# Dead Walnut Tree Felled



## ORBlackFZ1 (Dec 25, 2013)

I felled a dead walnut tree last week. The trunk was 9' long and 24" diameter at the base. I ripped the trunk in half with my 20" Husky Rancher 450 chainsaw using the Panther Cub from PantherPros.com. It took two passes from opposite sides to get it cut. I was surprised how well the Panther Cub worked. If you look closely in the second photo, you can see the chain saw marks. They ended up being about a chain width deep.

Today, I found a local sawyer with a Wood Mizer LT40 to slab the trunk for me. Now I have some nice slabs ready to stack, sticker and strap...

I have to say, the trunk was much heavier than I anticipated. Definitely, not a one man job....Anyone have some secrets to share on moving, loading and generally getting these logs to go where I want them to go? I have a Cant Hook and a Swivel Timber Carrier. They have helped a lot.

Eric


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## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

Wow, congrats!!!

Is that punky wood in some of the pics or just a different shade of brown??? I've seen both ways and pics don't always do justice. I like the sapwood curls.

Cutting advice...you missed your best slab crotch wood by slicing down the mid of the crotch...the log cut should've been done at 90 deg from there. You still can salvage by having the sawyer cut at 90 deg from the flat (not parallel ).

Show more pics when sliced!!!!:yes:


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## Allen Tomaszek (Dec 11, 2010)

Nice looking tree. Should make some gorgeous lumber. As far as moving logs goes you can do multiple things. An easy solution is a log arch. Many of them you just hitch to your vehicle and drive off. Not recommended for highway driving but you could probably get away with city street driving. I have a large arch and drive around town with logs all the time. Another thought is a small trailer with a winch hooked to it. Set up some ramps and pull the logs up on the trailer.


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## ORBlackFZ1 (Dec 25, 2013)

Tennessee Tim said:


> Is that punky wood in some of the pics or just a different shade of brown??? I've seen both ways and pics don't always do justice. I like the sapwood curls.


Interesting observation...The tree had died from some disease that we have here in the Pacific NW. I don't know what is called. Maybe, someone reading this thread can post the name. The tree had been dead for over a year. The stumps, left where a limb had been cut off, were all rotted and decayed. You can see those places on the left side of photo #1.

In photo #2, you can see multiple levels of dark shading. The sawyer found Mt St Helens lava dust in parts of the tree. When he pointed them out to me, some of it was very easy to see, other parts only the sawyer could see it. The log was very solid, except for the limb stumps. 



Tennessee Tim said:


> Cutting advice...you missed your best slab crotch wood by slicing down the mid of the crotch...the log cut should've been done at 90 deg from there. You still can salvage by having the sawyer cut at 90 deg from the flat (not parallel ).


I selected the cut based on getting straight boards. Maybe, next time, I will cut for a crotch grain pattern....but, I doubt it. I am not a big fan of crotch grain table tops, which is where this wood will be used in a couple of years.



Tennessee Tim said:


> Show more pics when sliced!!!!:yes:


I will see what I can do.

Eric


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## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

I selected the cut based on getting straight boards. Maybe, next time, I will cut for a crotch grain pattern....but, I doubt it. I am not a big fan of crotch grain table tops, which is where this wood will be used in a couple of years.

Eric[/QUOTE]


I totally respect the choice. For info purpose...in actual cutting AND also grading in boards it's considered a defect either way, and in your case would be considered crosscutting the crotch and the grain alot of the time is weaker in the "defect" due to the grain orientation rolling up and out of the board instead of flowing more lengthwise. I have seen it used with and without good results but has it's own character. Only you can tell the best cut for your purpose as straightness is hard to tell in pics.

Can you get us a closer pic of the Mt St Helen ash character...that is very interesting.

Thanks for posting and looking forward to more pics. AWESOME history on the wood.:thumbsup:


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