About a year ago we had a heavy storm come though the area and drop a lot of big trees. One of the trees that was knocked over was a huge red oak. It came down, and pulled up its roots and lay crown down in the dirt. I took most of the easy branches last year, but had to stop when I got into the trunk of the tree. A 16" cut was simply too heavy for me to lift and carry to the truck. So I took what I could and left the rest. Well, yesterday I deciced to return to that tree and see if it had dried out enough that it had become lighter due to less moisture content. In short, no it had'nt. So I decided to cut it into 6" slices and bring it home that way. My 461 has a 25" bar on it. I was able to take about 20 feet of trunk home in two separate trucks. LRT (Little Red Truck) was so loaded that the exhaust was nearly touching the pavement. When these slices dry out they will be great "Chunkies" for the wood stove. I hate wasting good wood.
I use to cut and load full rounds, my back can't take that any more, so I use the isocore and split now before loading into truck, that red oak looks like it would pop easy with a maul. Either way a nice score and good burning wood!
Splitting the 16" lenghts would be very difficult. The ground is soft, and the tree is in a residential area. I need to be kind of quick with my visits here. I sort of need to be in and out before someone complains. The truth is... the tree is in a private country club community, and I'm not sure I'm allowed to be cutting away at large trees with a "tuned" 461. But I sort of do the Buzz Saw Brad thing. I put out a cone, I wear bright orange PPE, and act like I know what I'm doing.
You need some magnetic decals that read Official Appalachian wood rescue, repurpose and reuse service. Please stay a safe distance away while chainsaw in use.
Nice score. I always ask for written permission first because any scrounge isn't worth getting into a confrontation about. That said every single time I've asked the response has been an enthusiastic yes because a) I'm taking it for free and b) I think they appreciate the asking of permission.
And yeah large red oak rounds are a bear to lift into the truck. I was gonna say noodle them or split before loading. I do hate wasting wood too but I've finally accepted the fact that I can't save every piece of scrap out there that should be saved so I just do my best. I love the ketchupy smell of red oak.
I feel your pain Smaug Oak is some heavy stuff and doesnt lighten up with age when in the round, but you did what you had to to get it done. Have you tried sectioning a standard length round with a maul? Big oak sections rather easily IME. Extra work but beat trying to lift big rounds. Had a similar score back in 2019. Huge oak that was bucked into 24-28" lengths. Rather than cut my 16" i cut in half and ended up with lots of nuggets. Having to do it again id cut the 16". Here's the link to my thread about that. I hate to cut you short
If you can get the truck close and get yourself a plank or anything that will allow you to roll those logs into the truck you might like it and then you can also cut to your normal length.
Good score, good on you for getting more good wood instead of it going to waste! . I'll suggest that next time you go, consider laying your longer rounds down and ripping (noodling) them lengthwise into manageable chunks, if you're unable to split them with an axe or maul. Remember, don't try to rip the rounds in the "upright" position, but rather lay them down and rip them "lengthwise". You can also gather up the noodles you make, dry them out and use them them for tinder....
What I do, and it works really well, is use a wheel barrow. I usually cut 19 or 20" lengths, I lay the wheel barrow on it's side next to the round, work it into the wheel barrow, leverage the wheel barrow up onto it's wheel, roll it to the tailgate, work the round up and onto the tailgate. I do this with several pieces, then climb inside and roll them into place, tilt them on end and pack them tight. When I'm done I put the wheel barrow on top of the wood and tie it down with a cinch strap. I'm not a big guy, and this allows me to collect wood much larger than I could otherwise be able to handle. This works even better with my trailer, as it sits lower than my F250.
Any red oak that is too large to pick up to put into my small trailer gets split with my maul so I can get it back to my processing area.
Hey all. In your opinion, is Red Oak one if the heavier hardwood trees when green? I measured a few of the cuts with a MM, and had several readings near 30% moisture; and that's after this trunk had been cut in half for nearly a year.
That and white oak, mulberry, black locust, pin oak (super dense red oak), beech.......Those are all heavy ones in my book.
Lots of people burn only red oak, that's all they want. As for getting it out, if you can't do the plank thing, you could def try to split them with a maul or noodle them with your chainsaw. Noodling is fun, lol. Your 461 would let 'er rip.
I did a test "noodle" today with the 461 and enjoyed it. Some more of that, 16" lengths and a good maul and I might get 1/2 logs instead of whole 8" logs. Math seems good. It try it next time. Thanks!
