Harvesting Cherry.

[Larry Meyer]

I have a tree guy taking down a cherry in my backyard in a week or two. It’s dead. It has pretty straight thick trunk for 18-20 feet, no branches. What are the odds of getting some useable wood from this tree, that is, for decks and thwarts? How would you go about it? Have the tree guy leave it in 5-7 foot billets?

 

[Dave Wermuth]

I'd call a sawyer and have it sawn 18' lengths.

 

[Jan Bloom]

Dave is right. Find someone with a Woodmizer or something similar(trailerable bandsaw mill) and have them cut the log right in your driveway.

You may have to insist on 18ft as these guys are used to cutting 8's or maybe 12's as long. A good rig should be able to handle 20-24 ft. The sawyer might not. The guys that I buy from will cut long on order and their sawyer is one of the best band mill operators I have seen. His planks are nice and even down the length. Some of these "sawyers" just rip a plank off as fast as they can go. So a rough plank from them may need to be 2" to yeald 1" planned.

 

[Mark Adams]

Ditto on the as long as possible!

 

[Ed Moses]

Larry,

If decks and thwarts are all you want out of it , cutting in not less than 6' lengths is fine and the short logs are somewhat easier for someone without a front end loader to move them around. Six feet is the minimal length to fit nicely against the side stops on most portable sawmills and is long enough to span the lifters of the hydraulic arms to load it onto the cutting bed. A couple of logs will give you a lifetime supply of decks and thwarts!!! If the log or logs are nice and straight for 18-21 feet and limb free, you might get some super rail stock from it. It is best to cut it long as you can always cut the boards shorter and if it is not suitable for rail stock there will be sections that will fill your needs for decks and thwarts (not to forget paddles) nicely. Long gives you the best of both worlds. Something to keep foremost in mind is, can you move a long log around if it is felled where a portable mill cannot get to it. Every log is a gamble and until you open up the four faces of the cant, you will not know if your efforts have been worthwhile. I recommend that you have whoever downs the tree to cut the butt log or whatever section of the tree is straightest and limb/knot free into 20' 6" length or lengths (if you can get two). A woodmeiser portable can handle a log 21' long, stop to stop but I always cut my logs 20'6" to make positioning it on my sawmill bed between the two end stops a tad easier.

Ed

 

[Dan Lindberg]

2X what Ed said.

As gunwale stock is the hardest to find, if you have the oppertunity to get a good supply of it you should.

Oddly enough, I'm goin through a similar thing right now, except it's a large white pine, I have 3 15+ lengths, the largest has about a 30" diameter at the end. Still trying to decide what to do with it. It was cut down 2 weeks ago.

Dan

 

[Larry Meyer]

Thanks guys. I just don’t see manhandling an 18+ foot log around my tiny backyard as realistic. What a couple of humans can lift is about the max. I made two five foot plus paddles from one 4/4 cherry board many years ago so I get it about never cutting smaller than you have to before you have to: lots of extra board was needed to get good grain where I wanted it. This is a dead tree but not obvious punky. Who knows what the heartwood will look like? Since it might get up to Ed’s anyway, I’ll follow his advice. (I’m not trying to make money from this tree. If Steve Lapey or Fitz can get some free wood from it, that’s all I’m aiming for.)

 

[Ed Moses]

Larry,

Forgot to mention that even though the cherry is dead, the heartwood should be sound and in good, strong useable condition providing it has not been dead for many, many years. The sapwood (the outer 2" in the circumference of the tree) might be insect infested and beginning to deteriorate but that is wasted off in the first slab cuts making the cant.

Wood-mizer's main headquarters in Indianopolis is offering a nice service to the public by assisting you at locating a sawyer nearest you. Purchasers of their mills are in their data base and if a mill buyer specifies that they will saw for clients, Wood-Mizer will release their contact info to those needing a sawyer. Here's Wood-Mizer's # 1-800-525-8100. The automated phone message will direct you to the extension for Sawyer location.

Due to the high cost of fuel these days it will be most economical for you to find a sawyer close to your location since most sawyers charge a mill delivery and set up fee in addition to an hourly cutting rate or rate per bd footage sawn. Most jobs with only one or two logs, sawyers charge an hourly rate as it is economically unfeasible for them to saw by the board foot. Whatever the sawyer fee system turns out to be, it will work out to be significantly lower per board foot than what you would have to pay per board foot at a specialty wood supplier. And as I'm sure you know, finding long rail stock (in excess of 16') is very difficult and when you do, it is expensive.


Ed

 

[Ed Moses]

Larry,

OOOPS, your post at 7:22 AM was not up on my computer when I posted mine at 7:35 AM. You have already decided to cut short and that is a wise decision for log movement. Others might benefit from the info I provided.

Ed

 

[Dan Lindberg]

Larry,

Don't sell yourself short.

With just a come-a-long and a 2x4 (and extra pair of hands) I moved 2 large logs out of the neighbors driveaway and up onto "cribbing".
The old machine guys routinely move machines that are 2000 lbs and up with just a Johnson bar, pipes and cribbing.

And I have heard of mills that are small enough to be moved to and cut the log "on site" rather then moving the log to the mill.

Dan

 

[Larry Meyer]

Well yeah, I know. Getting older, I’m getting cautious. I spent 2 years with bad knees that are much better now, but I tend to weigh risk much more carefully than when I healed fast. I had the pleasure this morning of whipping my 75 pound prospector up on my shoulders at a canoe landing on the Charles, earning the stunned awe of two thirtyish fishermen who were trying to drag their Sportsall to the water’s edge. THAT I knew I could do. I would not get much familial tea and sympathy if I wrecked my back on a 20 foot log on the bet that I might get some good gunnels from it.

 

[T Michel]

Larry,
If you can get a good cherry log and cut it up even shorter and , if the wood is good you will not regret it. It will be heavy. I had a 2+ ft dia by 12 ft log chained to the bucket on a JD 8o hp tractor with loaded tires and the rear end lifted off the ground while the log did not budge. In the end, I had some beautify several 5/4 and 6/4 by 16" x 12 ft planks... clear and straight and some 4 inch gun stock blanks. Sticker it well, high and dry and hide it from sunlight.
Ted

 

[Jim Okkema]

One option if you want long boards and don't want to handle a long log is a chainsaw mill similar to this. You can saw the log where it's sitting. I've used a home made version on some smaller logs and got good results.