Got this dead, double-trunk chestnut oak safely on the ground today. Needed all of my 36" bar and then some. Plenty of firewood.
That sound you hear is The Wood Wolverine foaming at the mouth wanting to tear into that. Either that or its his gasping at your 395 Good job getting them down safe Mike. Firewood or milling fodder?
Firewood for the smaller stem. I want to start selling logs to a local mill, so I'm trying to put together a decent truck load this Spring. We'll see how that works out Haven't thought about the stump. Just happy to get the logs safely on the ground approximately where I wanted them to land.
The heartwood of the chestnut oaks on the stump tends to stay solid for many years after it dies, even as they are shedding bark. In contrast, our red oaks tend to rot from the center out, so the outside bark and sapwood may be perfectly alive, but the center heartwood is rotted out. These are SUPER dangerous.
Yea the chestnut oaks do seem stay solid even after showing signs that they're long gone. You're absolutely right about the reds. Can't tell you how many large "healthy looking" trees i've made the first cut and few inches in, punky brown dust comes flying out. That activates the pucker factor for sure.
