Sawing Live Oak [It's so dense and so beautiful!]

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[@rayc.1396]

My Grandmother, who passed away 65 years ago, had a 10 piece bedroom set made from live oak. At the auction following her passing many things sold for what was expected, the last item up for bid was the bedroom set, the bidding started about $50 dollars, that was a lot of money then. As the bidding continued up people just fell out of bidding and waited to see where it would stop, remember this is 1957. The bedroom set sold to a Scottish gentlemen for $27000, that was unheard of, after all was said and done the story told to my Dad by the Scottish gentleman was that this set had belonged to a family in Alabama who owned a plantation. The main house had quite a few bedrooms and this was the only set of live oak bedroom furniture that was missing from that house. He told dad that he had an open checkbook for whatever it cost to retrieve this bedroom set. Wish I had pictures of that set, Matt, you would be in heaven, even with black and white photos.

[@albertkelly7129]

yeah but what was the story for the others that pushed the price so high?? cant wait for the xtra bs you come up....

[@markfryer9880]

@@albertkelly7129 Don't be so rude man, the guy is sharing a family story and you just ruined the atmosphere.

[@albertkelly7129]

@@markfryer9880 dont be ridiculous. none of that bs made any sense and your a fool for believing it

[@paullanier8280]

Ray C, this is true! People throw money down in Bama when it comes to buying their needs. We had a guy in BR, La who was a very good football coach and prolly still is, who went to coach their Tide team. Money talks !

[@bryanruss5167]

I’ve been waiting for you to saw this up forever! I’m born and raised in Florida and I knew what it looked like inside from doing hurricane clean up. You come down here after a hurricane hits Florida and you’ll get more free live oak than you or a whole fleet of Cremonas could ever haul out of here. Tree services struggle to know what to do with it all. It would make you sick to know how many giant (I mean 5-6’ diameter giant) live oaks I’ve burned in massive post-hurricane bon fires. Come about a month after a storm and it will be everywhere and people will beg you to take it away.

[@creatednordestroyed5339]

People squandering a most valuable resource as waste. That's America for ya.

[@samuellourenco1050]

You should not be proud of burning a valuable wood that only has good properties to it. It is practically rot proof. Probably even far more durable than white oak. And great for exterior use. Yet, you burn it. If you want to do bonfires, please use pine or something like that. Using this is a waste.

[@awldune]

A great thing about this channel is, every log you mill seems to be your favorite one yet. You never have a "meh" reaction.

[@tropicaltanktv]

Agreed! His attitude and demeanor are the best.

[@philliprunge4373]

I grew up north of Houston Texas, I always liked the live oak. Beautiful trees

[@jor4288]

I could listen to Matthew admire wood figuring all day.

[@videolabguy]

My favorite part of your videos is your enthusiastic banter. Each cut is a discovery and you let us know about it in great detail. Thanks for making my day. Keep on cutting!

[@mcremona]

Thank you!

[@Losdaman]

Here in Texas we have live oak all over the place. I have one of these shading the entire front of my house. It's about the size of this piece you worked on. It drops leaves all the time but is never completely bare. I have a love/ hate relation with it.

[@Ray_Sellner]

I'm in SA and we have 3 on the side of our house. I hate the leaves, and don't step on those little acorns.

[@Euthalson1957]

I do know that feeling all too well

[@DriveCarToBar]

Send him a big piece of some old Texas Mesquite. Let him try and saw through that.

[@valeriehenschel1590]

That tulip or cathedral slab is outstanding. Wished I lived closer so I could come steal it from your wood pile, since I am sure you will not voluntarily part with it. I love turning crotch wood just to get the beautiful feather pattern into my turnings.

[@hankstuddard23]

I was raised in the northern part of the live oak range in SW Georgia. Live oak is like a combination of hickory and sweetgum. It is as dense and heavy as hickory and as twisty and cross-grained and tough splitting as sweetgum. For firewood it is near impossible to split without a machine to do it. And it will not pop apart when splitting. You have to run the wedge pretty much end to end on the log to get the pieces to separate. Tough and pretty stuff.

[@jgriff19861947]

It is a great feeling how a old bad looking log can be and when you cut it, it comes to life and looks so good

[@jimjenkins673]

Like a kid on Christmas morning. Awesome.

[@timboudreaux2773]

Its good to see a man love his wood thanks tim

[@anthonyboudreaux3675]

There's another Boudreaux watching this.

[@timboudreaux2773]

@@anthonyboudreaux3675 Hi Anthony where are you? I am in south Louisiana. Thanks Tim

[@wntu4]

It's also nice when a woman loves a mans wood.

[@anthonyboudreaux3675]

@@timboudreaux2773 Chauvin southern terrebonne parish

[@manuranderia5100]

Matt, have a look at the work of Sampson TallyHo boat project with Live Oak for the ribs. PS love your laughter. Manu Uk

[@frederickwatson557]

Matt, you have such a refreshing personality. Never lose that youthful wonder and awe when something excites you. I love to listen to you laugh at yourself! Keep up your most entertaining and educational channel. Thanks a lot.

[@mcremona]

Thank you!!

[@ron827]

"That's gots some gravity!" :-) Gravity is not easy but it is the law. No one has a greater appreciation of crotches than Matt and I look forward to seeing some of this live oak in a finished project.

[@reforzar]

We need a gofundme for matt to get logs from all over the world that he has never seen. Love the reactions.

[@mcremona]

I could get behind that

[@alanblasczyk1779]

Simply gorgeous wood indeed.

[@JasonRSpenny]

Anybody else getting a "full double rainbow" vibe from Matt on the figure on these slabs?

[@notatechie]

I'm from the Southeast where most of what is left of the live oaks are. I knew you were going to like it. The USS Constitution was built in the 1790's and was nick named "Old Iron Sides" because the cannon balls bounced off the side of the ship when they were under fire. She is framed with live oak and planked with white oak. She is the oldest commissioned US Navy ship and still floats today. I hope you do something with it rather than sell it. I dream about the videos you might make.

[@marklongchamps8002]

We slept on the Constitution with the Boy Scouts and they gave me a piece of the wood they used to repair it. It is now in a display case at my house.

[@rhihodag9873]

Live Oak is a realllly slow-grower down here in the south. Most of the larger trees are hundreds of years old, thus the high density in the wood. Larger, straight trunks are a rare find as this species has a tendency to have shorter trunks and larger branches close to the ground. It truly is a beautiful lumber as you've shown us here. I've lived here in FL for nearly 25 years and didn't realize the Live Oak was such a beautiful species. I've never seen it advertised "for sale" around here.

[@TheRedhawke]

Beautiful stuff Matt, I think the next to last one looked like Gandalf with his arms raised shouting, "You shall not pass". Great slabs especially that one, a real Hobbit table. Cool

[@BradsWorkbench]

Yes i saw something like that! Almost like a bearded bum or pirate

[@paulmurphy612]

I see it

[@pileofstuff]

I'm sure April will be happy to know that her mill shouldn't have any trouble with Live Oak. No doubt she has easy access to a lot of it.

[@jamesstanlake4064]

Live Oak was used extensively in ship building because it's density. Nice log and it would be nice to see more of it in the wood marketplace.

[@samuellourenco1050]

In rare cases, yes. In most ships, white oak was used.

[@sdn1528]

Natures beauty can not be replicated . Like a fingerprint no two are the same . Gorgeous slabs👌👌

[@funnywolffarm]

Good show as always. I'm from central TX (Austin) and our live oaks are treasured. I have a 60-70 foot one in the backyard which is just part of our family - and houses a family of hawks. There are laws about cutting any above a certain size. When one falls on its own I'm happy to see that someone like you can harvest some of its beauty for future projects. The one you have must be 150-250 years old minimum. They grow slow, for many hundreds of years, when allowed, and don't care how hot or cold it is - they just persist.

[@tommywilliamson152]

Can't talk because you are so excited about the beautiful Livr Oak lumber i won't mind some of that myself.

[@bigdaddyl6889]

Addicted to it you know what they say the first one was free. That is one of the most common trees in North east Florida and Southeast Georgia but I NEVER get tired of seeing it. I have a live oak that might actually to big for your mill at 82" at the lowest crotch. I moved the placement of the house we are building so we could leave it because the only thing more beautiful than a live oak slab is sitting in the shade of a 30 yard live oak canopy.

[@Euthalson1957]

At my former home in Austin-(now owned by the Kids) there is a Live Oak tree in the backyard that is about 13' in circumference, It is a massive, old, gnarly tree. I had it trimmed up one year and kept a lot of the logs for firewood and BBQ. Live Oak is the most difficult wood to split that i have ever seen.

[@68shiloh]

Ever tried red gum?

[@Euthalson1957]

@@68shiloh Come on now one upping LOL! I have not but I am sure it can be gnarly grain as well.

[@tjacksonwoodworker3726]

The USS Constitution was made of Live Oak. Part of the hull is still original. Now you know why! A great and beautiful wood. Will be fun to see what you make out of it. I wish I lived close by and I would love to have a stack..

[@markmezger1124]

I have a live oak trunk that’s about 3 ft in diameter and 8+ ft long that I need to slab up. This makes me very motivated to go out and do it, although I’ll be using a chainsaw, so it will be a chore. Fantastic video, and can’t wait to see what you do with it.

[@lemagreengreen]

I remember that live oak milling video the guy from Tally Ho did and the sawyer said that carbide blades were pretty much the only type to reliably cut it. Impressive wood! you're probably the only sawmill operator in Minnesota slabbing live oak :)

[@richardparker1699]

Nice work on the slabs. These have a really nice grain. Would make fantastic tables. Have a great weekend

[@mcremona]

Thanks! You too!

[@murrayandru7527]

Gorgeous Matt , can't wait to see what you make from those slabs . Take care.

[@mcremona]

I'm looking forward to using these :)

[@josephbrauchle7720]

That beautiful wood probably came from a tree that was around 100 years old when it was harvested for whatever reason. Live Oak extends from Texas to the Oregon coast. It is the most beautiful and majestic tree in nature, which explains why the ancient Celts, Germanic tribes and others in antiquity considered them sacred. As far as we in Texas are concerned, we take precautions to never harm a Live Oak tree when clearing land. We can use dead ones (root rot and beetle infestation causes the death of many Live Oaks).

[@stingray427man]

Live Oak, great for ship building 👍

[@jayjdietrich]

Two years ago, after hurricane Harvey, it just broke my heart to see tons and tons of huge live oak trees being incinerated.

[@douglasschultz9730]

Really?

[@dtork47]

Love your enthusiasm Matt, and your videos! Old bowl turner here and lusting after some of that wood. All the best from MT.....cheers

[@ianchappell4199]

Great pieces of oak......

[@Sebastopolmark]

WOW can't wait to see what YOU make out of these. When you work with these slabs, make sure to add a snippet of this cut GREAT slab.

[@jamesoliver6625]

Smoke some ribs with the offcuts. It's a beautiful thing. I have about a quarter cord of live oak fire cuts outside my house and I'm the envy of my buds for smoking brisket down here in Austin. April should be cutting live oak down here as much as she could.

[@ReViveIndustries]

I love this slabbing doc! This makes me really miss the Woodmizer mill I used to own, though I couldn't mill nearly the capacity you've built. Discovery was my favorite part of the process as well. I found that my favorite "tools" were the bucket of water and a stiff-bristle push broom to get all the fine sawdust off for the grand reveal of the grain and figure. Thanks for sharing your reveal with this live oak; I agree with you on the stunning wild grain. I never had the privilege of sawing live oak but the wild grain looks very similar to the silk oak. I did learn that I had to be very consistent with my stickers and I also strapped my flitches with nylon straps aligned with the stickers as oak moved on me like crazy! On the flitches which I did not strap, I lost a lot of material when flattening the slabs after drying. All in all, great video and I completely appreciate your giddy enthusiasm when inspecting your cuts!

[@judithfairchild8620]

Live oak a beautiful southern belle

[@meetn2veg]

WOW !!! Trellis table ends! A nice big, thick, chunky, live-edge trellis table!

[@billqqq]

Hey Matt! Beautiful slabs! My wife just noticed the face of a schnauzer on a shield in that center slab - the one that was quarter sawn. Amazing!

[@benno2395]

So satisfying sheer poetry

[@practicallyIndependent]

Interesting wood. I never seen live oak before. I spent most of the day today Milling some rock Maple that's been sitting for over a year. It was definitely a lot harder after sitting for awhile then it is when it's green. I found I have to change my blades more often. I wish we had some of that live oak up here in New Hampshire. I hope you and your family are doing well. See you on the next one

[@chriscox6598]

Dillons Woodworks Mike. You have seen live oak. Remember that large cant that I showed you with the pretty grain next to my mill. That was live oak

[@practicallyIndependent]

@@chriscox6598 oh yeah! That's right. I forgot about that. That is some beautiful stuff!

[@bigdaddy741098]

Omg thats like art in the timber, so beautiful

[@ApexWoodworks]

Can hardly wait to see what you're going to be making with that lovely wood, Matt.

[@jean-marclabonte2844]

What a lovely bunch of crotch shots, Matt. Live Oak may not seem that difficult for the mill to cut, but wait until you have to cut it by hand or have to chisel it or hand plane it. The density and tight grain structure makes it frustrating to work with. Have Fun. Thanks for posting the slabbing video. Take care.

[@ilvisionariowood]

this wood its similar to the holm oak or holly oak we have here in Italy. Great Channel, like a lot your passion for wood....

[@robertevans6481]

We have at least a dozen or more....live oak, white oak, red oak. We took one down a few months ago,it had too...these will make some awesome tables...

[@charlesbair3458]

White oak weights over 5 pounds per log foot when green according to the gentleman who sawed my logs. I have 2 large stumps one 6 foot the other about 10 foot that i will have sawed i left them standing July 0f 2018. I have 4 foot diameter X 14 plus white oak than i need to cut. We live near U.S 19 just south o fBeckley, WV.Thanks for your videos

[@alasdairmackenzie515]

Absolutely beautiful wood! Love to see it under finish...

[@CanadianWoodworks]

Matt, beautiful lumber! Man I love saw milling, you never know what's inside! Winter is coming (-:

[@mcremona]

Canadian Woodworks time for frozen logs!

[@stephenkeefer3436]

Nice cuts of wood! Love to see all that grain pop when finished.

[@TheSwampdoggydog]

That is screaming out for French Polishing, some shellac would make this oak look fantastic. I make things with oak all the time and by far the best covering I’ve seen is shellac. Love your videos extremely jealous of your wood stash and saw. Greetings from England

[@notatechie]

There is a KZbin video by Sampson Boat Company about rebuilding an old wooden boat and episode 19, "Milling Live Oak in the Deep South" shows them milling live oak. You might find it interesting.

[@pup734]

Beautiful wood for sure

[@drawlele]

I've done Live Oak before such a pain in the back. Have to show you the wooden clamps I made with some spalted Willow Oak (subspecies of Live Oak). Now do you see why I wanted to make a guitar body out of spalted Live Oak crotch?

[@rlund3]

Love the soldiers at attention.

[@moebandy8274]

Google live oak it called the hurricane proof tree because of the way the grain twists as it grows I am from Mn moved south 2 yrs ago I have been fascinated with this tree since I got here it also has leaves Year around that look nothing like any oak leaf I have ever seen

[@johnk3606]

Lawrence Degroot Florida native here, 59 years haven’t seen anything hurricane proof so far. They do however come out of the ground in one piece usually and do flatten anything they fall on.

[@davidsutton414]

Matt, I turn bowls from live oak here in Houston. The biggest hurdle is getting the wood to the proper moisture content. I find it very unstable and after it is turned, it forms it's own final shape.

[@stevecollins9450]

Nice looking lumber. I've lived in the southeast my entire life but can't remember ever seeing what the inside of live oak looked like.

[@mcremona]

Kind of funny that a guy from Minnesota would be the first to show you

[@stevecollins9450]

@@mcremona I hear ya!:>)

[@onewhitestone]

I don't think I have ever seen grain like that, beautiful.

[@R86Quad]

Greetings from Missippi. I've been subscribed to your channel for quite a while and recall when you received the log. I've been waiting anxiously for when you made slabs of it. Look forward the seeing you turn it into something purdy. 😎 I've seen my share of live oaks but never from this perspective. Thanks for sharing. 👍

[@charlesjohnson9662]

Grew up with that wood in North Florida (Tallahassee). Super stable, hard as a rock, air drying best.

[@brianjoyce9742]

Enjoying the grain and look with you Matt. Always fascinating

[@donnymcarter]

That’s some beautiful wood, Matt!! Wish I could get my hands on some of that! :)

[@mcremona]

Donny Carter hahaha right!

[@kingfish4242]

come to the south east after a hurricane hits.

[@davesalzer3220]

Looks like a full tree burl. Neat.

[@Caasi67]

I hope you use some of those slabs in a project, I can't wait to see what you come up with!

[@mcremona]

Plan to. Thanks!

[@suziqbrown7073]

how beautiful!!!

[@russellnentwich8745]

Beautiful slabs man. You are the sultan of slabs. Can’t wait to see what you make from some of those!

[@doggedout]

Those are some perfect coffee tables just as cut! Very unusual grain. Probably would have ended up in somebodies smoker. Thank god you got to save it!

[@kurtc6372]

Really beautiful, “live oak” I’ll have to see if I have any around.

[@Mikidy303]

Nice looking stuff, I appreciate you posting this.

[@Pgcmoore]

outstanding!!!

[@T3hJones]

Wow that is the most beautiful log I've seen you saw!

[@florentinobautista8511]

You really have a beatyful wood . the question is way will you do with all the wood. You have smash. Thaks matt

[@JoeyBPhotography]

Those are some beautiful patterns in those slabs!

[@tonywatson987]

Wow! Who'd've thunk it would turn out so great?! Similar contrast between heart and sap as a Laburnum I felled a few years back. Don't think I've heard you eulogise so much over a log before...

[@Timmy2Hands]

They grow everywhere here in Florida but they are really considered to be a trash species due to their short trunks and long twisted branches. Lumber mills don't want them because the yield of useable lumber is too low for commercial purposes. Furniture makers don't use them much because they are so dense and have a high silica content from growing in sandy soil. They are murder on hand tools, lots and lots of sharpening.

[@FredMcIntyre]

Awesome stuff Matt! 😃👍🏻👊🏻

[@davegoldy1025]

Quite incredible

[@bunnywarren]

Could you put a water reservoir and aquarium pump on the mill and a plastic tube so it dribbles water after the movable idler? That way you can focus on the cut and not worry about keeping the blade wetted.

[@dddriller1]

very nice tree lots of good wood :)

[@laffingstockwoodworks2875]

I have another huge piece that’s over 5 feet at the crotch. I’d be happy to bring it to you in the spring... after the snow melts!

[@mcremona]

hahahaha deal!

[@atthebrink74]

I'm a huge live oak fan. I'd like to see you polish up one of those slabs so you can really see the patterns and grain.

[@liveoak4124]

It is special stuff Loved your reaction to it

[@petemininni6002]

Who sees Big Foot at 12:00? Looks like Big Foot with his arms up... Maybe it's just my eyes!

[@russ155]

I saw it right away , it's really cool. Was going to comment about it then saw you beat me to it.

[@jimlashbrook5429]

I didn't see big foot with his arms up but I did see an old mans face.at 12:10. It jumped rite at me.

[@davesalzer3220]

The Forrest wizard

[@royn7093]

I cut down a live oak from my parents yard to make room for an addition in their house. 18" diameter sections around 18" long weigh around 80 pounds when green. Really dense stuff. Cutting up the whole tree and moving it all was a hard day's work with just a chainsaw and wheel barrow. If the 150 year old one in the front or the 300 year old one in the back ever die and need to be taken out, I'll get in contact with you, Matt. I bet you'd like some 4 - 5 foot diameter live oak to slab.

[@troystaten5633]

Wonderful lumber, will be interested to see what you do with it.

[@mcremona]

Thanks!

[@DaliLllama]

Cup of coffee and morning wood

[@BEM684]

I've been watching woodworking videos on KZbin for 4 years and never once thought to write "morning wood" in a comment. You are a genius.

[@stephenschmidt8407]

A friend of mine said that he made a chair from Texas Live Oak. It got up and walked out the door a year later. I believed him!

[@stewartew]

I believe the USS Constitution (old Ironsides) has the side planking made from live oak, it was used because of it's strength. Cannonballs shot at it from an enemy ships would bounce off the side, hence the nickname "Old Ironsides".

[@Woernify]

Oakgasm incoming at 8:55 ! Love it that you show each slice with splishsplash, I am a great fan of your bandsaw videos! 👍🏻👍🏻

[@mcremona]

Hahahaha oakgasm! Love that!!

[@davidcrandell1172]

Another awesome vid Matt, thanks for posting.

[@noahholland9813]

Looks like an owl in the crotch. Love your work. Thanks

[@ronaldkearn3322]

This was what the USS Constitution is planked with. That swirly grain is what gives it it's strength. During the battle the sailors mentioned that she must have had "Iron Sides". the enemies cannon balls were bouncing from those planks. Thus the nick name "Old Ironsides" :-)

[@tropicaltanktv]

Hey Matt. Matt here. :P I live in TX and live oaks are all over the place here. If I had a way to haul it I'd bring you a load.

[@speedrrracer]

Amazing grain -- it looks like some kind of rich tapestry