Wood value question

[Jack Schmidt]

I have a question for all you real woodworkers out there. We have a family nursery (farm) since 1952 and there are sections that have very old overgrown stock, some maple and oak trees I have sold as firewood in the past. But I’ve got a section that I’m about to bulldoze out and wondering if I should be saving some of the wood if there is a market out there. I’ve seen some for sale on eBay.


One stand of trees is honey locust, with a bottom trunk of about 16”. Another is Capatata Yew which grow with a very straight trunk, these abut 15’ to 20’ with a 6-8” trunk (maybe more). The last stand are spreading yew with many curved stems, again in the 4-6” range.

Any value here or should I be left taking the quick clearing route?

[Anthony Whitesell]

There is a lot of labor that goes into turning a tree into lumber. Unfortunately the price for a tree per board foot is typically only 10-20% of the retail board foot price. If rough cut maple is selling for $3 per bdft and a tree is calculated to have 750 bdft, then the sale price of the tree is only $75-$150.

There are calculators available online to tell you how many board feet are in each tree.

Even if you can't sell it as lumber, around here firewood is still selling for $200-$300 per cord delivered locally.

Just remember. All cash is green.

[Dan Hintz]

If these are nursery trees, as you say (i.e., guaranteed no metal), a local mill may pay you a decent fee to come take the trees out... depends upon if there are enough trees to make it worth their while.

[Joe Hillmann]

The yew may have value to bow makers. I don't know if they would buy it as a log or if they would want seasoned riven staves which takes some skill to make.

[Myk Rian]

Honey Locust is a dense wood. I have a few pieces laying around.
I find it best for making jigs, band saw reindeer, boxes. Doesn't seem to be a lot of figure in it, but it works easily.

[Matt Kestenbaum]

Contact Dave Peregmon --sawyer in Pennsville NJ 215-295-3758 or Cobbs Mill in Bridgton NJ 856-451-0671

Honey locust is a super choice for outdoor furniture.