Is There an Easy Way to Remove Punky Sapwood?

I have a 30" DBH red oak stem to fell. About 20' tall. Top broke off 2011/12 storm. Sapwood is punk but heartwood still good from what i could tell. I checked it out this afternoon. Other than using an axe, is there a more efficient way to remove the bark and punk down to the good red meat? Im going to fell and buck first. Rounds will get split in woods so mess factor not an issue. Any suggestions?
Normally i would leave something like this but because its such a good size ill give it a shot. 36" bar on 460 needed to fell it.

 

Midwinter did it a while back IIRC.. I would think it’s more trouble than it’s worth for personal use. Since you sell, if you could top cover it, it would dry and you could put off stripping the punk until later or just sell it as is to someone who wants a hardwood with a built in fire starter... if the punk gets wet, it’ll dry in a few days..

 

I split by hand and I know you are trying to avoid the axe but I think this would work fine on a splitter. I just split it right near the punk. Lose a little bit of good wood right next to the punk, but if the round is big enough, the wood is worth it.

 

I've done this before with a drawknife. I have several and used and old, mostly dull one that I haven't restored yet. It works really well and is quick. Definitely an improvement to not have all that crap on there and all over the house when I bring it in. You could do the same with a machete using it like a drawknife. An ice scraper/chopper that you would use to clean driveways/sidewalks etc can work too.

 

i had thought of a drawknife but dont own one. My machete is a cheapo one i rarely use. Used to be a discount tool store similar to a Harbor Freight near me but they went out of business. Mebbe ill go shopping for something tomorrow.

 

I've used the splitter.
What didn't fall off splitting, just slice off the rest.
That was easier than a hatchet.

 

I don't think the machete being a cheapo one would make any difference. Like I said the drawknife I use for that purpose is so dull it wouldn't cut wood that wasn't rotten. It's really a glorified scraper with handles in the right place. Dull is probably better, it'll kind of glide over the solid wood. Try using the machete like a drawknife. If you decide you want a drawknife, there are lots available on ebay pretty cheap.

Also, I would do this prior to bucking it, should be a lot easier to just run down the length and you don't need to support the piece you're working on.

 

With all the wood you already have piled up I’m surprised that you would mess with it. There’s got to be lots of easier scores available. Unless it’s just got to come down(safety issues, or unsightly) I’d probably pass. If it has to go, can you just drop it and walk away? (I know that would be hard for you Brad)

 

i had thought of scraping what i could off prior to cutting it down. Took a few hacks at it this afternoon with the Fiskars. Mebbe ill give the machete a shot.

 

I cut some red oak like this; large rounds with good solid wood so silly to pass it up just because the outside was a bit punky. After bucking I just used my little hatchet and went around knocking it off. If it was still fairly solid to the point the hatchet wouldn't knock it off, I just left it. If this is wood for resell, I would split it and keep the outer parts for my use and stack the inner splits for selling.

 

I guess that would depend on the size; the red oak I did was fairly large and so worth the bit of effort to knock off the punky sapwood. I got a lot of wood out of the rounds after splitting.

 

We did it with my MS180. It worked pretty well, a messy process but resulted in nice clean splits.

 

Best one rt here, its a big tree and if your splitting it in the woods its even better. Skim around it with the maul as you split it. i bet your pretty accurate with it. Youll be leaving with barkless beauties

 

I'd just shave it with a chainsaw like you were doing a carving. That should strip off most of it.

 

That's my method. Little messier but burns great. I top cover because that rotten sapwood Is exactly like a sponge. Most of what I cut is red oak with punky sapwood.

 

The tree in question is right next to the beech i cut Sunday. It wouldve cut it when the top came off but its a big un. I only had the 290 with a 16" bar at the time. Its right next to her services wires too. but wont pose and issue when felling. The stem is perfectly vertical so felling direction not a problem. Ive been telling her mom id cut it down since so wanna get it done. Ill post another thread when i do.