Defraying cost of tree removal

[Ken Miller]

I'm looking for a way of defraying the cost of removing a red oak. The tree I'm guessing is about 50' and has only a couple of branches left on it at the top. Has anyone had any success other than paying a tree removal company to cut and grind it? the location is in middlesex county, nj

[curtis rosche]

call in a woodturner, rent a grinder. or call a sawmill and sell them the tree

[Matt Kestenbaum]

Ken,

Don't where in Middlesex you are, but one suggestion is to call Williard Brothers (Trenton/Lawrenceville), they are connected to a tree service (Save-a-tree and also a mulch supplier). There was a FWW article about mini mills and there were two others listed in NJ -- one or both may be closer or worth calling. Attached is the link.

Matt

[Michael Conner]

I don't want to be negative, but you would be very lucky to find a sawmill owner that would remove the tree for the wood. It is really pretty easy to get logs from tree removal services. Yard trees tend to have tramp metal in them, and that stuff creates a nightmare for sawyers. You could likely hire a sawyer to mill the tree for you. Most will charge a fee if they hit metal, but the fee is generally reasonable. If the tree yields good lumber, you will at least recoupe some of the costs of having the tree removed.

[Tom Godley]

I have a good friend that has helped out a cousin on occasion take down a tree for fire wood -- so people are around that do this. They do not have all the equipment that a professional would have -- so they just drop the whole tree and cut it up. This requires both the space and the added time for removal by a smaller number of people.

I have never had them do this because of injury/insurance concerns.

[Ken Miller]

thanks for the replys. with very little space, I think concerns with safety are outweighing my frugality.