I recently noticed this chestnut oak was dying. About 2/3 of the crown was dead. So, I had to drop it to add to my lumber log pile. It wasn't huge, ~20" dbh, but it was straight as an arrow and ~38' to the first branch. I wound up with 4 logs, one 12' and three 8', and of course all the top for firewood. MS 461 w/ 24" bar for comparison.
Something has been killing a lot of the chestnut oak around here for that last 7+ years. Regional forester was out here a few years ago and he wasn't sure if it was just gypsy moths or a specific infectious cause. Regardless, I have lots of dead or dying chestnut oaks.
gypsy moths and drought can be pretty severe stressors that allow the tree to succumb to other environmental diseases and pests that would otherwise not be a problem for a healthy tree to endure.
The main stem will be milled into lumber. Chestnut oak makes some wickedly beautiful boards when quartersawn. Yes, the top will be absolutely primo firewood.
Absolutely. The sawyer is off on a hunting trip now and quite backed up even before he left. He won't be out here until sometime in December. Here's some from previous jobs.
I dropped another dead standing chestnut oak today. It was about 22" dbh. and max 28" where I cut it. It gave me 2 logs 12' long, 16" and 15" heartwood at the small end, and one 8' log x 14" at the small end. The 12' logs are super clean and straight. Once I got the upper 8' log skidded out, it's not very good for lumber. It will probably wind up as firewood. While I was out there, I notice another similar sized dead one that I will likely harvest for lumber and firewood. We want to make sure that the sawyer has plenty of work when he comes out next month.
Nice job Mike. What mix did you have today? I had about 1.5 gallons of that Maxima left when sawing up that elephant oak. It's almost gone and I may just put it in my truck to get rid of it, don't like it at all...
I did Red Armor today, 36:1. Thanks for reminding me. I didn't notice any bad smell. Thanks for suggesting it.
