Sawing wood

Paul Downes

Member
Messages
959
Location
Westphalia, Michigan
I have been a frustrated logger for some time. I have tried to buy a used sawmill 3 times only to have the deal crash and burn.

Today I was looking over some elm logs I had sawed by a local miller and and voiced my frustration in the mill department. I have a woods full of dying ash trees and hate to turn them into firewood. I also will be felling a bunch of walnut and cherry trees soon and was dreading the cost of getting them sawed.

This local miller piped up that he was buried in work and that if i would saw his logs with his mill then I can saw my logs with his mill. :clap::clap::thumb::thumb::D Strictly a barter basis. He runs a flooring business sawing reclaimed barn beams as well as regular logs.

I feel like I fell off the bus and landed in a flower patch.
 
Paul,

Looks like a really good deal. I really enjoy using my bandsaw mill.

hope this barter continues into the future for you..

Ash and Cherry -- oh my -- Ash and Cherry oh my.

I do not have Cherry on my tree farm and a deal to purchase a few Cherry logs fell through yesterday!!!

Well done! make it fun not work!!
 
Just a (barely) related question: What's the deal with sawing Ash into lumber?

Most of the dying Ash trees are a result of Emerald Ash Borer infestation, and several states - Michigan, Ohio. Western Pennsylvania - have regulations in place disallowing the movement of Ash logs/firewood. Wouldn't air dried or untreated Ash lumber fall under the same restrictions?

I suppose that if you're only going to use the Ash yourself, and not move it, then it'd be okay, but what about selling it?

I only have two Ash trees on my property - everything else is oak or maple - and so far they don't seem to be infested, but according to the DNR, the only thing I can do with the Ash (infested or not) is burn it.
 
Not to hijack Paul's thread. I have an Ash down now waiting to be cut up. DNR told me as long as the outer 1 1/2 inch is removed and left in county where it is cut up, I can do as I want. My county is on an infected one. Strange as the trees around here are but the county is not.

Now back to your regular scheduled program. :thumb:
 
Jim and Steve, Michigan has given up on the fight to save the ash trees in the "mitten" part of the state. The whole lower peninsula is considered one quarantine zone and ash trees (logs) can be moved within the zone freely.

The emerald ash borer got into the trees in a friends woods about 2 years ago. I think most of the trees are now infected and dying. The sad thing is that this farmers woods is going to look rather denuded after I cut all the ash out. Some sections are about 80% ash. I think I counted 18 trees that are 24" plus diameter, and a whole bunch more in the 12" -16" range, plus even more smaller trees. I have been thinning this woods for firewood and doing a basic TSI cut. (Timber Stand Improvement) This involves removing none commercial trees and mature commercial trees to increase the value of the stand. Because there is millions of brd/ft. of ash flooding the market the ash values are pretty low. So they are not worth selling to the mills. Being able to use my friends mill is a real answer to prayer and we figure to stick the boards up in a barn as a wood "bank account"

When I told my wife about the proposed deal to saw the ash logs she said "fine with me, as long as I get some hardwood flooring out of the deal" :thumb::thumb: I couldn't hardly be happier with the deal. I also have over a dozen spalted maple logs to saw as well as spalted beech logs. It is a great relief to be able to do this at relatively no cost.

I picked up 333 brd/ft. elm lumber today, some of which has beautiful spalting and wormy figure. This is from one tree I took to get sawed up. I already sold the lumber and made around $350 on the deal. I think I am going to go fell a few more of those big dead elms I have my eye on. I was really surprised at how pretty elm lumber is especially when stained to "pop" the grain.
 
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