Mystery Wood Solved

[John TenEyck]

A few months ago I asked for your help to identify a log I had gotten from an arborist friend: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?164753-Name-that-wood-!&highlight=mystery+tree Several of the early responders thought it was some type of hickory, some others were really sure it was an oak. Well, I finally got around to milling it into lumber today. In the intervening months a few leaves had grown out of the bark, which looked a lot like hickory to me. And when I opened it up that suspicion was confirmed - it's gotta be a hickory, probably a Pignut hickory. Here are a couple of photos.

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The ends were painted twice with plain old latex wall paint. The end checking goes in less than 1 inch and there is no fungus/mold/etc. damage. For those who think latex paint is not adequate protection for the cut ends of logs, here's proof that it is. This log laid on the ground through the wettest spring we've had in years, as well, so there you are.

I don't think I'll be milling any more hickory in the near future. It took me all day and four chains just to mill this one log. Wow, was that stuff hard - and heavy. I'm not much of a fan of hickory either. I was expecting it to be some kind of oak but now I've got 13 boards I'm not sure what I'll do with. Hopefully, a project will come along where they will be a good choice to use for.

Thanks to everyone who offered an ID to my original posting.

[David Nelson1]

Glad ya figured it out.

[David Helm]

Sounds like you need to trade in your chainsaw mill for a bandsaw mill.

[John TenEyck]

Sounds like you need to trade in your chainsaw mill for a bandsaw mill.

That would be great except for the cost. I don't know of any bandsaw that can cut a 24" log for under $4K, which is 4X what I have in the saw and Alaskan Mill. For what I normally cut - oak, maple, etc., the chainsaw rig works well enough. I've cut nearly 4000 BF with it over the past 7 or 8 years.

[Neil Brooks]

Not sure what your plan for it is, but ... that's a beautiful log. I'm sure whatever you make will be fantastic !!

Ah, to mill my own lumber. A guy can dream .....

[John TenEyck]

Hi Neil. That log was pretty clear all the way through, with just a few small knots sorta clustered in one area. It should make some nice furniture if I come up with the right project.

Actually, as long as you're able bodied and have the time, anyone can mill lumber from whatever available local trees you have. I use a chainsaw mill, which was $1000 all in when I bought the saw and Alaskan Mill 7 or 8 years ago. It's slow in hardwood compared to a bandsaw, but you can't get any lower in cost, and I can take it to the tree if I have to - and I have on a couple of occassions where the tree was pinned in someone's backyard or on the back side of another guy's camp with no way out. There probably arn't many hardwood trees where you are, but you only need a few to have a lot of wood. I've never paid for a log yet. I have a friend that's an arborist through whom I get some nice trees, although mostly he keeps trying to get me take 40" dia. oaks ! Other logs I've gotten just by stopping at someone's house when I see a tree being cut down or already down but not yet bucked into firewood. Still others come to me because friends of friends find out I save trees from the woodstove. I've made several of them furniture from their tree, which is a great conversation piece for them. So if you have the inclination, it's not that hard to do.

[Neil Brooks]

I live on a zero-lot-line piece of property .... at least for the moment ;)

My wife wasn't 100% keen on the basement shop. Pretty sure the basement MILL thing would cross a line :)

I can see LOTS of opportunity, though. The local arborists have told me, too, that most of what they pull out of yards is up for grabs, for those who can take it, and work with it.