What is White Oak Worth after Years in the Dirt?

[@brianwestveer9532]

Very nice boards

[@MacJackal]

I was very happy to see them coming off the mill.

[@alan-dr8uo]

I like the way you make your vidio no nonsense rambling are background music

[@MacJackal]

I appreciate that! I'm evolving as I go.

[@anemone104]

Nice. I like your long cant hook. Unusual to see a guy milling a fully seasoned timber butt. If you go on social media, you'll find a load of old jacksons about how to season wood fuel, including people stating as 'fact' that wood fuel needs at least 2 years seasoning before it's ready to burn. You even find people saying that standing dead stems need seasoning. In reality, if you fell in winter, split and stack in good airflow, preferably in sun and cover in rain (or stack under a roof), then you can season and dry any timber for burning by the winter after it is felled as live timber. Why is this relevant? 'Cos the idea of 'seasoning' for firewood has become conflated with seasoning for timber, where a large butt may need a couple of years to lose all its life water and longer to dry down. White oak, like the native UK species of oak has naturally durable heartwood. Because it is used by the tree as a repository for the waste products of chemosynthesis. Oak is also rich in tannins (the chemicals that were used to tan leather) particularly in the heartwood. The sapwood (timber most involved in evapotranspiration of water from roots to leaves and nutrients in that stream from the roots) is not durable. This has rotted in your fallen stem. The heartwood hasn't rotted (as yet) partly because it was held up off the ground - has stayed drier which has helped retard fungal action 'cos fungi need water. There won't be much in the way of fungal mycelium in the heartwood yet. Other species like sycamores and limes don't have such a clear differentiation between heartwood and sapwood and none of it is rich in tannins. Fungal mycelia can invade, travelling up the sieve tubes producing spalting and then outright rot. Over here sycamore is known as a timber for utensils and domestic cutting boards for bread and veggies because it doesn't contain much in the way of tannins so won't taint the food. BUT it does contain some natural biocides.... another story. HOWEVER: here in southern England we have the phenomenon of brown oak. This is (allegedly) extremely valuable. The timber goes a lovely chocolate brown and the medullary rays (much more pronounced than white oak when quarter sawn) go a stunning golden colour. This 'brown oak' happens when beefsteak fungus (I forget the species) invades the heartwood of a living oak, usually an old one. This doesn't harm the tree and doesn't complicate felling or milling. In fact it is almost impossible to tell which tree is going to mill as brown oak until it is down. I used to run a not-for profit outfit that worked with volunteers to do eco management and public access management on public land in Surrey. Part of what we did (and my particular enthusiasm) was restoring derelict coppice for biodiversity benefit. Part of this was managing the standard trees - thinning them. We got the timber milled on site and used it for 4x4s and 4x 1 1/4 for rights of way finger posts - here in the UK you have rights to cross private land on specific routes and these ought to be marked. But one in 5 or 6 of the oaks we felled turned out as brown oak. The sawyer would take some boards but didn't have the kit to buy much. We didn't have the kit to get it roadside as butts or slabs. Quantities weren't large enough to make up a commercial parcel for collection. Whilst brown oak is perfectly sound for joinery, for waymark posts out in the weather, its lifespan is enough reduced for it not to have been worth our while. So the butts which we found would mill as brown oak stayed sat where they were and lovely 'valuable' timber was left to the bugs and beasties (which has its good points). Bu99er. We were always strapped for cash and some incidental income would have been welcome to help our work.

[@stevengullison410]

Looking good, how long will a piece of white oak last. I have a big piece been cut 3 or more years Steve from NB Canada

[@MacJackal]

It depends on a lot of factors but here in Iowa I've seen oaks lay on the ground for 9 or 10 years that are still solid beneath about an inch of rot. Thanks for watching!

[@mcpiddler1135]

If your intent is to maximize your wood value to sell, then maximizing your quartersawn yield is the way to do that. I'm not criticising, just offering advice. Good job sawing.

[@fantomgames4611]

Парень, сделай съемные вилы к трактору на ковш - не мучайся! И время сэкономишь, нервы и здоровье.