You Better Be Careful With These Trees
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- čas přidán 27. 06. 2024
- The Emerald Ash Borer has killed off most of the Ash trees in the U.S., and so the question is, can you mill them up into usable wood? Let's find out. I'm using a Woodland Mills HM126 Sawmill.
Nice video. Great editing.
Thank you!
I have so many dead ash logs it is nuts. This is why I bought my HM-126 woodlander.
I know the feeling! Get em' while we can!
I’m Dr. Fungus and you’re wood is f****d!! 🎶
He's a Fungi!
Thanks Mac for the video! Super interesting and helpful. Definitely causes some other questions to spring up in my mind: can you mill green logs? What are the disadvantages of that? Seems like for most urban homeowners in my area with ash trees they are about 1 year dead with the bark on them. How can we help connect the dots between their problem and the value add for a sawmill? Homeowner problems: dead tree that I need to pay to get cut down, and I don't have land, time, or knowledge needed to prep a tree for a sawmill. Sawmill: would there be value add in processing logs that are still relatively green? Tree cutting services: Is it worth it to bring a 12"-14"+ the log to a local sawmill, or do I just throw it into a chipper and be done with it?
Could the sawmill get a flatbed truck and work with arborists in the area to come do pickup on several felled logs at once? Clearly there are several thoughts swirling in my mind as I drive around neighborhoods in my area. Seems like there is a time window where good lumber could be one silver lining to all these dying trees. I wonder if the sawmill could even partner with a particular arborist to subsidize the cost of taking down several ash trees in a single neighborhood. That might be the biggest win for everyone!
Yeah, so you can definitely mill green logs. Most logs that go on a sawmill are green. Even a dead ash tree that's been dead for a few years will still have a lot of moisture in it. The floor joists I just cut are still way over 30% moisture which is as high as my moisture meter will read. As for getting trees from the homeowners, talking to the local tree service/ arborist in your area is the best way to do it. I found that they would actually prefer to just throw the downed logs onto a trailer (that the sawmill owner swings by with) than throw it in a chipper. Of course this will depend on the tree service around you, but the easiest thing to do is call and ask. One concern for a sawmill about urban trees is the amount of metal that can often be found in them from people nailing things to them. A metal detector can find some of them, but if the sawmill hits a piece of metal, there goes a blade. But yeah, teaming up with an arborist is a great way to get logs. And you are correct, there is a window of time before all the ash is gone. It's such a beautiful wood in my opinion.
Makes complete sense. The embedded metal thing makes complete sense. Sounds like we need some kind of 3D tree MRI to locate if/where metal lives. 😂
I have heard that one should mill the log right away after cutting the tree down. If you need to wait before milling for whatever reason, what are the preparations: You mentioned keep off the ground, seal the end grain, but what about debarking and what would be the maximum threshold before you need to mill it? Thanks in advance for any advice!
Yeah I would say anything you can do to keep it away from the ground is your best bet. It really depends on the species of wood on how long it can last. Debarking might be an option if you own a debarker but it's also a lot of extra work. I would just keep it off the ground and seal the ends. The longer it sits the more bug holes and spalting you may end up with, but again that just depends on a lot of factors. One thing to consider as well if you are waiting to mill is to cut off a few inches of each end of the log before milling if you didn't seal it up. On certain woods as the ends dry, they become very hard. I've cut into both walnut and cottonwood that dulled the blade immediately because they were so dried out. I had to cut the end off and then it cut just fine.
If you got fungus growing on your log i think you should get to the doctor 😜
Haha, I think you're right Aaron.