# Question about harvesting your own lumber.



## mustang501993 (Jan 28, 2012)

Hi guys, 

I am new to the forum and I have a question that I have often pondered. I have some property in norther lower Michigan (Lake County). I own 13 acres of mostly woods. The woods are ~60% hardwoods and 40% softwoods. Most of the hardwoods are smallish on the diameter side of things but pretty tall. There are a few monsters, though. I know there is White Oak and Maple but not sure what else is there. My question is, if I were to cut one down, what is the minimum diameter of the tree to yield a decent bit of usable wood for furniture making and other projects? Is it ever worth looking at trees that have just fallen down if they are not rotted? Or better yet, what would some of you do in my situation?

Thanks,

Mike


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## mustang501993 (Jan 28, 2012)

Here is a typical picture of the types of trees;


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## truckjohn (Oct 31, 2011)

What do you specifically want to do? Are you trying to decide whether to log off your property and sell the timber, or are do you want to harvest 1 or 2 trees for making some furniture?

If you are talking about selling timber - that's a pretty small lot and pretty small trees... I am seeing 10-15 year old timber... The typical minimum selling age for 2nd cut timber land is 40 years for hardwoods and 25 for soft woods.. What you have would mostly be cut for pulp - and there isn't really any money in that....

Honestly - if you just want 1 or 2 decent logs for making some furniture - your best bet is to talk with local tree cutters, tree services, or even pay a visit to a local log yard... You would be amazed how cheap a BIG oak log really is - Many times, it's free if you have a way to go get it... You may pay for the guy to deliver it if you don't have a decent size truck/trailer.. but still - $50-100 for a trailer full of logs is pretty cheap...

Thanks


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## wood player (Jan 21, 2011)

Hi and welcome fellow Michigander Usully they say 12 inches at the small end but just because it is a bit smaller in the upper logs dosen't mean they are firewood. Different trees are all well different walnut and cherry havea lot of sap wood which isn't desireable but oak asnd maple arn't bad that way. I know that with my small portable mill the big ones can pose problems. Last week I tried to saw 18 inch boards (frozen) and I fought it all the way. For cabinetry you don't want wide boards anyway. Iv'e been asked to next spring go up to the Grayling area and teach some young people how to run a bandsaw mill. Looking forward to it. If you can't find a mill in your area that is willing to work with you PM me and I will try to see if I can find a hobby miller in your area.


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## mustang501993 (Jan 28, 2012)

I am not looking to harvest the property, just get a nice stock of oak and maple for furniture. A couple of trees I guess. Say I found a few nice 12"+ oaks or a few maples, what would a typical tree produce in usable lumber? I know that that is a really basic question with an answer that can vary wildly. I can calculate how many board feet of raw wood is in the tree I am just trying to figure out what it would _actually_ yield.

Most of the trees are on the smallish side everywhere up there. They grow on the thinner side but tend to be straight as an arrow and tall for their diameter. Here is another example of a couple of trees. I am just pulling these out of my photos. 










I am from Indiana and the trees here are much larger in diameter.


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## ETWW (Mar 27, 2011)

First of all, that is a beautiful woodlot and 13 acres will keep you in prime furniture wood for the rest of your life.

I agree that 10" to 12" diameter on the small end is probably the minimum for getting decent stock sawn from it. Buck you logs into 8' lengths. That will make it easier for the sawyer and is still plenty long enough for just about any furniture project you can imagine. If you use the Doyle scale for calculating log yield, you will be pretty close to the usable lumber. If you cut any large trees, then have them sawn for grade to get the best looking stock vs the most yield.

Downed trees are definitely a good source for lumber. Maples can have fantastic spalting if salvaged before they get too rotted. White Oaks will last a long time without rotting, other than the sap wood.

You might even consider contacting the county forester to evaluate your timber and advise on how to manage it for the most production. Thinning out undesirable growth is a good first step.


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## ETWW (Mar 27, 2011)

Double Post


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## truckjohn (Oct 31, 2011)

Check here for a calculator that gives you an idea of the board feet to expect... 

http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/calculators/calc.pl

Unfortunately - small diameter trees don't yield much lumber....

For example - a 12" log x 10' long gives 50 bd ft... The next piece of this is that the maximum board you are likely to get is around 8" wide... The 12" wide center cut slab includes pith and sap - so you probably won't really get much more than 4 or 5" of width out of that one... 

Anyway - that will get you in the ballpark...

I just keep thinking, though... There's just so much free wood out there... Every tree service and contractor is trying to just be rid of the stuff... If you gotta cut it down to make a road bed or for a cabin or a shed - then absolutely salvage it for lumber.... Otherwise - your trees will just keep getting bigger every year....

Thanks


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## mustang501993 (Jan 28, 2012)

Thanks Truck. I actually live in the Chicago area (Northwest Indiana). Most of my wood working stuff is here but I have nowhere to dry the stuff. I am so totally new to this that I don't really know anything. All I know is that if I need to buy some hardwood it costs a fortune just for Oak ($5bf). I don't even know the process or where to look. I'd be happy to contact a tree service if I knew what to do with the wood afterwords. Heck, I don't even have a pickemup truck to go get it. That is why I thought I could dry it up in MI and bring back boards as needed.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

You sound as confused as we do. What are you looking to do with wood? You've got to have some idea or you wouldn't be here. Help us out here. I'm from the Chicago suburbs. Let me know if I can help with locating a mill and or kiln. Just want to help the best I can.


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## mustang501993 (Jan 28, 2012)

To break things down for you Dominick,

1. FInd a cheaper source for stock. Owl Hardware is awesome, but it is expensive.

2. I have this property in Michigan. I was wondering if it is worth the efforts to harvest a log or two from there.

3. Alternative sources of wood in the Chicagoland area.


Plain and simple, just trying to find less expensive ways to feed the wood monsters in my garage.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

mustang501993 said:


> To break things down for you Dominick,
> 
> 1. FInd a cheaper source for stock. Owl Hardware is awesome, but it is expensive.
> 
> ...


If its your property. Then cut down what you want. If you have it milled you can have have it have it kiln dried or you can air dry it if you have space to do so. I prefer air dried lumber over kiln. That's just me. If air dry, the rule of thumb for air drying is 1" per year. Mill the wood then stack it and sticker it. Seal the ends,Keep it out of the weather of the ground in a controlled environment. And you'll be able to produce nice stuff.


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## truckjohn (Oct 31, 2011)

Along those lines - if you are just after some lumber.. Chicago greater metro is a pretty large area.... I bet there are several "Urban millers" who have stacks of wood in their shed or back yard.... While I can't say what it will cost in your area - $2/bd-ft around here is fairly typical when buying direct from the miller... although it depends on the wood...

Anyway - Dominic might know some guys who cut and have some lumber for sale.. That would be my 1st go at it...

Thanks


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## jim douglas (Feb 8, 2010)

If your looking for an alternative to buying lumber from the box store giants you can try a couple things. Look on craigs list, there are usually deals on air dryed lumber. You can also look for a small sawmill owner. I have a mill & kiln & sell hardwood lumber at about half the price you find at Lowes or Home Depot. 
jim


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## mustang501993 (Jan 28, 2012)

I do have a great store near my house for hardwoods, it is called Owl Hardwood. They have tons of choices in domestic and imported wood but they are expensive. I also know there are a couple of people on Craigslist as well, but I don't know who to trust..yet. If anyone here knows someone and can vouch for them, I would be happy to try them out.


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## mustang501993 (Jan 28, 2012)

Dominick said:


> If its your property. Then cut down what you want. If you have it milled you can have have it have it kiln dried or you can air dry it if you have space to do so. I prefer air dried lumber over kiln. That's just me. If air dry, the rule of thumb for air drying is 1" per year. Mill the wood then stack it and sticker it. Seal the ends,Keep it out of the weather of the ground in a controlled environment. And you'll be able to produce nice stuff.


Where do you buy your lumber in Chicago?


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## greg4269ub (Sep 1, 2009)

I am one of those guys who posts on Cl in your area. I am north of Milwaukee but get people from the Chicago area coming up here regularly because of the high prices down there. I'm sure there are band mill owners in your area. Wood mizer has a service to help locate owners of their mills who do that type of work. Wood web also has a similar list. You can always respond to a Cl ad and just go check out their operation if you don't get a good vibe you don't have to do business with them.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Woodworking Talk

Check out my website treecyclehardwoods.com for your next lumber purchase.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

mustang501993 said:


> Where do you buy your lumber in Chicago?


I would be more than happier to help you if I can. When you get 25 post or more pm me with e-mail or number and we can talk. 
To much to type out.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

greg4269ub said:


> I am one of those guys who posts on Cl in your area. I am north of Milwaukee but get people from the Chicago area coming up here regularly because of the high prices down there. I'm sure there are band mill owners in your area. Wood mizer has a service to help locate owners of their mills who do that type of work. Wood web also has a similar list. You can always respond to a Cl ad and just go check out their operation if you don't get a good vibe you don't have to do business with them.
> 
> Sent from my DROID X2 using Woodworking Talk
> 
> Check out my website treecyclehardwoods.com for your next lumber purchase.


Hey Greg. I'm always looking for other suppliers. I'm familiar with west bend/Milwaukee area. 
I might have to look you up some time. 
I'll be going to the woodworking show in west allis feb 17-19th at the expo center. Not sure if you'll be there or not.


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## greg4269ub (Sep 1, 2009)

I will be there on sat afternoon for sure and maybe Sunday. I had thought about getting a booth but they get a small fortune for one so I will remain a spectator at this one

Sent from my DROID X2 using Woodworking Talk

Check out my website treecyclehardwoods.com for your next lumber purchase.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

greg4269ub said:


> I will be there on sat afternoon for sure and maybe Sunday. I had thought about getting a booth but they get a small fortune for one so I will remain a spectator at this one
> 
> Sent from my DROID X2 using Woodworking Talk
> 
> Check out my website treecyclehardwoods.com for your next lumber purchase.


I'll probably be there sat as well. I'll look for you. I'll use the avatar pic to find you. Lol
Just wear that shirt (dad) lol


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## mustang501993 (Jan 28, 2012)

Here's to 25 posts. I looked on the wood mizer site, a link might help to the local wood guys?


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

mustang501993 said:


> Here's to 25 posts. I looked on the wood mizer site, a link might help to the local wood guys?


Not sure I'm following you.


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## truckjohn (Oct 31, 2011)

Yep - you are close.. 3 more to go!

Anyway - you gotta call up Woodmizer - they don't list "Millers" per-se... 

What they are doing is giving you people in your area who own "Wood Mizer" saws - and maybe some of them will cut for money, some won't.. but they don't necessarily know who does and who doesn't...

Thanks


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## mustang501993 (Jan 28, 2012)

Dominick said:


> Not sure I'm following you.


You said once I got to 25 posts I could PM you and you would let me know the best places to buy wood in Chicago.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

mustang501993 said:


> You said once I got to 25 posts I could PM you and you would let me know the best places to buy wood in Chicago.


Yes. I'll do the best I can. Pm your number. Easier to talk than type. iPhone typing sux


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