# Big Deadfall Live Oak



## Horatio (Apr 4, 2012)

I've got a bunch but out on the land but this is the biggest one I can get to easily....in the rain. And even then, I didn't get a whole lot done due to the aforementioned rain. 

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However....This old gal is a going to be fun to play with. I spent a few hours cleaning out the crown, much of which is rotted. She's been dead a long time but just recently fell over. The backside is facing a mess of brush I'd rather not mess with so I can make some firewood getting down to the good stuff. 





















Being that it was raining, I was in my little truck and not the Jeep with the 8K lb winch on it that I could pull cut wood out of the brush to load up, I headed in with a few bits and pieces and a world of ideas. I hope to get back out there tomorrow if its dry and take my wife with me in case I cut off a limb (my own, not on the tree) and bring home a few pieces. 

I'm a little unsure what to do with it from there, however. I'll probably hold on to it a bit and split some to work with in the meantime.


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## Horatio (Apr 4, 2012)

Here's a knot I chopped off. Its a little rotten inside, unfortunately, but its still got a world of possibilites. 

















I'm going Friday to mess around with my FIL's lathe. This might really turn into something cool!~


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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

Looks like possibilities.


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## Horatio (Apr 4, 2012)

Yesterday was a little rough but I have a truck load full of wood to unload this morning after a day of hacking. 

We ran home from church and saddled up to go harvest some wood. That big oak has been on my mind all week and I was looking forward to cutting into her. Well, first off, I had chainsaw problems. I put a new blade on and tested it out on a mesquite stump at the house. First cut I made out in the field pinched it real good and it took me an hour and a half to straighten it all out. 

Such is life. I made alot of cuts but most of the really large and exciting sections of the oak were rotted all the way through. There were a couple of sections of trunk that were massive and I knew something was wrong when the saw dove right through them. Ugg. 

The tree broke off a few feet up from the ground so the rot began working its way in from there. I did get a few smaller pieces that weren't too bad but not the spectacular ones I was hoping for. The tree had just been down for too long. 

The worst part was trying to move it to get to some of the larger pieces. I hooked up the Warn 8000lb winch on my Jeep and I think I smoked it. At least busted a gear in there some where. It will spit out cable but won't suck it in. That hurts. I bought the Jeep with the winch on it in Dec 2009, the Jeep is a 94, God only knows how old the thing is but up until then it worked perfectly. The tree was heavy enough to pull the Jeep when sucking in cable. 

All that said, I got a little wood to work with. This was a higher difficulty/higher reward type event that didn't work out. There are a number of more reasonably sized oaks that have died but are still standing to harvest out there so I'm not too terribly discouraged but losing the winch bites. 

So, off to unload the truck and see what I can do with all this!


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## MidGAOutdoor (Apr 7, 2011)

whats your plans for it?


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## slabmaster (Mar 30, 2008)

*csm*

That's why i mill with a csm.I only have boards to remove from the woodswhen i'm done.


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## Horatio (Apr 4, 2012)

slabmaster said:


> That's why i mill with a csm.I only have boards to remove from the woodswhen i'm done.


 
Very close to acquiring one but I want to get some logs cut and ready to go first, before I make the investment.


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## slabmaster (Mar 30, 2008)

*csm*



Horatio said:


> Very close to acquiring one but I want to get some logs cut and ready to go first, before I make the investment.


 It's been the best investment i've ever made.:yes:


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## Horatio (Apr 4, 2012)

slabmaster said:


> It's been the best investment i've ever made.:yes:


I hear ya. I'm having chain saw trouble atm. I simply can't keep chains sharp. I've got a great saw, a Stihl 260 pro and I picked up a cheapy Husquvarna the other day and they drive me crazy. I need to work on the Stihl some before using it again, I have a souce for parts I can cannibalize. 

I've watched a couple youtube videos on sharpening and follow the instructions and the teeth LOOK sharp but.....and I've filed down the guides a good bit as well. I think part of it is that I've cut into some hard old mequite but it still should work better than that. 

Should I look into getting a specific type of chain? Perhaps I'm using the wrong size file?I need to get a file guide certainly. 

Its odd, I have alot of experience around tools and equipment from owning a construction company but weird gaps in my knowledge base. Its frustrating, like this morning, when you go to cutting on a piece (an old dried out oak log) and halfway through the first cut the blade starts smoking like mad. Its full of oil and seems to be oiling correctly but it takes forever to cut through. 

In any case, I'm going to visit with a good friend who is a guru on all things mechanical early next week. He should straighten me out. IF I get the Stihl lines out, I will get a CSM and get to it. 

I'm also kicking around a few ideas for a jib to slice cookies.

I'm still new to this. I've never had the time to get into anything creative. Of course, when you suddenly have time, the cause of that is also the reason you cannot afford alot of tools. As an aside, lawyers suck. Someday I'll have my life back and some free time. Maybe, heh. 

Ugg, tangent. Sorry.


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