The lot has some old oak trees - mostly red and a few white. They are at the end of their life and would eventually fall on the driveway or buildings.
We are planning to cut the trees and have a mobile sawmill come out to make the trees into trim. Here's what we learned from Dylan at Paul's Axe (218) 821-5502.
Red oak may not be much good -- holes in the tree are likely and the boards would be short. Quarter sawing would be ideal for a tree that is 20+ inches in diameter - smaller trees will result in skinnier boards - which would be fine for trim.
Charges are by the board foot - which is 1 foot of a 1 x 12. $300 for 1000 board feet or $350 if quarter sawn. 2 chords of wood would equal about 1000 board feet.
Update from May 2016: Dylan came out to see the pile of wood. He couldn't move the stack without a bobcat -- and then the centers of the oaks weren't good enough for trim wood. So, the pile we hoped would be some fun trim in the house is now a pile of firewood. Bummer.
We are planning to cut the trees and have a mobile sawmill come out to make the trees into trim. Here's what we learned from Dylan at Paul's Axe (218) 821-5502.
- Drop the trees, take off limbs, and cut to whatever length we want
- Pile in area where a 25 foot trailer can pull up next to logs
- Logs are sawed and the boards will be "stickered"
- Pile the boards and let them air dry for at least a year to 12-15% moisture content (kiln will dry too fast and boards will warp)
- After a year, can kiln dry to 4 - 6% moisture or put in the house for the winter.
- When you use the boards, they should be 8 to 9% moisture. Take them to a millwork company.
Red oak may not be much good -- holes in the tree are likely and the boards would be short. Quarter sawing would be ideal for a tree that is 20+ inches in diameter - smaller trees will result in skinnier boards - which would be fine for trim.
Charges are by the board foot - which is 1 foot of a 1 x 12. $300 for 1000 board feet or $350 if quarter sawn. 2 chords of wood would equal about 1000 board feet.
Update from May 2016: Dylan came out to see the pile of wood. He couldn't move the stack without a bobcat -- and then the centers of the oaks weren't good enough for trim wood. So, the pile we hoped would be some fun trim in the house is now a pile of firewood. Bummer.