I think I am going to be sick!

[Kirk_Allen]

This afternoon I cut some Osage for a local farmer who needed corner posts for his cattle. 

He had ready to go the biggest Osages logs I have ever seen, outside of a couple growing nearby ;D 

He wanted 10x10 corner posts.      I asked him if he was trying to keep elephants in the field?  

After opening up the first log I cried when he would not let me cut it into lumber.  CLEAR - CLEAR - CLEAR  :(    I could have cut 24" wide clear boards out of this stuff  :'(

I cut for 5 hours today and I KNOW out of the 1450 BF I cut, at least 500 BF of it would have been CLEAR and PERFECT Osage boards. 

I begged this guy to let me cut it into lumber and sell it but he was not going to budge. I even offered him two for one on the posts but he would only go for that if I could provide the posts next week, which unfortunately I could not do with my schedule. 

At the end of the day it was a good money day for custom cutting but it made me sick to see such beautiful wood go into the ground for cattle.  :'(

[DanG]

Cattles is important!

[Kirk_Allen]

I guess when you put it like that.  :D :D

[VA-Sawyer]

Any chance of him having more of those trees/logs somewhere ?  Maybe you can buy some off of him.   I know how you feel, had to walk away from a guy cutting large Black Walnuts into firewood after Isabel. If I hadn't walked when I did, somebody would have ended up shedding some blood.   >:(

[farmerdoug]

Kirk, just remember this-if every tree was cut up into its best use the lumber industry would be in even bigger peril.  After all unlike money, boards do grow on trees. ;)  There will be an even better one that you will save tomorrow.

Farmerdoug

[Bibbyman]

I've had people tell me that there is no more osage orage.  And it only gets "this big".  Well,  it's a clasic case of not being able to see the forest for the trees.  Any time I'm out in "flat land" I'll see tall rows and rows of nothing but osage orange with lots of big trees.






Here are some we cut up a couple of years ago.  The guy had thousands of them from clearing out a mile or so of fence line.  Not all as big as these but many big enough to saw. For size compairison,  the Dodge has a 11' bed.

[crtreedude]

I was hiking a trail yesterday (Sendero El Nispero) and there were perfect slabs laid down for steps of Nispero and Ojoche - now folks, this is pretty rare stuff. I don't dare show Harold, he will be sneaking in there at night and steeling the steps from the trail...

Imagine a very hard wood - deep dark red, looks like a burgandy wine...

I think stepping on those slabs hurt more than the trail that was more vertical than horizontal... (my body disagrees this morning by the way.)

[Brad_S.]

I feel your pain! I once had to cut clear tiger maple for flooring in a warehouse, needed to be 2" thick so the tow motors could run on them. I told the manager it was a sin to do that but he said those trees were on the property and all he had to work with. I told him to sell them and buy pallet log grade, but he said that was too much paperwork. :

[Cedarman]

Is that lumber really worth $5.00 per board foot.  Those posts will still make good lumber 30 years from now.  I'll bet that this is his way of storing them until he needs some real money.

[Bibbyman]

If you were just squaring them down to a 10x10, what happened to tall the ouside lumber?

[sawguy21]

My cousin used to work for the export division of MacMillan-Bloedel in Vancouver. She took her dad to the loading dock where the product was being shipped to Japan. He said he came home in tears. Douglas fir, Sitka spruce and yellow pine, straight as a gun barrel and no knots, was going for framing. He could not buy any like it locally.
The Japanese building codes demanded it at the time but apparently they have since backed off due to supply problems.

[ksu_chainsaw]

A few yeara ago, I was clearing out fencerows of Hedge, and cut MANY trees over 36" dia. and over 16'long.  Now, a different farmer is renting the ground and won't let anyone in to cut-yet.  Next winter, I hope to get back into there and get the 5 miles of hedgerows that are growing there- LOTS of lumber, fenceposts and firewood.  When I was clearing the fencerow the first time, I was getting $200 a cord for the firewood, so I was cutting all the firewood possible- except the biguns-those are still sitting at my parents place- waiting for TIME.
The neighbor now wants me to cut timber for him- he wants lots of blocking and cribbing- not enough time, too much to do.

Charles

[Kirk_Allen]

Most of the outside lumber was cut into 5/4 and he is going to use those boards for corner bracing. 

I Know I will see bigger and as good of lumber from osage in our part of the country but it just seems like a waste.  Oh, well, I got paid well and he is happy. 

He called this morning and has three Walnuts he is going to give me for helping him clear some of his land last fall.  8)  I never thought I would say I have more walnut than I know what to do with  

Cedarman, YES, Osage is worth $5 bf and more! 

[KILROY]

Osage Orange wholesales for $5 a bd. ft.

Clear wide boards are not common. That farmer planted at least $4,000 dollars of wood in the ground. I have sold a small amount for $10 a bd. ft

[GF]

That farmer planted at least $4,000 dollars of wood in the ground.

Did ya tell him to concrete them in, they could come up missing after the sun goes down.

[Kirk_Allen]

Kilroy,
I couldnt agree more.  I sold one board that was 22" wide 8/4 for $20.00 a bf.  It was clear on both faces and perfectly centered grain.  The guy would have paid more.

I typically get $4-5 bf green dead stacked off the mill.

[Bibbyman]

I don't tell too many people this but I made a corner post out of walnut and set it on the one back corner of our farm.  But it wasn't a valuable log.  It was a rough top log.  I put it on the mill and knocked the ugly off'n it and turned it into a tapered octigon.   

I got paid back.  I set it by myself and when I slipped it out of the PU and into the hole,  I felt a pinch in my lower back.  (It wasn't small - 8' long with about an 8" top and 10" base. ) I kept on working ... you know "work it out".  By the time I got done I had to support myself along the side of the truck to get in.  I didn't think I was going to be able to get out of bed the next morning.

[Larry]

I sawed maybe 20 logs bout the size on the back of Bibbys truck.  The only difference was they served as corner posts for some odd 30 years before the guy brought them to me to saw.

Little leary on sawing em but never hit staple one.

[Daren]

It does drive you crazy I know https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=14530.0, the same guy has brought a trailer load of split cherry by recently. He said it was 24"+, he likes to get bigger logs and show off with his homemade splitter. I would rather see one get used for fence posts, than busted and burned. This guy, who I call "curly maple firewood" to his face when he comes by. Has to drive by a huge pile of hardwood slab at my place I would load on his trailer with my skidsteer (he just lives right down the road) every time he is heading out to split curly maple, walnut, cherry... I just tell myself they aren't the only trees in the world, there are more were they came from, but it still hurts.

[Max sawdust]

It does drive you crazy I know https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=14530.0, the same guy has brought a trailer load of split cherry by recently. He said it was 24"+, he likes to get bigger logs and show off with his homemade splitter. I would rather see one get used for fence posts, than busted and burned. This guy, who I call "curly maple firewood" to his face when he comes by. Has to drive by a huge pile of hardwood slab at my place I would load on his trailer with my skidsteer (he just lives right down the road) every time he is heading out to split curly maple, walnut, cherry... I just tell myself they aren't the only trees in the world, there are more were they came from, but it still hurts.

Does ole Curly not understand money >:( >:( ???   He could be burning dollar bills, if he cuts up and burns curly maple and other good logs. >:( >:( :-[ :-\
I do not get it.
Max

[Daren]

Does ole Curly not understand money Max

NOPE, I have tried that. I keep a roll of cash in the shop for the odd log that comes by, and told him he could have the the whole thing if he would find/not split another. "I got enough money, I was just looking for firewood" (he lives in a 40 yr. old trailer, drives a $500 truck, money is not his thing) So I offered him 2x the split firewood of his choice for swap, "I like using my splitter, gives me something to do". He is just a different kinda guy, heck I am a different kinda guy. I just wish our paths didn't cross so much.

[metalspinner]

The local hardwood dealer here has Osage marked at $22.50 BF.  Nothing spectacular either. Right next to it was mahogony priced at $9.00 BF. :
My neighber is a Cherokee Indian chief and about fell out of his rocker when I was stacking some osage one day.  He said this tree was sacred to the Cherokee and wanted to know if he could have some.  I gave him what he wanted and was promised a piece pipe made with it some day. ;D

[woodbeard]

Funny part is, I can get the same reaction from some of the local folks by cutting boards out of some of my logs. " Hmm.. that woulda made some real good fenceposts " or gates or trailer decks or whatever. Different priorities, I guess. :D

[Percy]

Its tuff watchin what people do to their wood sometimes...but the keyword there is ..THEIR...the best you can do is politley offer them an alternative, other wise, you are seen as eccentric and at worst, arrogant.  I keep my mouth shut after bein refused an excellent offer. What ya gonna do???? :D :D

[dail_h]

   Saw it. This fall,I sawed some cypress for a neighbor ,cut 22in  clear boards outta it,he wanted it cut in 1x4s for gates in his goat pen. That's right ,22in wide clear cypress cut into 1x4s for stinking goats. His logs,his goats,MY money