Now that's a saw!

[deadeye]

My friend brought the "big" saw today.  I told him the tree was big and it took most of the 36" bar to make the cut.  He plans to bring his Alaska mill to the log to cut it into slabs. 

[mike89]

dats a lot of saw dust for sure!!! 

[Boar]

thats awesome! some beautiful wood in that tree!

[Steve-o]

How cool.  Wide slabs, like the ones he's goona cut, don't grow on trees you know.   

[deadeye]

  Good one there Steve-o. 

[LPS]

I don't need to know numbers DE, but how does the cost of cutting logs work.  Do they take some of the wood?  I have always wondered how expensive it is to do?

[deadeye]

LPS, Good question.  Two very different types of logging/wood cutting are involved.  Each method has it's own costs and methods and reasons. I realize your question is more related to my friend actually making lumber from trees harvested on my land.

Logging: The logger pays a fixed contracted price (normally a two year time period to complete the work) per cord for the wood he will cut.  The logger bears all the costs involved in the site prep, logging and hauling of logs. The land owner can manage the sale or hire a Forester to handle all aspects of the sale. This is usually done on a percentage of the total sale (12-14% of total sale) as determined by how much timber (only estimated in cords of each type of wood to be cut during bid process) is actually hauled to the mills.

Cutting trees into logs for slabs for tables and furniture or crotches/burls for turning bowls etc.:  This is what my friend does at my land. Due to the small scale, this is a very expensive method. My friend has the saws, saw mill, several kilns to dry cut lumber, a shop with all the tools required.  He cuts mainly black ash for slabs and crotches.  Some birch because it has colored heart wood.  He cuts some fallen oaks as well but usually does not cut a live tree.  These are quarter sawn and again crotches or burls are used for specialty pieces.  I do not charge him for the trees he cuts. From time to time he makes some things for me.  For instance he cut the ash boards I used on the interior walls of my outhouse.   

 

[LPS]

Nice system DE.  Thanks.

[glenn57]

DEADEYE, i remember somewhere you posted about talking to a logger and the forestry about doing some logging on your property. i would make certain you have a conversation regarding how well they will clean it up.

there has been a lot of logging the past few years around the cabin area, and i can tell yo its an udderly crying shame what they leave as a mess when there done and leave. those areas are literially impossible to walk through!!!!

i have no doubt your friend doesnt do this as he as i have seen only does a few trees here and there.......but damn.

[deadeye]

glenn57, yes for the past 4 years we have been working on getting some areas logged. We are currently working on the last year of the  second contract. The first one expired after two years and no logging was done.  Last Monday I met with the logger and forester to go over that exact stuff.  They had intended to use the end of a field for the "landing" and I told them I didn't want the field to be a pile of slashing for rest of my life.  We looked at the area and settled on an area in the woods just off the new road. I realize there will be branches through the trees where the trees are skidded to the landing area.  He was very reassuring that they would clean up the area and all branches and chunks of logs would be moved back into to the woods.  He said they will make it right and if it isn't to my satisfaction they would come back and fix it.  I told him I would prefer they did it right in the first place so we don't get into the that situation.  I say "we" because some of the area is on my land and some on my brother in laws.  The primary intent is not to make $$ but to improve the wildlife habitat on the property. If I could just make the mature trees in the selected area disappear and not get a dime I would take that option rather than have it logged for money.  The other option is to just let it get old and fall down but that has been proven to be a real detriment to wildlife habitat so logging is the only viable option at this time.  Over the next few months I will provide updates as to how the logging is progressing.  It will be a while before they can actually start as they have to have about an 80 yard swamp crossing freeze down before they can log my brother in laws land. 

[glenn57]

 

[Steve-o]

You got that right DE.  This past season I went back to a patch of woods I haven't been to for at least 20 years.  It is a spot that was the between woods that was clear-cut 10 or more years prior and a patch of nice, mature, mixed hardwoods.  The clear-cut zone was pretty much impenetrable with little poplars, but there was a great trail right on the seam of these two zones.

When I went back the that same spot this year, wind had blown down many of the old hardwoods; so many so that it was difficult to walk through the woods.  And when I went over to the "clear-cut" side, that patch of woods had finally thinned out and was nice habitat with distinct travel corridor trails.

I guess the moral of the story is don't wait until your mature hardwoods get too old and blow down.

[deadeye]

I didn't need the big saw for this interesting piece. I plan to give it to my friend to see what interesting object(s) he will make from it.

[LPS]

You got that right DE.  This past season I went back to a patch of woods I haven't been to for at least 20 years.  It is a spot that was the between woods that was clear-cut 10 or more years prior and a patch of nice, mature, mixed hardwoods.  The clear-cut zone was pretty much impenetrable with little poplars, but there was a great trail right on the seam of these two zones.

When I went back the that same spot this year, wind had blown down many of the old hardwoods; so many so that it was difficult to walk through the woods.  And when I went over to the "clear-cut" side, that patch of woods had finally thinned out and was nice habitat with distinct travel corridor trails.

I guess the moral of the story is don't wait until your mature hardwoods get too old and blow down.

A friend of mine up here is a logger.  He let me bear hunt on a piece of land on the Rapid River a few years ago.  I was really excited to get that land.  I went there and was going to just take a walk around on it.  He had clear cut it a few years before.  I could hardly walk in it.  The popple was so thick I couldn't walk in a straight line.  I hadn't gone a hundred yards and was getting turned around and it was a challenge to get the heck out of it.  LOL  I didn't go back.