# where do i start with this red oak?



## tbarker80 (Aug 3, 2017)

hey guys.. new to this forum. I came here to share this pic and ask for any tips... I took this picture yesterday in the upstate of SC. A friend of mine had these delivered to his house by the guy who supplies him firewood for his outdoor furnace. This is a red oak and it measures up to 7' in diameter. There are about 4 more sections not shown in this picture.

so my friend and I want to make some tables and we're not real sure where to start. Any suggestions? 

Also, any idea as to how old this thing could have been? It fell on a house in Seneca, SC on Monday.


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## WeebyWoodWorker (Jun 11, 2017)

Oh good lord! Do you buy that? Because if you did you must have payed a ton! Good luck to you mate you can make some dang nice stuff out of that!


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## tbarker80 (Aug 3, 2017)

no. we did not buy it. my friend has a standing agreement with this guy that cuts trees. If the guy needs to unload something that he can't get rid of, he just drops it off and it's used to heat the house during the winter.

in this case, the guy did call in advance because they had to bring some big equipment in to unload it. We were both speechless when we saw the size.

Here's another question... how can we preserve it until we figure out what we're going to do with them? We thought about putting a coat of paint on them. Any ideas?


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## Roybrew (Nov 2, 2016)

Holy cow! Tables?! How in the world you going to handle something that heavy? I am only an inexperienced novice so I really have no advice for ya, but I am curious how it progresses.

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## nhatdao0612 (Aug 3, 2017)

you can make a full king-size bed with this giant wood lock


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## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

BEAUTIFUL!!!!:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Looks to be spalted according to the grain colors. Are they all cut as this piece???? We don't call that logs, that style of slice is commonly called a cookie. That would make some beautiful table tops or even bar tops. The hard part is preventing splitting, actually it's 99% impossible BUT can be more controlled. The drying characteristics of a cookie causes them to split. You build to accommodate BUT very rarely can be prevented. IF this tree was standing dead as it has appearnce, your chances of splitting are normally less as a lot of the moisture has escaped in a "relaxed" state of the trees life.

PLEASE post more pics, sorry it's a drooling issue of "ugly" wood :grin: :surprise2: :wink2: LOL!!!


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Roybrew said:


> Holy cow! Tables?! How in the world you going to handle something that heavy? I am only an inexperienced novice so I really have no advice for ya, but I am curious how it progresses.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


Yes, handling is going to be a major problem. I do not think 2 people will be enough.

George


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## TimPa (Jan 27, 2010)

.... alright. who has the biggest wide belt sander?


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## Roybrew (Nov 2, 2016)

TimPa said:


> .... alright. who has the biggest wide belt sander?


Maybe start out with a stump grider.

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## Kerrys (May 2, 2016)

Damn, that's a problem I would love to have. I'm not sure how I would go about building something from that wood but it is a challenge I would willingly accept. Looking forward to reading what you come up with.


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## Toolman50 (Mar 22, 2015)

I'm thinking 6X6 for table legs.


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## clt_capt (Oct 22, 2017)

Size is gonna be your issue, but you can make a router sled to "plane" it flat on both sides

If it is a problem, I can come remove them for you


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

This is an old thread. I wonder if the original poster ever figured out what do do with those slabs.

I think that the sheer size would have making anything impracticable.

George


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## Roybrew (Nov 2, 2016)

I was hoping to see and hear more about this.

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## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

If any of those split apart they would make some impressive bowl blanks!


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## Cowboy18 (Aug 21, 2017)

It's wood it can be conquered. 


You need to find out where the biggest Mill is near you. The biggest near me can only cut 52" diameter. So if those where mine I would break out my 24" chainsaw. And cut those into 48" wide beams. Each beam would mill down to a number of 2" solid wood table tops. Each one worth $800-$1,200, unfinished. I recon from what I see in the picture, I would make $60,000 plus off those rounds as slabs. Far more then that if I made them into tables, but it would take years.


It's a gold mine, but it would take sweat, blood and some damned good chainsaws.


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