testing --- just testing.
 

didn't work.

Edited

The treeline needs to be pushed back further from the house. :D

TR

"Just give the word and I'll push it all the way back to China." :D

Excellent.

I see my efforts are not wasted. :D

TR

I'm working on it. Its a boatload of trees.

Sell 'em.

TR

Or just sponsor Mr. Harsey to come up for a week end ..... he HATES tress.

Just have plenty of fine cigars, chili and either Olympia or Rainer suds on hand.

:D

I'll probably sell some but I've been wanting one of these and I've found a guy who is upgrading to an LT 50 and is selling a nice used one --> LT 28 Woodmizer

It's a pretty good deal. It'll keep two of the hands employed through the winter, trim back the tree line, and get me a bunch of lumber (I get 1/3 of what they cut, they sell 2/3). Plus the Amish will trade labor for hardwood beams and they're fond of ash. We have thousands of ash trees between us that have been girdled by emerald ash borers. I'd love to get a nice post and beam outbuilding or a couple of those gorgeous root cellars they build.

We did that with a bunch of pines a hurricane knocked down back on the family farm.

The planks that were racked up to dry warped like crazy and the insects got most of what was left.

I hope you have better luck with yours. Maybe hardwood will hold up better.

Dammit! Now we have wasted a test thread with good info. :D

TR

We don't have much softwood around here. They don't do well in our clay/humus soils over limestone.

The two small-scale commercial sawyers I've spoken to say that deadfall isn't worth processing. They only make lumber from live trees. I'm told in the summer it should be be processed within a week of felling or quality drops. In winter you have more time but frozen wood can be hard on the bandsaw blades, mostly from debris frozen into the bark, especially if the trunks have been skidded out from where they've been cut. The standing dead ash around here can be processed for structural lumber but it's often discolored/stained. Still is good for framing or siding especially if it's to be painted.

It's really a shame about the ash trees, they are some of the best looking trees in our forests. They weren't considered particularly valuable so they tend to be the oldest and biggest. The Amish love them for their post and beam construction though, they say they're stronger than oak and (ironically) resistant to insect damage.

BTW the University of Oregon has a wealth of info online for the small-scale sawyer. Their stuff on safely felling, limbing, and bucking is outstanding. I won't be doing it myself...more ways to kill yourself than a 250' deco dive.

Sorry to hear about your ash trees, the bores have not made it en mass to Iowa yet but have started to wreak some havoc. Hard to beat an ash for great shade.

I'm old enough to remember when we had elms, too. I don't think they'll be a green ash left. Some of the white ash seem resistant...

I'm waiting for someone to say they remember the chestnut as well.

TR

That would have to be the "Village Smithy" :D

I too remember the elms dying in the 60's due to Dutch Elm Disease, they have kind of made a comeback but I will never live long enough to see one with a trunk that is 6' across.