What to do with deadfall...

Chip Sylverne

Chip Sylverne

Final Approach
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Quit with the negative waves, man.
I have about ten acres of woodlot that has really taken it on the chin with the strong winds around here lately. Lots of mature pine and poplar down, maybe a couple of oaks. Really ought to fire up the dozer and clean it out, but I need ideas on what to do with the logs. Not great stuff for firewood, not enough to interest a commercial logger.

Hate to just let it sit and rot, not good for the remaining forest or the wildlife.

Got any ideas?
 
I was under the impression that wildlife preferred the dead-fall as it is. Dave
 
Wasn't the accumulation of deadfall one of the reasons the Yellowstone fires were so destructive? I also seem to remember that putting all fires out (whether man-made or natural) allowed much more deadfall to accumulate than would occur naturally which made the fires worse.
 
Chip Sylverne said:
erest a commercial logger.

Hate to just let it sit and rot, not good for the remaining forest or the wildlife.
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I am not sure why you think it is not good for the forest or the wildlife because it is. The fallen wood helps to protect the ground from freezing, the decay puts nutrients back into the soil and the critters will also use it for shelter.

Someone mentioned the fires in Yellowstone. What has happened there is that so much deadfall has accumulated that fire is easily sustained. The fire clears out the deadfall to give the forest some breathing room and the whole process starts again. It is a self controlling system. When we start to mess with it that is when things go wrong. Clearing out the deadfall can also result in soil erosion and that is far more harmful to the wildlife and the forest.

My suggestion leave a lot of it, you can pile some of it up and that will make some nice small animal shelters. But don't clear it all out.
 
Chip Sylverne said:
I have about ten acres of woodlot that has really taken it on the chin with the strong winds around here lately. Lots of mature pine and poplar down, maybe a couple of oaks. Really ought to fire up the dozer and clean it out, but I need ideas on what to do with the logs. Not great stuff for firewood, not enough to interest a commercial logger.

Hate to just let it sit and rot, not good for the remaining forest or the wildlife.

Got any ideas?
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The oak, esp. if it's white oak, is good firewood. But it depends on how hard it is to get to as to whether it's worth it for you to get yourself. On the other hand, if you've got kids.... :)

If you're comfortable with people coming on your property, find somebody in the paper selling firewood and ask them to come get whatever you don't want - most people buying firewood don't know what they're buying; you get your lot cleaned up, and somebody gets to sell the wood. You might be surprised at the response you get.

Or you can just leave it.
 
When I was 19 I started my first business. I leased rights to various ranches for downed trees for firewood, mostly Oak. Pine doesn't burn at a high enough temp on it's own but can be offered in mixed wood cords for firewood. Hire a local firewood guy to come out to make stove wood out of the pine. Charge 1/2 (3/4 if you're greedy) his selling price of a cord. Perhaps a better method would be to charge $50/cord. The latter is no guess work--take it or leave it.

Poplar is classified as a hardwood but cuts like a sapless softwood. It ddoesn't make a great firewood either. But because of it's charateristics and it's stability, it is a great secondary wood for furniture and other products. Excuse the pun, but woodworkers would come out of the woodwork in response to you advertising the wood. Charge higher for spalted or wavy grain. Bowl makers love that stuff.

Limb out the logs and place in selected spot on your property and let them load up. That way you don't have people traipsing across your land (think liability) Charge $0.75-$1.25 per lineal foot. You would get more than beer money for your efforts.

Do NOT cut the logs less than 4' length, 6' is preferable, if you decide to go that route.

Finally, run the dun through the chipper and spread on your land.
 
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Deadfall is like manure. Some is good, too much suffocates. Around here we thin occasionally to keep things healthy, sunlight on the forest floor and such. This ain't no 1000 acre primordial forest, it's just a 10 acre woodlot, rapidly being encroached on by suburbia. Unfortunately it's behind a 20 acre hayfield, upon which I don't want John Q public and his shiny new 4 wheel drive .

I didn't realize Poplar was that 'poplar (he he) with the woodworking crowd. I know its a nice straight grain that resists warping, but most of the standing poplar that's cut around here goes for pallets, which I think is a complete waste.

I know there's very little red oak hardwood, but I'll have to go take a look and cull it out. Of course, that still leaves the stumps. Talked to a guy with a big 'ol tub grinder. $600 an hour for a days work, but I would have a mountain of chips.

Thanks for the thoughts.
 
Chip,

I forget where you are exactly in this state, but if you're within an hour of Covington, I imagine you could find a pulp wood buyer who is interested.

Cheers,

-Andrew
 
After I logged out last night I was thinking this is a woodlot. As such, proper mgmt includes getting rid of the deadfall to promote healthy growth. Although, why do you have so much Pine mixed with a few Oak and Pop?
 
Richard said:
After I logged out last night I was thinking this is a woodlot. As such, proper mgmt includes getting rid of the deadfall to promote healthy growth. Although, why do you have so much Pine mixed with a few Oak and Pop?
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Lazy. Parts of the ground are pretty steep, so I left the pine there to keep the hillside in place. Not worth risking my neck to log out timber that I can't burn or turn into fence rails or posts. Same for the Poplar. Plus, my wife thinks the long, tall straight trunks are neat, and the foliage is pretty in the fall.
The stand is actually mostly red oak and some locust. A couple Sycamore that must be 100 years old that I'll never touch. Everyone tells me the few Black Walnuts there are very valuable, but I don't know anyone around who's actually cashed any checks selling any. I'll leave those standing as part of my retirement program.:wink2:

The banes of my existence around the place are sumac and johnson grass, with a little multiflora rose thrown in....
 
Sumac....grrrr.

Black Walnut is indeed highly valued. You may be surprised by the $/bd ft you can get especially with the artisan/hobbyist crowd. And that's just for logs in the round. The upside of that crowd is there ay many of them. The downside is each individual would probably want a small amount. Still, it is a worth endeavor and likely to yield a profit to you.

You can significantly raise the selling price by airdrying the logs or cut them into slabs 12/4 thick. (a 1/4 = 1/4" so 12/4 = 3" thick. That's the method of calling out board thickness for hardwoods.) Sticker the slabs so they have min 1" airspace on all sides. Stack the slabs in the order they come off the log...cover the pile and give it one year or so....instant wealth! :thumbsup: Paint the ends of logs or slabs with paraffin to prevent checking.

However, lots of wood turners like wet (undried) wood. They turn the rough and let the blank stabilize by curing before they turn to finish dimensions. Too, serious furniture makers prefer logs because that allows them to mill to their own specs. Advertise on Fine Woodworking webpage or any of the woodworkers mags/websites. Heck, I suppose you could even post in one of their forums in order to save the cost of advertising.

Locust is valuable for the same as Walnut, just not used to the same scale primarily because of amount on the market.
 
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Chip Sylverne said:
... Everyone tells me the few Black Walnuts there are very valuable, but I don't know anyone around who's actually cashed any checks selling any.
....
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I was actually going to ask if there was any, but then assumed you've have mentioned it if there was, but I also don't know anyone who's *actually* gotten any money.

My dad literally has a shed full of the stuff. By shed, I mean "pole shed with multiple bays for tractor-sized implements," and by, full I mean literally stacked to the roof. The product of my high school years, college years, grad school years, and vacations at home. The 13th Amendment doesn't apply to your own children. I figure it was a fair trade, though. :)

He's actually made some gorgeous stuff out of it. Including framing all of my diplomas/licenses for me, which are currently leaning against the desk in my office.
 
Haha, I just told Chip to spam the wood forums. I can see it now....
 
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I've always just brought the locust down to the mill to be cut for fence posts. Had no idea it has value to artisans. Now you've got me thinking about scouring the auctions for a portable bandsaw mill.
 
Chip Sylverne said:
I've always just brought the locust down to the mill to be cut for fence posts. Had no idea it has value to artisans. Now you've got me thinking about scouring the auctions for a portable bandsaw mill.
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They're fun. :)
 
How far are you from Urbanna, VA? I have a friend with an a) sawmill and b) artisan wood shop.

Cheers,

-Andrew
 
A friend had a monster mill he built for slabs. Almost 40' long it used a smoking snarling V-8 318 MoPar for power. It was a blast to work with but like any exposed machinery watch out lest it bite you in half. Gosh, there were about 50 ways to pinch your fingers off.

The funnest job we had was milling for a company based in TX who built post and beam homes. IIRC, a 6x8"x18' was the smallest lumber we made for that company.
 
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