Huge Post Oak in Austin TX needs to come down

[Bryan Hunt]

A friend of mine has a huge Post Oak in Austin, TX that is dying and needs to come down. I don't know anything about Post Oaks, so I have no idea if the wood is any good. If anyone in the area has the capability of taking down the tree and wants the wood, I believe he would give you all of the wood. I'm guessing the tree is around 4' in diameter. If you are interested, feel free to PM me.

Bryan

[Todd Burch]

Post oak is good wood. It's certainly not the best flavor of white oak. It does have a tendency to check when air drying. I've harvested tons (literally) of Post oak. 4' Post oak is a big tree. They usually have very long trunk sections.

[Greg Crawford]

Bryan,

Is the tree in a place where it can be dropped without the possibility of damaging anything? Is there good access to get in to get the logs? Will your friend take care of hauling off the branches and getting the stump ground? If it's not a highly technical removal, I may know someone.

Greg

[Cody Colston]

A 4' Post Oak would yield some pretty wide QS boards. It would be worth sawing up IMHO.

I had one about 12" diameter die a couple years ago and finally got around to cutting it down this spring. I needed some 12/4 billets for leg stock. As Todd said, it's not thebest flavor of White Oak but it is an attractive wood and pretty stable when QS.

[Bryan Hunt]

Bryan,

Is the tree in a place where it can be dropped without the possibility of damaging anything? Is there good access to get in to get the logs? Will your friend take care of hauling off the branches and getting the stump ground? If it's not a highly technical removal, I may know someone.

Greg

Unfortunately, the branches of the tree overhang the garage and house, so it's not going to be an easy task to bring the tree down. I'll ask him if he can do the branch removal. He is also looking a paying professionals to take the tree down ... I just hate to see what might be some good wood go to waste.

[Bryan Hunt]

I just got an update that the tree is coming down a week from tomorrow (the 25th) and they are going to haul it away. If anyone in the area wants to try to salvage any of the wood, I can put you in contact with the owner.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

Four feet is a big tree. Unfortunately, for nearly all sawmills (like a Woodmizer) it's too big to cut as a single chunk. To get it small enough requires someone with a big chainsaw with a ripping chain and a strong constitution to rip it lengthwise. A lot of sawyers won't mess with an overly large tree for the time and effort involved in harvesting. Add to that the unknown of what the tree is like inside. The larger the tree the greater the chance of being hollow or pithy (true for all species, I guess). Post oak can yield some decent wood but can be pretty variable in color.

[Scott T Smith]

Four feet is a big tree. Unfortunately, for nearly all sawmills (like a Woodmizer) it's too big to cut as a single chunk. To get it small enough requires someone with a big chainsaw with a ripping chain and a strong constitution to rip it lengthwise. A lot of sawyers won't mess with an overly large tree for the time and effort involved in harvesting. Add to that the unknown of what the tree is like inside. The larger the tree the greater the chance of being hollow or pithy (true for all species, I guess). Post oak can yield some decent wood but can be pretty variable in color.

A swingblade mill (Peterson or Lucas) would be the best way to mill a 4' diameter log. They are good for logs up to 60" in diameter.