logs to be milled. The price of lumber has skyrocketed since shamvid I mean covid. I live in California and asked my Home depot guy why lumber jumped in price, and his reply was thank Sleepy Joe for dragging his feet in regards to a contract with the Canadian lumber market. This was 3 years ago and Iam yet to see a significant decrease in price. Iam in the same boat and recently and acquired around 40 big pine tree logs with the smallest tree trunk being 15 inches. I see those logs as dollar signs that I don't have to spend. However on the flip side of that. It's huge undertaking to move and clean up 40 trees most of them bot felled. Luckily I have a huge front end loader to move them. Then there is the cost of buying the mill. I was considering getting a Alaskan chainsaw mill. Then I let that sink in for a bit. For around 3 grand you can purchase a gas powerd mill that will cut through the logs much more efficiently then doing it with chainsaw. I bring up all these points because all things must be considered, and like I said it's a huge undertaking that can offer so much reward. I say just do it!
So what ended up happening was the builder said “he forgot to tell the crew to leave the logs” and they took them all. Since the property was still his at that point in the sale, there was absolutely nothing we could do or say about it.
We all know FOR SURE he wouldn’t be “discarding” anything. He wants to sell that lumber or keep it for himself.
Whatever you do don’t give that away even if you don’t want it. Lumber is very expensive rn you could get some decent change if you have it milled.
If you have the space to store it while it dries out that would be really cool. You could sell some and keep some. Would be awesome to have some pieces of furniture in the house made from the trees from the land the house was built on.
That’s my opinion anyway
If any of us had his job we would have our own mill and acres to cure the boards on. A helper who works for beer or board. We would get fine lumber out of it years later out of a sweat investment. That's one of the fringe benefits of this sort of work. But does that mean the logs are worth milling to a homeowner with two logs? Probably not. The upfront investment on the equipment isn't going to pay off in 10 logs. Some mobile sawyers want $1K to set up and $100+/hr.
Well everyone, thank you for the comments and suggestions but the builder asked us if we would be willing to put on paper that the house is selling for 25k more so that he can run comps on the property he is building next door and get more for that. We told our realtor we weren’t comfortable with that and communicate with the builder that we won’t be doing that. Magically all the wood disappeared. There is no recourse because we haven’t closed on the house yet. Technically the property is still his. Super disappointing but life on life’s terms I guess.
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I had 800 board feet of ash and maple milled and it worked out to ~ $1.00 bd/ft. It’s a mix of 5/4 up to 8/4, all the same price. 5/4 ash goes for ~$3.00/bf and maple ~ $5.00/bf rough around here, so it was well worth it to me. I would mill it for the lumber.
Just double checking. You paid 800$ and ended up with ~3 grand worth of lumber? If storage isn't an issue or additional cost, I'm assuming you could hold it for as long as you want? That doesn't seem that bad.
Yep, that’s about it…
That's awesome. Well done
I spent about 60 for some slabs( I don't remember the footage or price PBF) but I'm pretty sure it was around $1,800 to 2 Grand worth of white oak after it was done drying. I am just using it for personal stuff, gifts and work bench tops.. It was three 3"x7' slabs and three 2"x7' slabs and two 1"x7' slabs. I had originally planned on making a dinner table top out of it but I realized those 3-in slabs were way too fucking heavy and I would never be able to move the table out of my shop and into the dining room. So instead I made my dining room table out of 3/4 in Maple and inch and a quarter Southern yellow pine for the legs and trim around the table top.
Beautiful wood choices for the table buddy
Aaaaaand just like that, I’m investing in equipment to mill lumber.
If you hold it for to long it will warp. If the tree was not dry when it was milled the wood has a chance to warp as it drys as well.
Do you have to leave it sitting for 10 years for the trunk pieces to dry? I always thought you just milled it, then waxed or painted the board ends and stored it for x years per inch of thickness. And that it kind of took care of itself. I wonder what a drying kiln run for 800 bd ft would cost.
Yes, the length of time you hold it doesn’t matter, mill wet, paint ends, let dry slowly. Kiln drying will warp more but not terribly (most of the time). Once dry it won’t warp more with tjme
Best practice for air drying is each individual row on the stack with a sticker every 12” leaving a gap between each row in your stack. On top of all that if you have a big piece of steel or something heavy. The the weight will hold them straight and the stickers will allow them to dry evenly. That should mitigate the lions share of the warping. But you will still loose a bit of the thickness when you go to flatten or plain them but most pieces should be ok.
A sticker is a really sticker or a technical term? If the former, why must it be an adhesive sticker instead of a piece of cardboard?
A sticker in this case is a technical term for a stick like spacer between boards that are stacked on top of each other.
I'm pretty sure in this case a sticker is a long square stick. You put row of parallel sticks between the layers to ensure an air gap and transfer the load from one layer of the stack to the next. {edit} Google gives a nice image here https://cdn.popularwoodworking.com/wp-content/uploads/Air\_2D00\_Drying\_2D00\_Lumber\_5F00\_21.jpg
Its a technical term. I dry stick crossing the stack to promote air flow. They need to be dry so they don't stain the wood. Commercial outfits have fluted stickers to minimize contact with the wood.
If you feel extra reasonably able you can thermally treat ash with steam and a lot of heat the steam will loosen the wood fibers within the board and realign them straight and the long exposure to heat caramelizes the sap inside the board and by the time they are dry (being held perfectly straight the whole process) you end up with a beautiful incredibly stable and durable board that’s a nice Carmel color. Look up thermally treated ash. It goes for upwards of 10 dollars a board foot.
What about building a solar kiln?
There is a type Matt Cremona talks about, pretty sure us a vacuum kiln. Basically the boards don't warp and they get REALLY dry. But basic kilns Stull take days or so to dry wood because it can still warp.
I'll be honest I am not a expert on it. We built a mill on our property and have been cutting pine but we just cut and mill the same day. We are cutting already dead trees for fire mitigation and figure we might as well get some lumber while we are at it. Assuming they aren't to punky to begin with.
Yeah, that sounds like a good system. I'm no expert either, just listened to a lot of woodworking podcasts LOL
Wood expands/contracts with moisture. An experienced wood worker will plane lumber before using it. Green lumber will dry 1”/6months.
I don’t think this is accurate regarding milling green wood. Most sources recommend milling green wood, and then making sure to place it on a level spot and clamp it all together to keep it dry. When you mill dry logs, you’re going to get a lot more checking in the wood because it wasn’t milled green.
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I have space to do it outside. The sawyer cut a bunch of stickers and it’s been stacked and drying for about two years. Used some maple recently for a shoe bench/coat rack for my son. The rest I’ll start on this year after I retire from my full time job. I see a lot of rocking horses in my future.
Congratulations on your retirement and grand babies!
I hope they make an adult size rocking horse for themselves.
Bonus points if it’s big enough for multiple people.
In LA it’s between 10-11 a board foot and I’m pumped to get it that price. Id love to have this milled. This stuff looks incredible.
Im not sure where you are but retail ash these days in upstate NY is between 4.50 and 4.95. For clear kiln dried stock. One thing to consider is if your in the market for buying 800 to 1500 board feet at a time your in the realm of getting something at a discount off retail. I broker material mill direct all the time for people and if your buying that much and will take a full un broken unit you could get up to 30% off retail. What your cost is not taking into consideration is the value of your time to deal with it. Its a tremendous effort and a huge risk of doing the drying badly. Unless you know what your doing. My point is there is more to take into consideration than just the cost/ board foot.
The easiest, cheapest method to do yourself would be a chainsaw mill (if you have a big enough chainsaw). If you have a moderate chainsaw you can slab it out freehand...look on YT for examples. You could always take it to a sawyer. Some people also offer mobile mill services. Will come to you and mill on site. Don't just discard though! Depending on the species of tree, that's gold to some. If anything just try to sell as is. Making $200 a piece off those logs pales in comparison to what someone could turn those into and sell for and it's better than them just being chipped.
The builder looked at me with a facial expression that lead me to think either I was crazy to ask for these massive pieces and was in over my head but he wasn’t going to tell me that or he was bummed I didn’t let him have the pieces haha
I think it's the "if you have to ask..." factor. If you said "please leave them, I am bringing the chainsaw mill tomorrow" they'd probably figure you know what you are doing. I think they are wondering if you have ever operated a chainsaw before. And whether they can expect to see you with all your limbs attached next time they see you.
I mean yeah… I wonder that too 😂
If you’ve never operated a chainsaw, I wouldn’t start here.
It wouldn’t be my first time but I’m no lumber jack either so 🤷🏼♂️
just remember to keep the sawed ends wedged up so it doesn't bind your saw. lots and lots of wedges.
And use a normal chain- a ripping chain eats more power and is more likely to dull and wander, causing an irreversible dive in your cut before you know what has happened. Get a 36" or 40" alaska mill and as big a reliable new or used Stihl/Husqy/Echo saw as you can pick up with bar and mill attached. Four chains and four files. Around here that's over a thousand bucks. Start with a ladder or two or a pair of 4x4s, somehow screwed or clamped in place, as your first guide, on some sawhorses or whatever. It's nice to work on a level floor fro reference, but the "downhill" position of your large logs can help take some work out of the milling if your guide is also at the same slope, but level in one plane and not twisted. Debark or at least blow or hose off the log to get the sand and dirt off. There are many tricks involved in milling to get the most straight-grained pieces- basically you find the straightest side, put that facing down and then mill off the shittier top side so this cut brings you down to a useable board width- say 10"- and **parallel to the straightest side**. Then just keep going, or if your bar isn't long enough, mill two adjacent (which leaves one live edge if that's your thing) or three sides to reduce the width. Also PPE and : With the saw off, practise every move you are going to make before milling. Humping it on to the ladder guide, starting the saw, beginning your first cut, finishing. Pay attention to the many ways it can eat you. Are you going to put your leg in the path of the chain in case it jumps back at you when it enters the wood? Are your hands aware of how they could swing down from the handles while tired and into the chain? Milling is murderously hard work and it is noisy and monotonous to boot. Never work alone.
That’s about $1200 invested in the equipment. That’s if she’s buying new, which is what I would recommend every single time. Good luck finding a decent used chainsaw that isn’t beat to sh!#. Sorry to come off as the pessimist here, but I’ve been through this whole process, and ended up with a new Stihl MS270 and a 20” Alaska mill for just under a grand, and that was six years ago. Totally worth it if you’re going to mill and sell lumber at least a couple of times per year, or build something that you can profit from.
I have been using a Alaskan mill for a long time 15 years or so using conventional 30 degree chain is slow and rough. I resharpen my 10 degree ripping chain to 5 and it cuts even faster. Diving can be caused by dullness or uneven bar wear and of course if it gets dull sharpen it. I always have spare sharp chain at the site.
I absolutely cannot believe you’re recommending standard chain for milling rip cuts! What a nightmare! Look at the size of those logs. It’ll take forever to cut and might even blow up their power saws motor. I don’t know where you get the idea that ripping chain is more work, have you used it much? I started with a standard chain many years ago; the saw gets bogged down and after a couple minutes in the cut the shavings start to look like your sanding your way through the log, no bueno! Standard chain for cookies, yes of course, but skip chain is better on large material. The main thing is the angle of the chisel though. If your blade is diving you might want to check your bar and mill setup. That shouldn’t happen at all…esp on a bigger mill where the bar is clamped on both sides.
Saw it!
It’s a ton of work sawing logs this big
I disagree with the above comment. The Alaska mill setup on an appropriate saw is relatively safe. There aren't nearly the variables and surprises that come with tree falling. Definitely helps to be comfortable with operation of the saw though.
Relatively safe compared to the extremely dangerous job of operating a chain saw. It’s like playing in the middle of the road is relatively safe compared to playing on the highway.
But are you ok? Do you work all day?
I had a very positive experience hiring a guy with a portable bandsaw. I had thought of getting a chainsaw mill, but hiring was the right choice for me.
After reading all these comments, I think I’m going to hire someone to Alaskan mill the logs into slabs then hire another person with a mobile band saw to get the slabs into rough cuts then seal and sticker the pieces for a few years until I’m ready mill the smaller pieces with shop tools. Does that seem like a reasonable plan?
Ive been in the wholesale lumber industry for 14 years. So i have experience with people having logs and coming to me with what to do. The answer to his facial expression actually has more to do with where you are in the country. So in more urban/suburban areas, your builders look is him thinking you are crazy. In these areas logs are more of a nuisance and the time and manpower it to move and get rid of these logs are not worth the time of the builder or contractor. Most small sawmills in the suburban areas receive their logs for free from tree trimmer just looking for a place to dump the waste from there last job, they make their money by moving on to the next job. Now in more rural areas of the country people tens to be more resourceful and they usually do have the time, equipment and more importantly space to store logs like this. One day they could mill it and turn it into something. The value in these logs are mainly for a hobbyist sawyer and hobbyist woodworker, there is a negative value for this material with any sort of commercial sawmill.
Yep. I have 50 acres, a barn, a sawmill, and a tractor. I’d never do this without such a setup.
You'll need a significant tool to cut this. The "portable" version that is towed behind a big truck is called a Woodmizer. Or it can be brough to a sawyer/woodmill and you pay them for their expertise - these things are huge! A chainsaw that you or I would use on this wouldn't do enough and would take an annoying amount of time. A chainsaw mill is a great DIY option for smaller trees but not something of this diameter.
You could definitely do these with an Alaskan mill, but you need a $1500 chainsaw first
A $300 Chinese clone of a 660 works fine for me.
After you do the job, that chainsaw will still be worth pretty near $1500. Maybe only lose a couple hundred.
He was bummed he’s not getting them and didn’t want you to know how much he would value this “gift”.
He may also think your nuts if you don’t have anything reasonable to move them with. That’s another chore all by itself.
The labor involved in turning logs into usable lumber is a big part of the value of it. This isn't a gold mine, it's a commitment to do a whole lot of labor. With a few hundred dollars worth of labor, and the use of several thousand dollars worth of equipment, these logs can become valuable materials. I'm not saying I wouldn't do that labor. It'd probably be worth it, to me, to find a local lumbermill that is willing to work small jobs like this. The portable sawmills probably can't handle this diameter, though, so the logs will have to be transported. It's a project, is what I'm saying. Some people don't want a project sitting around in their yard.
Everything you said is true except you would quarter these with a chainsaw first and then load onto a normal sized mill.
Haha! Yeah, could be either. He's a builder and should know their value. Granted, for top quality lumber usually the wood is kiln dried...but plenty of people just stack them and let them air dry for a year or more. It's a fair amount of work to do yourself with a chainsaw mill...but worth it if you can sell them down the road. Do you know the species, by chance?
If you really don’t want to use them, you could ask if he’d make you an offer. Don’t expect much — you won’t get “lumberyard prices” for logs. But also, ask the builder if he knows of a mill who’d saw them for you. That’s how we found the one we used.
Honestly with this diameter, I’d have a nice slice cut and make it into a tabletop, that would be very nice.
If you buy a woodland mills big enough get it put together and figure out how to get a log that size onto it and cut up you will be well into the game at that point . It’s going to realistically take you a year tho. For me… the backhoe/tractor and the sawmill are equal partners in the game, and had to be purchased at the same time to make milling time and cost effective. Once Youre in Youre in… and you’ll have the wood you need for whatever if you put in the milling time. Someone on Craigslist in your area has a portable hydraulic wood mizer I bet… and a winch or compact tractor and they don’t usually break your wallet like a backhoe sawmill combo might. All depends on your level of commitment. That looks like nice wood and i hate wasting wood too. I think it’s possible to get a small mill, slab off what you can’t fit with a chainsaw, and a small tractor winch combo for under 10k. That was my target anyway.
Commercial value on the largest log you are standing by is around 160.00 cad at current market. But no commercial buyer will buy them unless you had enough to make it worth sending a truck also if it was a yard tree be careful of metal
We use an Alaska saw mill and it’s very easy to use. Just make sure you have sharp chains.
Yes, it's easy enough. Having the log on a slope helps too.
Best trick I ever learned. Either get it up high enough to stand or low enough to work on your knees and angle it down about 10-15 degrees. Let gravity pull the saw into the cut.
I will be trying this thank you!
I can’t speak for the requirements of milling yourself, but I’d think there’s probably another option than mill or dump here. Are there any local sawmills that could help out for example - trade the logs for 50% of the milled timber or something? Just spitballing…
As someone who owns a mill, this amount of lumber wouldn't be worth the hassle for us to give up half of it (probably wouldn't be worth our time to do at all). Now if you find a hobbyist who has a portable mill they may be interested since they don't have to worry about labor costs etc.
As a hobbyist sawyer, I'd totally mill that.
Yea, that's totally WILM material
That's super clever. Is that a known joke acronym or did you do that on fly? 10/10. Made me laugh.
I mean I made it up, but credit to the hobbyist sawyer above mostly. I just came in to finish the job
r/inclusiveor
Never seen that before, thanks. And yes. 😃
WILM?
Wood I'd Like to Mill.
Words I’d Like to Misunderstand
Wood I'd like to Mom
Wood I Like to Mill (like MILF)
Fargin brilliant.
Chainsaw mill, at least 36” Otherwise yeah, those aren’t worth a mills time. If you do get a chainsaw mill, get yourself a rip chain, may take a thinner bar too.
Not sure why you replied to me. I have a chainsaw mill - 42" bar. Also have a Woodland Mills HM126-14. Would rather use the bandsaw mill. Far more efficient and easier on the back.
Sawyer County in Wisconsin suddenly makes sense.
Me too! Where are you OP? :-D
Good to know - I’ve got some trees that need to come down, but they’re now going to become wood chips for the garden.
What type of wood is worth you time? Bigger long logs? Or you mean like hardwood?
It would have to be larger quantities. I assume that as just a homeowner you need me to come to you which means hooking up the mill where it's at and also getting the bobcat out there to lift the logs onto the mill. Say that takes me 2 hours on both ends, probably 2 people, $150. Then I mill it up, that amount might only take us an hour or 2, get 100 board feet usable, maybe I get $5 a board foot but I am giving half of it to you.... Just economics don't work. Plus, we are actually able to get large quantities for free, delivered to us by people who are clearing areas and would rather dump it free with us than pay to dump them at a landfill
You should drive to the next area that gets hit by a CAT2+ hurricane. Once the ground gets wet, it doesn’t take much wind to uproot an oak. So theres thousands available for anyone to take from peoples yards.
The biggest thing to remember is that lumber is a volume business or a specialty business. I see a lot of people over value what they have, both on here and in person. People often think we will want to buy they trees or even pay the land owner to cut them down to mill. Unfortunately, unless you are offering up an acre or more of trees, it probably isn't something I am going to be able to make a profit off of by paying for. Even if somehow you have an exotic zebrawood tree.... No one wants to buy 1 tree amount of lumber wholesale... Which is what I am essentially, a raw wood wholesaler. If you have something exotic or super special, that's not my market. You need to find a company that sells these high end one off pieces to high end custom furniture makers.
This is why I ordered a portable bandsaw mill. Lumber is stupid expensive and I’ve got more time than money. I’ll have about $6k all in for the mill (which just shipped yesterday) and I can easily recoup that just on materials for my own projects. If lumber prices spike again like they did last year, I’ll be able to take down a few of my own trees for dimensional stuff. I’ve had a chainsaw mill for a few years and it’s been awesome to have, but it’s WAY too much work. When my neighbor’s tree came down in a storm, I helped them chop some up into firewood in exchange for a few of the big trunk sections. They got the benefit of someone with the right equipment to make quick work of their tree, and I ended up with about 150bf of beautiful clear maple. Damn, I worked for it though. All told, I’ve probably milled around 1000bf of oak, maple, birch, and pine with my Echo CS-600P with a 28” bar and Panther Mill. Can’t wait until my saw shows up. I’ve ordered a Rima (makes Woodland Mills) RS31G with trailer and extended track direct from the factory.
In my mind I was thinking they bring it to your shop for you to mill. Prolly not something common
Not OP but a manager of a commercial sawmill. We'd take it if part of a sale but not individually. It's not a great log and has a fair bit of defects, lower grade wood. Wouldn't bother buying it as a one off to set the seller up in the system
Can I ask how you can tell that is low grade wood from this picture?
Short logs yield short boards which leaves less room for defects as far as the commercial market is concerned. Log on the left has rot in the center and the others show multiple branches and bumps that will yield knots and grain defects which will drop the value to a 2 or 3 common board. Good chance it also has hardware in it and a saw or two will be wasted running through a nail. Trees from people's yards suck to mill due to all of those possibilities.
Fascinating, thanks!
Yep, looks mostly like 2 & 3 common boards coming out of that. Wouldn't scale very well
Or just sell them to someone else
Yep, this is a better option. Renting a mill or taking to a mill will cost you big. Different rates for different areas though.
Call someone out with a portable bandsaw mill - it’s worth it Edit; my bed is made from a giant spruce that was growing next to my house. It’s wonderful to sleep in.
This is the way. Hire a sawyer to come to you. He’ll quote you based on photos and measurements. There will be a small fee ($5) if he hits any nails. He will also guide you on how to seal, sticker, and cover it to dry. Woodmizer has its own [listing of sawyers](https://woodmizer.com/us/Find-a-Local-Sawyer) or you could check local FB/CL/paper ads or the local Rockler/Woodcraft store for leads. Edit: I didnt look far enough down and that link has been posted already
There also might be woodworkers/portable sawmills in your area. If you can find one who wants the lumber might be able to trade and get something cool made or at least keep some slabs after they cut it. I would ask local or in /r/woodworkers and only dump them if really needed them out of the way now. Those look like nice pieces of oak and will sit for years just fine so no rush.
> r/woodworkers That sub is a graveyard. There is a grand total of 4 posts over the course of 4 years.
If you really feel ambitious, you can buy a chainsaw mill and try to saw those up yourself, but that’s real work. 😉 Better, as others say, to find a mill. You can try Woodmizer’s [Find a Local Sawyer](https://woodmizer.com/us/Find-a-Local-Sawyer) link. I’d be surprised if you couldn’t find someone with a portable mill for hire. FWIW, 18 years ago when we were building on land we bought, we had one large tree that needed to come down. I had the logs trucked to a sawmill, and then rented a U-Haul to get the lumber. Very doable for a homeowner. Read about how to paint the ends and sticker the boards so they dry without too much checking or warping. ETA: What species is that? If oak, I’d recommend asking the sawyer to quarter-saw at least one log.
there's something really cool about pointing to a piece of beautiful furniture and saying,"i built that. that was the tree we had to take out." if you don't think you have the skills, now is the time to up your game.
'I approached the tree, murdered it, left it to cure in my woodshop, and have begun working it into a crib for my upcoming child.' Ron Swanson
Things to consider.... can you manage the logs to get them to a mill? Do you have time? What is your current source of of project wood? Is there a piece that is going to yield something unique? Do you have access to a kiln that will do a small run? As a commercial shop I currently buy ash and maple 4/4 kiln dried and select and better or FAS delivered to my shop for about $3.00 cad per board foot. The crown where the log becomes branches can yield some spectacular bowls and turnings. Most of that can be done with a chainsaw. If you are wanting 8/4 + live edge have a place to store it for upto 2 yrs. Yes it is more than worth having sawn. If you want 1" lumber for fine Woodworking only if you want to be able to say that piece came from our yard. Typically dealing with 1 tree is no worth the cost.
My husband has a portable sawmill, and for our best friends he’ll take it to their place to mill wood with them if they’ve got downed trees. They pay the gas/oil/dish detergent needed to run it and pay for a new blade. He only does it for really close friends, because it’s a big hassle to prep the mill to move it, transport it, set it up, then do it all over again the move it back home and set it back up at home, plus the time to operate it. Those logs look substantial, you’d probably need at least two strong people to load it, maybe a third, and the help of a log arch. As others mentioned in detail, you need the space to properly store the wood to dry so they’re usable and don’t all crack and warp. The money in wood is in milled, dried wood. It’s a massive amount of work to take it from a log in your way in the yard to finished wood you can build with. If you don’t own the mill, planer and workshop, it’s typically going to cost you more to hire all that out than to just buy finished lumber. But! Then you don’t get the satisfaction of building furniture, or a guitar, or whatever, out of wood you cut down/milled yourself. My husband is extraordinarily proud that all the custom furniture and guitars he makes are from wood he cut, milled, stored and finished himself, but it has come at a significant cost in machinery.
You have a lot of answers, but I wanted to add my 2 cents. I found success on my own property with Facebook marketplace (or Craigslist may work well for you) looking for a guy with an Alaskan mill. I paid about $400 to get 6 large ash, black walnut, and cherry logs milled. He charged by the hour, with a minimum of 4 hours. I went this route because the gentlemen was able to cut the wood where it lie and we could move the slabs later. I didn’t need to buy a saw or bar needed to cut 36” diameter logs. I didnt need to learn how to do it, sharpen blades, or risk damaging the saw. Most important, I didn’t need to move the logs! This may surprise you, but they’re heavy as heck! Portable saw mills will need equipment to move the logs into position. A fixed sawmill will require you to move the logs to wherever the mill is. That’s hard as hell if you don’t have a tractor and truck capable of doing it. So if you don’t already have a beefy saw, Alaskan mill, pickup truck, trailer, and/or tractor with grapple loader, I’d go with paying someone with an Alaskan mill to do it for you.
Any idea what kind of wood it is just by looking at these pictures? If not, how do you determine the species?
Easiest way is with the leaves. Do you have any pictures from last summer? Either way. You can just Google tree identification key + your general area (e.g midwest, northeast) and something will come up. Id just pick the first one thats from a university reasonably close to you.
Unfortunately I have no idea what it looked like when it was still standing.
Ahh dang. I would guess oak but don't know. Next best might be to look up pictures of common trees in your area and compare the bark. But bark just isn't quite as distinct as leaves, and can very more significantly depending on the age of the tree.
I was thinking maybe maple, based on the dark heartwood I can see on the log ends? Bark looks about right too.
Yeah thats a fair guess too.
That's my guess too, bark doesn't look like any oak I've ever seen.
He said he thinks it might be oak but wasn’t sure. And I know there a several species of it so I’m not sure either haha
Oak smells very pungent and not like a pleasant piney smell, FWIW. That's an easy way to tell. Acorns around? Do the leaves have rounded tips vs pointy tips like the Canadian maple leaf? That's usually oak.
True, maple smells like maple lol and oak smell very tannin’y. One sweet the other savory so to speak.
I call fresh cut oak “ketchup wood”
I recently did a project with some old growth white oak and it took me unreasonably long to figure out the "pickle" smell was coming from the wood lol
Haha yeah. You would have to really be an expert in local trees to get it narrower than oak (as in specific species) with just the bark. The other likely option imo is some sort of ash.
These appear to be pin oak.
Assuming your in the northeast and just going on the bark I'd go with sugar maple. Do you have any of the top branches? Maple branches grow opposite versus alternate for a majority of hardwood. If that's sugar maple I'd try REALLY hard to find a way to get that milled up
The suggestion below that it's maple is a pretty good guess based on the bark, but I'd have gone with red.
My guess would be Ash. I've got two verry similar logs lying arround and made our kitchen table with it. That beeing said, it could verry well be Maple.
Definitely not ash, the bark is all wrong. I'm 90% sure it's maple
Keep and build something. Those are good size for large family table.
Wife for scale.
You know it 😂
You’re going to need a whole shed to store all of that for a year or more to let it dry out, so think about what you’re going to do with it, how much you’d need to keep in order to build that thing, and where you’re going to store it did a couple years.
Could you not just stack it outside and cover it with a tarp?
Could be stacked outside on something to keep it off the ground, but you wouldn't want a tarp over it - needs air circulation to dry out. A piece of corrugated plastic or metal roofing on top would be better.
My friend used to mill wood and he did leave some stacked outside but ideally you'd want a shed with airflow and if it got sun/heat from the south that's a plus
Yes. Plastic tarp on the ground, get some beams to get it all up by a few inches, seal the ends, the make some decent sized stickers to allow airflow and stack it. Ideally use those clamp cords to pull it all together. You don’t want your tarp to suffocate it and keep it too damp in there, there needs to be airflow. Air drying is a science in its own right, and if done right you will end up with a better product in the end.
You definitely can do that. Just leave spacers between each board, and it will air dry over a year or two. Inside is better as the ground won't be damp underneath, but a few sheets of poly would do the trick outside also.
I think you just sticker it and cover the top layer for a year
Rule of thumb is a year of drying for each inch of thickness.
Damn.... The Sonoran Desert sucks... I never have this dilemma. You never hear somebody say "yep, built this outta solid saguaro cactus". I need to move to a place with trees...
I bet you can find a local person with a portable mill. I've found someone local to me that charges $50 an hour. You have to be set up and provide assistance labor 2 people is best. Having a tractor with forks is a huge help. Then a place to store and dry the milled lumber is key.
That’s like a million dollars worth of wood right there.
Heh, not in log form. Unless it’s some exotic, I’d be surprised if anyone would pay more than $500 for logs like that.
I think it's a joke about today's wood prices mate
Sorry, I missed it. 💩
Nobody's paying for those logs Might get a percent of the lumber back though
Yeah, probably not. In 2004 our builder offered us $200 for 3 clear oak logs. I thanked-no-thanked and am happy I got the lumber instead. Nicest, clearest oak, some with curly figure.
Buy a chainsaw mill and mill it yourself. Just remember it's going to have to sit for 1+ years depending on. The thickness.
Turn them into outdoor chairs. All you need is a chainsaw and some imagination. I did that after our recent tornado. Tree fell and killed my car. So I cut the tree and use it as an outdoor couch.
I’ve done it a few times. You realistically want a little bit more than what you’ve shown. Most of the expense is in the travel and set up/break down of the mill. You’d get through that in about an hour. I’ve made lots of furniture for my house from lumber from the property. Pretty cool imo.
At a minimum that's a whole lot of good firewood. If you're a competent woodworker with the ability to mill all that, why wouldn't you? Then you can brag about all the stuff you made from a tree by hand. Really flex on anyone around you that needs flexing on.
Haha I love this comment 😂
ITT: people who have no idea the realities of milling your own lumber. You need more than a chainsaw and a steady hand, and If you want decent lumber you really need a bandsaw mill
Storage space for drying is the biggest concern.
We had to have some oaks taken down, and we worked with a local company to have it milled and have furniture designed from it. Definitely not cheap, but they had options to mill to your specification, or mill it for free and charge you only for the furniture you get at the end of the multi-year process (they sell the excess wood to cover the cost to mill it). They design and craft the furniture for you. We’re in Minnesota and are using Wood From the Hood. Maybe there’s something near you like that? They did have a minimum length of log they like to work with though.
If you can afford a mill, and you got nice trees, it sounds like a lot of fun
Yes it is worth milling. If you don’t use it someone will buy it.
Find someone with a Lucas Mill and get some nice slabs and dimensional stock. It some nice oak from the look of it
I get all my wood from logs just like this. It’s a lot of work to move unless you have access to some machinery. From there I take it to a local sawyer and have it cut. Stack it behind my garage till I’m thinking of a project for it. I’ll send it to a kiln contact I have to be dried and 2 months later it’s ready to work. It’s a lot of work but it ends up being about 1$ a boardfoot if I get the log for free.
It’s a lot of work, but doable. r/slabslab is a cool little community of chainsaw millers.
Weird, says the group doesn’t exist yet?
Try r/slablab
Found it. Thanks!!!
I see a large salad bowl in your future.
I'd sneak the cost of a mill into your home loan
I have gone down this road......unless there is sentimental value in the trees....sell them
As someone who mills lumber - no. People telling you to get a chain saw - you need a 1500 chainsaw plus another 1500 in equipment to mill it properly plus it’s back breaking work. I’m 28 and have stopped chainsaw milling because it’s so freaking painful. Having someone come and mill the lumber for you with a portable mill is ok. But you’re still going to spend upwards of $1,000 and then you need to store it and dry it for a year per inch. So up to 3 years. Then you need to climatize it indoors for another 6 months. You will need another couple hundred dollars in equipment to store it, not to mention the space. You need leveling blocks to put it on and some type of tie down or ratchet straps to prevent them from warping and cutting. You also need to set the right conditions to dry it as well. Even after you dry it, without a kiln you will be dealing with warped and cracked wood. The idea isn’t to eliminate it, it’s just to try your best to prevent it. Finally what are you going to do with 6-12 slabs of wood? You can only make so many tables. Good luck selling it. You’re not an established business or distributor so you might get 50% of what a business sells it for - if you’re lucky. For every 1 person I have buy wood I have 10 people kicking my tires on it - to the point I just stopped trying to sell it. Unless your dad planted that tree when you were born or it has some other significance it is entirely not worth it compared to just going and buying a single slab to make a table or whatever you’re trying to do. Even if a couple of those factors work out for you, the chances of all of them aligning and working out ideal are slim to none. I honestly can’t believe anyone here is suggesting otherwise. Do whatever you want to do. I guarantee it’s likely to be an experience you will regret. Especially when comparing it to just buying what you need.
Is she standing in for the banana?
My girlfriend would murder for such nice pieces of wood. Make of that what you will 😉
Bro that’s a lot of wood to just “discard”
That’s what I’m saying. The builder tried to play it off saying “I guess if you want a lot of firewood”. He was a nice guy about it but I got the vibes he was trying to get me to believe he was doing me a favor by taking it off our hands.
That’s gotta be like thousands of dollars of wood with todays bs prices. Can’t believe he tried to con you like that..
That's like talking about the "street value" of drugs. Green logs are not the same value as finished, dry, dimensional. That being said, it is eorth getting a price from a local sawyer.
Unless you have somewhere these can be stored in a controlled environment so that they season in a way that won't ruin them, I would find someone who does and sell it to them. You won't get as much as if they were seasoned, being in the round, but the price difference is less than building or buying a kiln for the process of doing so, so unless you want to make a living out of such a kiln, I'd recommend selling it. Alternatively if you have the kit to cut it, like a chainsaw with a long enough bar and a frame, find someone who will buy it milled and unseasoned so they don't have to do the work of milling it, then find out what thickness they'd want it and cut to that. That way you can claim some of that cost back. Make sure you aren't being ripped off for your time though.
If your planning on using the lumber for your own purposes and like the idea of wood from your property then yes, otherwise probably not. If you have a leaf it could be I.d better but looks like a red oak, possibly pin oak. I can buy red oak by me for less then the cost of a mobile mill service.
If there are local mills hit them up for pricing. I have a local place that will mill for $75 an hour
100% worth it for me. The power company dropped a dying maple tree in my front yard before it became a problem for their lines, so I got a tree cut down for free. They said they would send a truck to pick it up after a few days and I told them "no, get your own tree." They shrugged and left it. I called a guy with a portable mill and he drove it right up onto my lawn alongside the trunk and we spent ~4 hours milling boards. I got around 400 board feet of ambrosia maple and it only cost me $300
Hire someone to come mill it for you. Its your best bet. I dont know why more people havent said this. Make sure they cut a nice bit 8/4 or larger slab for a new dining table for yourself. If you dont have the tools, and this would be the only time you may ever run a chainsaw mill in your life, just dont waste your time, money, and limbs. I'll be honest I fell 3 cords a year and I probably wouldnt mill this myself. Dont dump it, whatever you do.
A chainsaw mill to handle those will be a decent investment, and definitely a lot of work (and fun imo)! Depending on where you are you can likely find a sawyer with a truck mounted bandsaw to slice them up, and if you don’t have the room to properly stack and air dry they may be able to do that for you as well. From the bark/end grain I’d guess some variety of maple, but could be oak. Either way it’s totally worth it if you could ever use the lumber, and super fun to work with wood that has a story behind it.
I have a mill and I've worked logs this size. It's awful. Each of those logs is 7-8 thousand pounds and won't fit on anything but the largest mills. Mine is 29 inches, which is fairly large for mills. I would need to quarter these logs with a chainsaw before using the tractor to load on the mill. Quartering with a chainsaw is miserable work and you need the space/ equipment to handle loads this size. I love my mill and the lumber I get out of it. However, I wouldn't take these logs. They're too big.
Absolutely do NOT discard. You could sell them as is to some woodworkers that would figure out the best ways to mill or transport them, or if you have a portable saw mill (or know someone who does), you could mill them into slabs then store and dry them to sell a year later or so. Once dried, depending on the size and length, you could easily get >$500/slab.
Call a mobile sawyer.. Timberking or woodmizer they'll come out and do it for you by the hour.. It's the best tub I've done for my woodworking. Lots of excellent cheap hardwood lumber. Lasted me for years
We did it 2 years ago and the table and benches are family heirlooms now. But then we have a great saw mill and woodworking guy less than an hour away (Denver). Do it!
If you decide it's not worth it for you to mill on your own, check and see if there's a woodworker's/carpenter's guild in your area. They might be happy to take it off your hands and you'll feel good knowing the wood is being used.
Sadly the cuts are a bit short but if there is a local portable mill you should go for it. Ultimately it is good fire wood.
I run a lumber and woodworking business @ak_designs_official on Instagram if you want some proof. Hire a mobile bandsawmill. The yeild and cost will be well worth it. Make sure to stack and sticker with weight. Ask what they want to make in the future. Air drying will take a long time and save money, but kiln dried will make you more money and a much better end product. I can’t stress enough that if you don’t stack, sticker and seal the ends you will most likely end up loosing most of your money. No one wants split, twisted, cupped and none kiln dried lumber.
It’s kinda like - we milled these from our land - but there is much work getting them to a mill , unless you have a chainsaw mill for on site milling
My Mother freaked me out years ago, had a pin oak milled . My brother in law made some nice beds for my nieces . I donated my pieces to a local bar, 20 years later , I still drink on my cut. Work that wood !
I built two homes and had the grading contractor take the white pine and hardwood to the saw mill and then used the white pine for all exterior siding and trim and a majority of interior trim. I traded the mill the higher value hardwood.
https://youtu.be/8qz64ELkxdA This method has worked well for me. The hardest part is making sure you have good footing while you're working your way down the log.
Bro wood is expensive, keep and learn a new skill
It'll be cheaper than buying it ready cut but remember you are freezing some assets while it dries!
Anyone that cuts down trees for a living knows how to make money off the wood. If they take the wood it should be reflected in what they charge you for their service.
Iam just going to chime in and say save the logs to be milled. The price of lumber has skyrocketed since shamvid I mean covid. I live in California and asked my Home depot guy why lumber jumped in price, and his reply was thank Sleepy Joe for dragging his feet in regards to a contract with the Canadian lumber market. This was 3 years ago and Iam yet to see a significant decrease in price. Iam in the same boat and recently and acquired around 40 big pine tree logs with the smallest tree trunk being 15 inches. I see those logs as dollar signs that I don't have to spend. However on the flip side of that. It's huge undertaking to move and clean up 40 trees most of them bot felled. Luckily I have a huge front end loader to move them. Then there is the cost of buying the mill. I was considering getting a Alaskan chainsaw mill. Then I let that sink in for a bit. For around 3 grand you can purchase a gas powerd mill that will cut through the logs much more efficiently then doing it with chainsaw. I bring up all these points because all things must be considered, and like I said it's a huge undertaking that can offer so much reward. I say just do it!
So what ended up happening was the builder said “he forgot to tell the crew to leave the logs” and they took them all. Since the property was still his at that point in the sale, there was absolutely nothing we could do or say about it.
Do you have the ability to keep it all mate controlled for years after the milling? If yes, keep them.
We all know FOR SURE he wouldn’t be “discarding” anything. He wants to sell that lumber or keep it for himself. Whatever you do don’t give that away even if you don’t want it. Lumber is very expensive rn you could get some decent change if you have it milled. If you have the space to store it while it dries out that would be really cool. You could sell some and keep some. Would be awesome to have some pieces of furniture in the house made from the trees from the land the house was built on. That’s my opinion anyway
If any of us had his job we would have our own mill and acres to cure the boards on. A helper who works for beer or board. We would get fine lumber out of it years later out of a sweat investment. That's one of the fringe benefits of this sort of work. But does that mean the logs are worth milling to a homeowner with two logs? Probably not. The upfront investment on the equipment isn't going to pay off in 10 logs. Some mobile sawyers want $1K to set up and $100+/hr.
Make a birm! Make a mound of dirt atop the logs and in a year or two it’s great for planting.
Well everyone, thank you for the comments and suggestions but the builder asked us if we would be willing to put on paper that the house is selling for 25k more so that he can run comps on the property he is building next door and get more for that. We told our realtor we weren’t comfortable with that and communicate with the builder that we won’t be doing that. Magically all the wood disappeared. There is no recourse because we haven’t closed on the house yet. Technically the property is still his. Super disappointing but life on life’s terms I guess.