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Cedar Tree Advice

Started by scleigh, March 19, 2015, 10:01:35 PM

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scleigh

I do a lot of driving on my day job and am constantly scouting tree and log possibilities.
I have been watching this cedar tree for about a year and trying to figure out who owned the property. There was a car wreck in the curve of this road and the car caught on fire and burned the cedar tree. The tree slowly died.


 
Well, this week I located the land owner and he said I could have the tree. My questions are: have any of you ever sawn a dead cedar? Opinions on the effect the fire had on the usual cedar colors?


 
The tree is free and easily accessible, at least two 8' logs. Any reason not to cut it?

Ocklawahaboy

I've cut dead ones.  No real difference just from it being dead.  If it slowly died after the fire, my guess is that it wasn't hot enough to damage the wood.  I'd cut it for sure, but I'll saw about anything.

hunz

I'd say fire would have somewhat of a blacking effect on the color. Just throwin it out there......Haha. I have no idea to he honest, although I bet it's fairly dry!
Dream as if you'll saw forever; saw as if you'll die today.



2006 Woodmizer LT40D51RA, Husqvarna 372xp, Takeuchi TL140

Magicman

Probably the Hwy Dept will cut it and haul it to the dump when you are not looking.   :-\
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

scleigh

Magic,
The SC d.o.t. dont get in no hurry.

Peter Drouin

Dead on the stump is not good wood. I would not want it. Just my 2 cents :)
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: scleigh on March 19, 2015, 10:17:10 PM
Magic,
The SC d.o.t. dont get in no hurry.

This tree is in S.C. ?
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

Magicman

Except for some turkey call makers.  Dead on the stump is what they want.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

scleigh

Poston, The tree is in SC.

I may carry a hatchet with me and cut a piece out of the butt to see what the wood looks like inside;  before I take the time to go fall the tree.

Peter Drouin

Quote from: Magicman on March 19, 2015, 10:24:36 PM
Except for some turkey call makers.  Dead on the stump is what they want.


Because the wood is  honeycomb.
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

flatrock58

My brother in law got a cedar from a coworker that was cut years earlier.  It had just been lying in the side yard off the stump.  It was some really nice wood. 
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beenthere

What do you have to do to get permission to cut that tree and take the wood?
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Southside

If you look in my gallery there are a couple of photos of a 14' cedar cant and board - my 1st work on my mill.  I drug this dead cedar up out of the woods about two years ago and set it to the side as I could just not bring myself to turn it into kindling.  It had been dead a long time before I got to it and the lumber was just fine.  I had a couple boards from one side that had some rot in them - more of a bark inclusion I think - the sapwood was shrunk down and honeycombed, but the heart wood was in my opinion beautiful. 

I would not hesitate to get that tree for sure, but be careful that goat don't sneak in there and steal it!!! 
Franklin buncher and skidder
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5quarter

Like Peter said, I wouldn't trust any tree that had been standing dead for any real length of time to make dimensional lumber, but I think your case is a little different. Cedar is a really low moisture wood that can lay dead for 20 years and still saw out fine. And any affect the fire might have had on the trunk is probably limited to the first inch or two, which you'll slab off anyway. and most likely the wood will be used for furniture or some other decorative purpose, so if I were you, I'd be gassing up the saws tomorrow.
What is this leisure time of which you speak?
Blue Harbor Refinishing

BrentRobinson

I'm not sure what Cedar is like down south but old first growth stuff that has been dead, down burnt and left in the bush for upwards of 60 years makes amazing stable lumber. Those logs are highly sought after in BC and sell for $140 per m3 and upwards.

For the most part we are still working on the second growth of trees here, some standing first growth comes along. But the cedars I mention above were left in the bush the first time the province was logged when the prices were low and there was so much clear fir it wasn't worth brining out of the bush. It works well for us now! I have two 28'' round pipes 40' long that are up next. They will be siding.
If you don't make time to do it right you'll have to make time to do it again.

xlogger

Looks like it's on an old fence row watch for wire on lower cut.
Timberking 2000, Turbo slabber Mill, 584 Case, Bobcat 773, solar kiln, Nyle L-53 DH kiln

Ianab

That tree hasn't been dead long, and being a cedar of some sort, the wood should still be sound.
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

scleigh

Been there, I have permission to cut the tree, the owner wants it down. I kind of thought about there once being a fence there and the possibility of metal. The tree is easy to get, so nothing to lose but a little time if the tree Is bad.

kelLOGg

I have cut many standing dead cedars and ALL gave very good wood, actually much better quality wood than I get from cedar logs that I buy locally from a wood yard. However, I have no experience with cedars killed by fire. Cut it down and saw it.

I should have added that when we moved onto out present property(1983) there was a standing dead cedar ~24" at the butt. After I bought the sawmill (2002) I cut it down and it made excellent lumber except for a small portion in the last bottom 2 feet.

Bob
Cook's MP-32, 20HP, 20' (modified w/ power feed, up/down, loader/turner)
DH kiln, CatClaw setter and sharpener, tandem trailer, log arch, tractor, thumb tacks

Ocklawahaboy

Quote from: scleigh on March 19, 2015, 10:17:10 PM
Magic,
The SC d.o.t. dont get in no hurry.
My wife's car has a chipped windshield to attest to that fact.  It also attests to the fact that Ocklawahaboy don't get in no hurry.

Peter Drouin

The point I was trying to make is when the tree is dead on the stump for a year or so it can go bad. If you cut down a tree and let it lay for a year or two it can be fine. Like Hemlock, Cut it down when it's green and 3 years later, it's good, But let it stay on the stump, And less than a year and it's junk. Pine is the same way. I cut some ERC a time back, And the sap wood was bad, But the hart looked good  ;)


  
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

4x4American

Boy, back in my day..

Cedarman

Every cedar log I have ever cut came from a dead tree. :D :D  Some dead a lot longer than others.
If cedar has been dead a year, you may have some beetle holes in sapwood.
We have sawn quite a few logs killed because fire went through the woods. 
Takes several years of standing dead before sapwood starts to deteriorate.

Metal detector will determine if fence is present.
Once you have sawn the wood, you will not be able to tell it from any other cedar lumber.  Fire, if hot and close enough could cause some sapwood cracking though.
Remember cedar is not like hardwoods, for cedar, the best wood is heartwood, and the lowest grade comes off the outer part of the tree.  Unless the log is doughty and the whole lot is low grade.
Best time to get a free tree is when you can.
I am in the pink when sawing cedar.

sealark37

If you waste too much time asking people who don't know, you will lose this tree to someone else.  Regards, Clark

drobertson

the biggest issue I see is the brush pile,, does the owner have a preference to how this is handled?  Looks like a nice field, maybe some quail?  make a hide-away  for them, and some boards,  these cedars are more about character than strength.
only have a few chain saws I'm not suppose to use, but will at times, one dog Dolly, pretty good dog, just not sure what for yet,  working on getting the gardening back in order, and kinda thinking on maybe a small bbq bizz,  thinking about it,

LeeB

It doesn't take a whole lot of fire heat to kill a cedar. If it died slowly over a period of time, I suspect it is in good condition. Even a grass fire can be enough to kill a cedar.
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

hacknchop

Cut standing dead pine and tamarack all the time makes good lumber and nice dry wood, we always called them chicos dont know if that ok nowadays or not.
Often wrong never indoubt

4x4American

I don't know about up there but down here we have freedom of speech
Boy, back in my day..

WV Sawmiller

SC DoT? When I was working in Greenville SC a co-worker sent me a picture of their DoT painting lines on the highway and had painted right over a road killed possum. I wish I had kept the picture. Was pretty cute.

Good luck with the cedar. If wire inside should still be able to chip it up, bag it and sell for moth control or such or Pot Pouri (sp).
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

beenthere

WV
Google "not my job pictures" and several of those pics come up.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

scleigh

Well, I ended up getting a few loads of cedar not even a half of a mile from the dead tree. I spent 2 days getting the trees cut and hauled home the last week of may.


 
As mentioned earlier, there could be metal. There were 3 strands of barb wire and staples. I made my opening cut and went well below where I thought the staples could be. I was .25" too high:


 
Other than the metal, the wood was ok


 
1" boards


 
2" slabs with some heart rot

Ended up with 3 logs from the burnt tree, well worth the time.

sandsawmill14

hudson 228, lucky knuckleboom,stihl 038 064 441 magnum

WDH

Burned, and full of wire.  Typical for around here.  Finally, it you get one that is not burnt or full of wire, it will have doty heart rot  :)
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

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