Hi all, so we’re planning to take down a tree in our backyard that was damaged by the recent storm. The arborist said that he’s happy for his guys to chop it up into manageable bits and leave me some pieces for project lumber, but I’m not sure what sizes to ask for. Are there any rules of thumb or generic best practices for what sizes of logs to ask for?
For reference, it’s an American Cedar Elm with four trunks around 18-22" in diameter near the base, probably around 30-40’ tall.
Also, if anyone would like some green wood, let me know! I don’t have enough room to keep this much lumber, so I’d love for it to go to other folks who could use it rather than see it go to waste.
If you’re going for project lumber like for furniture or “flat things”, make sure whatever sizes you have are small enough to fit in the tools you have access to. At Asmbly, the biggest saw we have is the Grizzly 24" Resaw Bandsaw.
It can resaw logs 24" maximum in diameter. You will want to have yourself a custom sled to safely and securely handle this. It’s well worth it if you want the fruits of milling your own wood from a log.
It’s harder to say for length unless you know what you want to use it for right off the bat. Longer is better for options, but can be more difficult to move around and resaw.
If I were doing this, I’d try to keep things at about 3’ minimum. I feel I’d have options to use it for legs, panel glueups, stretchers, and have things at decent sizes and not miniature.
And lastly, for wood turning I’d get a bunch of Green Wood Sealer, chop up the logs into sizes for bowls and seal up anything I’m not going to turn right away. Turning green wood (still wet) is loads of fun. Make sure your tools are sharp (and stay sharp), then turn away most of the bowl, leaving a nice 1" or more thick wall. Leave a good tenon so you can come back to this later. Let the bowl dry in a dark corner of the garage for a few months, then come back to it and finish the bowl.
I would try to get some longer sections as well 8-10’. there are a few members with sawmills that might be able to slab some pieces out for you. I have done smaller diameter 10-12 ft sections on the Resaw, with that diameter you’ll want to keep it shorter as you just won’t be able to lift it.
One thing to consider is that mills will only use the trunk of the tree up until its first branch. The wood above the first branch (including the branches themselves) will likely not be usable for most projects so having them haul it away or turn it into fire wood is your best bet. The branches and the top parts of the tree are curvy and filled with knots and are under a lot of tension, so those pieces will likely not stay flat even after being milled. Turning is an exception, branches may be suitable on a lathe. So when you’re thinking about how much wood you’ll have, you should mostly be considering just the parts from the trunk - I’m assuming if it’s 30’-40’ tall you’re looking at a 6’-10’ trunk which is perfect for slab length.
I love cedar elm btw, it’s gorgeous. Hard and dense and difficult to work but it’s a one of a kind look when you’re done. Happy to take some off your hands!
@daryanr that’s a good tip about above the branch. I didn’t know some would have that condition.
In case folks don’t know who a few of the local turning addicts are (@drew.hynes@AJStow@phurfphurf@NickE and myself) The thought of wood being sent to firewood these days makes us turn into Frodo asking “why should I”, then slipping the ring on and running to a lathe.
So if you happen to have scraps, people will be interested
This is really helpful, thanks! And yeah, I definitely hear you about the longer pieces being more difficult to move around - I started looking into that, and it looks like a 4’ long, 18" diameter log might be close to 400 lbs. 3’ long seems manageable between 2 people, but longer than that might just be too much.
Turning green wood (still wet) is loads of fun.
I actually did this just a couple of weeks ago, before we realized we’d need to take down the whole tree! I took a fallen branch through the resaw and turned it to about 1/2" thick (the whole bowl was only ~3" wide), then left it for a month and turned it again to ~1/8" thick. It’s the first bowl that I’ve turned and definitely isn’t the greatest, but it was a lot of fun.
there are a few members with sawmills that might be able to slab some pieces out for you
@EricP Ooh, that would be great! I did look into one or two local sawmills, but I’d be really happy to support Asmbly members. Do you know any folks who have a sawmill, or could you tag them?
I’m happy to use the resaw for stuff that I can manage on my own, but it would be cool to have a few larger pieces, as well.
I’ll take some of the green when it’s cut! Just let me know.
Intent is to make bowls out of them if you’d like one when finished.
@NickE Awesome! I’ll definitely save some for you, and I’d love to get a finished bowl.
You could reach out to Harvest Lumber and see if they can help in some way.
@Iammikecohen Thanks for the recommendation! It didn’t seem like they offered milling, but I’ll reach out and see.
This is really helpful, and if it’s “just” the trunk and a few branches, then that makes me feel a lot better about the sheer quantity of wood that I might get out of this. (Even though it’s still a lot.)
If I can get a 6-10’ log, I’d be happy to save that for you! I think that would be too large for me to transport, though - do you have a way that you could pick that up?
I’d definitely be happy to get some green wood for turning! Fully green-turned hollow forms warp into super cool shapes. (Thanks Robert for showing me that!) If you decide you have enough green pieces left over that you want to share, it could be fun for a few of us to meet uo and do some green turning together!
Randy Rife with Barn Owl Milling out of Elgin may be able to help you. I met him in passing so I’m not really familiar with his work but I think this is up his alley.
I can’t transport a full log that size unfortunately, so I’m only good for transporting after they’re milled. I would be interested in pitching in for the cost of having them slabbed though if you want to go halfsies. Seriously, I love cedar elm and it’s a rare find lol.
Picture of my desk out of cedar elm, it’s pale yellow with dark streaks in the heartwood.
Also, Kris at Harvest Lumber may not be able to help you with milling but he is a wealth of information about milling urban trees so if you hop down there tomorrow morning he’d be able to give you an idea of what to do.
Sweet! I’ve reached out to Randy, and Kris gave me the number of a guy who might do mobile milling. I’ll try to get the logistics figured out over the next few days and reach back out to everyone who’s indicated they would be interested.
If anyone else would be able to help out with transport or milling, or even just in picking up some greenwood, please leave a comment!
A few further turners suggestions on bowl blanks: Seal only the end grain to save on sealer. I use leftover latex paint to save $. To minimize cracking as the wet wood bowl dries, keep it in its own wet shavings early on in a paper grocery bag. If you are lucky, maybe it will spalt!) Watch for mold.
I‘d be very interested in some really curvy branches, the stuff usually turned into chips or firewood. I’m typically looking for logs with a diameter of 8“ to 12“ and 7‘ to 10‘ lengths. The more bends the better. I have a pickup truck and can pick up myself if there’s anything that fits my description. I’m happy to come out and have a look and put my name on the right curvy log if ok with you, just let me know.
3’ long seems manageable between 2 people, but longer than that might just be too much.
I’ll try to get the logistics figured out over the next few days and reach back out to everyone who’s indicated they would be interested.