Harvesting Oak

[Jim Guy]

Just got back from my mother-in-laws who owns about 25 acres pretty much covered with oak. I believe most are pin oak, but I'm not certain. While there are all sizes of trees there are many (50 to 75) that I could not quite get my arms around and the first branch is at least 15 feet off the ground. She says I can have any and all I want. I have no equipment, nor do I have the time to get these things on the ground, much less get them milled. I guess my dream would be to find someone who would do the work for part of the lumber. I'm not really asking for names of course, just wondering if there are people who do work like this, what you might call bartering. Am I wasting my time call around? And if I find someone, what would be fair to both of us?
I had a guy down the road with a woodmizer mill up 3 pretty good size walnut logs last fall. But he will not drop trees.

[Jim Guy]

Just got off the phone with a guy who said if its pin oak - don't fool with it!!!

[Todd Burch]

Did he say why to avoid it? It's a good looking red oak from what I can remember.

[Bob Smalser]

I'm a sawyer who occasuionally cuts on shares...I don't know anything about Pin Oak....but you should explore this site for info about your oak and local sawyers:

http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/forums/sawdry.pl

[Kevin Arceneaux]

Pin Oak = firewood

[Steve Clardy]

I milled over a million bd. ft. of lumber with my LT-30 Woodmizer over a ten year period before I sold it.
I milled several feet if Pin Oak. If it has a GOOD butt log,[no limbs] the lumber is great, with the exception that it has a lot of white sapwood. Now, when you get to the limb part, the next up portion, FIREWOOD ONLY!!!. They have so many limbs there, and limbs make knots inside the tree. And the limby part cannot be milled decent with a bandmill, as the band follows the knots, and produces wavy, unusable lumber.
The heart lumber has a nice RED color.
Steve

[Bob Smalser]

Al lthe good ole boys around here will tell you Madrone is worthless for anything but firewood...

...but it all kinda depends on the tree:

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/4110272/50978769.jpg