# What trees to keep



## NorCal Scot (Dec 31, 2010)

Hey guys,

Are almost all trees "woodworkable?" Reason I'm asking is because I will be cutting down a few trees in my backyard within the next year. I would like to keep and mill them if is worth it. Can I list the trees below and get your input?

Trees that will be coming down:
2 large cherry trees
1 plum
1 persimmon
1 peach
1 lemon
1 liquid amber

Thanks!

Scot


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

I would save and mill the following :icon_smile:



NorCal Scot said:


> 2 large cherry trees
> 1 plum
> 1 persimmon
> 1 peach
> ...




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## jeffreythree (Jan 9, 2008)

Sounds like you are clearing out a backyard fruit orchard. A while back I read about a severe allergic reaction to lemon wood sawdust? May have been orange. Can't find it now, but would mill them all anyway. When I googled what a liquid amber tree was it came up with sweet gum. Looks like it had its name changed to market it outside of its native range? And I always thought it was just a trashy tree that dropped sap and monkey balls on my truck in Houston. If it is an old one, it could have some nice red gum heartwood.


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## NorCal Scot (Dec 31, 2010)

Daren said:


> I would save and mill the following :icon_smile:
> .


Haha...point taken!



jeffreythree said:


> Sounds like you are clearing out a backyard fruit orchard. A while back I read about a severe allergic reaction to lemon wood sawdust? May have been orange. Can't find it now, but would mill them all anyway. When I googled what a liquid amber tree was it came up with sweet gum. Looks like it had its name changed to market it outside of its native range? And I always thought it was just a trashy tree that dropped sap and monkey balls on my truck in Houston. If it is an old one, it could have some nice red gum heartwood.


 Yes, I have too many trees to deal with. A few are being left as one family can only eat so much...

Thanks for the heads up on the lemon. I'll look into it. And as for the "amber" or Red Gum...it is about thirty years old. Decent diameter, so maybe there are some planks to be had.

Thanks for the help guys!


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Where do you live that you have lemon and cherry in the same yard?

George


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## NorCal Scot (Dec 31, 2010)

GeorgeC said:


> Where do you live that you have lemon and cherry in the same yard?
> 
> George


Paradise, Northern California. About 1800' in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

My only advice, come milling time, is read up on air drying before you even mill. The ones I have personal experience with (gum, persimmon, peach, plum and I assume you are talking fruit cherry-not black/wild cherry) are ALL are difficult to dry flat. It's just the nature of small fruit trees, they have a lot of stress. Once milled they like to twist/cup/warp...So I would cut thicker than you want the finished wood to be and really weigh down the drying stack.



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