Anyone planting trees for future timber value (walnut/oak)?

[wiscwhip]

My FIL has 3 such black walnut trees in his backyard in Mauston. 14"-16"+ DBH, straight, limbless trunks for at least the first 18+ feet. All 3 companies he has inquired with about removing them tell him the same story. They all say, "We will not pay you for removing them, we will be charging you to take them down."

 

[bueller]

This was in Southern Wisconsin, Walworth County. No idea who he used but the uncle is far from the BS'ing type.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Yep, everyone thinks walnuts are this great money tree. They can be, but not very often. I hate them, like stu, we make firewood out of anything 12" and down.

 

[wiscwhip]

This was in Southern Wisconsin, Walworth County. No idea who he used but the uncle is far from the BS'ing type.

Not saying he was BSing at all, the fact is, what he saw as a potential $$$ maker for himself ended up being a break even proposition for him in the end. All he "got for his money" was the tree removed without charge, which is pretty much all that anyone with even "high dollar" residential trees can expect. These guys will just not pay you to remove those trees.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

I would say gramps got dam lucky, because that don't happen 99 out of 100 homeowners.

 

[bueller]

He did get damn lucky. Any other species of tree would have cost him $3,000 to get cut down. He got it done for free. The tree had to go.

I on the other hand am the guy who would've told the tree guy to get lost after asking $3,000 to cut it down. Then I would've tried taking it down myself, crushed my garage, my car, and a corner of my house :confused:.

 

[wiscwhip]

Getting those trees cut free of charge isn't as unheard of as one might think, "IF" what you have is a highly desired, high dollar species like walnut. Having the cutter pay you for them is another story. Guys are willing to give away a days labor to roll the dice on those being saleable logs they are taking down. Pretty much anything other than a walnut will net you a fat bill to the sawyer though.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Getting those trees cut free of charge isn't as unheard of as one might think, "IF" what you have is a highly desired, high dollar species like walnut. Having the cutter pay you for them is another story. Guys are willing to give away a days labor to roll the dice on those being saleable logs they are taking down. Pretty much anything other than a walnut will net you a fat bill to the sawyer though.

Ain't one logger will take the chance on yard trees unless he can blend them in with some other trees he is cutting. But if the mill he sells to figures it out, it may cost him way more than he could make off a couple yard trees. That is a fact!

 

[buckdeer1]

Several years ago before timber was taxed I sold 75 walnuts for 20,000.there were some good ones and some that should have been harvested 5 years earlier.The forester explained that tree are like any other crop,you leave in the field to long and it spoils.If you have walnut trees that you want to grow for sale then I would get someone to show you how to keep them trimmed.What you want is a veneer tree and I believe this was a 10ft straight trunk with no limbs.I had 1 out of those 75 and it sold for 2000.00.I didn't do bids I split 50/50 and the walnut buyer wrote both checks and showed them to both of us so we would know they were the same.I was told that alot of times the bids come in lower because of those bad trees some of which were hollow for 10-15ft but you couldn't tell it.

 

[buckdeer1]

Another option is to use it yourself,I had to cut a walnut when the electric co went through so I had them log and load it for me.I took to a guy and had him plank it.Let it dry for 2 years and had a guy make a walnut chest for each of my daughters.It wasn't cheap but there aren't many things that can be considered a heirloom and these are nice

 

[Catscratch]

Like buckdeer said, you might use it yourself.
I harvested all the wood in this pic myself. Spent $75 to have it milled. Countertops are 3.5in thick, kick panels are oak. Not finished yet but will look nice when it is. Cool to build something from trees that you harvested yourself.

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[bwoods11]

We put 1200 sq feet of red oak flooring (cut by local Amish)in our new place.

Really nice and it was cool to see the process.

 

[Catscratch]

View attachment 11970 We put 1200 sq feet of red oak flooring (cut by local Amish)in our new place.

Really nice and it was cool to see the process.

Awesome! I like that floor a lot!

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[MoBuckChaser]

You really can't beat a old school red oak floor! looks great!

So does your Bar Cat!

 

[Catscratch]

You really can't beat a old school red oak floor! looks great!

So does your Bar Cat!

Thanks!

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[KDdid]

Yes.
Hedge, Hedge Apple, Osage Orange, etc.

I

Okay good deal, do any of you recommend or had good experience with a trusted source in the Indiana or surrounding state area? I want to incorporate a few plantings of it.

tynimiller- I've started Osage orange from seeds for years, they're easy to grow. If you know where any grow, get some of the hedge apples right now, cover them with leaves, and in the spring the apples will break open, with hundreds of seeds formed underneath the rind. I start them in pots and transplant in the fall. PM me if you'd like some seeds in the mail this spring.

 

[tynimiller]

I

tynimiller- I've started Osage orange from seeds for years, they're easy to grow. If you know where any grow, get some of the hedge apples right now, cover them with leaves, and in the spring the apples will break open, with hundreds of seeds formed underneath the rind. I start them in pots and transplant in the fall. PM me if you'd like some seeds in the mail this spring.

Awesome, I do know of a couple huge ones out my parents way. Gonna have to swing by and see if any of em are still laying there or not. If not I may take you up on that!

 

[Catscratch]

I just throw hedge apples where I want trees. Never started them in pots but I have so many around it's not a big deal if one doesn't sprout into a tree.

 

[KDdid]

I just throw hedge apples where I want trees. Never started them in pots but I have so many around it's not a big deal if one doesn't sprout into a tree.

Wow! I just walked out to the fence row to grab a couple of hedge apples, and the squirrels have been pigging out on them. Every tree with horizontal limbs nearby has a pile of shredded hedge underneath it.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I can relate to the walnut stories, too. I was given an aged-in-a-barn walnut log that looked perfect. Wrong. When milled, it had a ceramic insulator from a fence completely within the log and healed over. I was lucky. My sawyer hit his emergency stop button as soon as he heard a hard click. I got some nice planks, but had to pay for a couple teeth.

If anyone is looking for present or future timber $$$, a forester can advise on successional harvesting of timber - if you have some woods on your land now.

Cat - I love that bar top too !! Anything " slabby " is right up my alley. I'm making slab oak & chestnut coffee tables for each of my sons now.