5 Acre's of Trees...ALL MINE UPDATED W/PICS

[08brute]

There was some land up for sale about 1/2 mile from my house. One of the quarters that was sold to my neighbor has a 5 acre grove that was planted during the dirty 30's. (The Govt. offered 1/4 of land to anyone that planted a certain amount of trees) I asked my neighbor if i could cut the dead standing out of it and guess what he said...He is going to bulldoze the grove in a year or 2 so I can cut anything I want! It is sad that he is going to clear the land but it is awesome that I have some time to get what i want. I went and measure the biggest tree i could find this morning (Cottonwood :shut and it measured about 55" across at the base and it is probably 100' tall. I might try to avoid the cottonwood's but if i end up cutting them i will definately need a bigger saw :cheese: . Just thought i would share my good news with my friends on HEARTH.COM!

Have a great day everyone!

 

[smokinj]

55 in. is a big one and I would stay away from cottonwood if there is anything else to chose from...btw Great score!

 

[08brute]

I would stay away from cottonwood if there is anything else to chose from

I hear ya! I just cant quit thinking about how much wood is in that ol' cottonwood. Its so straight, tall, huge and has so little limbs! I dont know if I am comfortable dropping it though since it could easily fall on the gravel road (and probably do some damage to it).

 

[smokinj]

I would stay away from cottonwood if there is anything else to chose from

I hear ya! I just cant quit thinking about how much wood is in that ol' cottonwood. Its so straight, tall, huge and has so little limbs! I dont know if I am comfortable dropping it though since it could easily fall on the gravel road (and probably do some damage to it).

50-60 in. trees is what I do the most and normally when there that big you can count on termites very risky tree to do even when your good at it...rigging and a lot of wedges are the tools of trade and the nerves you need after you figure out the trunk is hallow will make anyone pucker up!

 

[iceman]

I would stay away from cottonwood if there is anything else to chose from

I hear ya! I just cant quit thinking about how much wood is in that ol' cottonwood. Its so straight, tall, huge and has so little limbs! I dont know if I am comfortable dropping it though since it could easily fall on the gravel road (and probably do some damage to it).

50-60 in. trees is what I do the most and normally when there that big you can count on termites very risky tree to do even when your good at it...rigging and a lot of wedges are the tools of trade and the nerves you need after you figure out the trunk is hallow will make anyone pucker up!

pictures???? please

 

[Backwoods Savage]

08brute, you might consider taking an inventory of what type of trees are there and how many + size. Because you don't have that much time before he plans on clearing it, I'd suggest you start by cutting the very best firewood and I hope that cottonwood is not the best. It will certainly burn and will burn fast once it is dry. When it dries, it dries really dry too. It is pretty wet and stinky when you cut it and will be heavy because there is so much sap in it. I have never been hard up enough to cut a cottonwood for firewood.

 

[smokinj]

I would stay away from cottonwood if there is anything else to chose from

I hear ya! I just cant quit thinking about how much wood is in that ol' cottonwood. Its so straight, tall, huge and has so little limbs! I dont know if I am comfortable dropping it though since it could easily fall on the gravel road (and probably do some damage to it).

50-60 in. trees is what I do the most and normally when there that big you can count on termites very risky tree to do even when your good at it...rigging and a lot of wedges are the tools of trade and the nerves you need after you figure out the trunk is hallow will make anyone pucker up!

pictures???? please

I have a bunch of pic's of pucker wood!

 

[zzr7ky]

+1 on Backwoods suggestion.

Also consider how to get/keep vehicle access to the higher value "drop zones' as you go.

We have a lot of dead Ash here and I find that we can often drop several consecutive trees in the same spot. Then drop more into that area 'domino' style. Fairly efficient if slash is managed for vehicle access.

ATB,
Mike

 

[Tony H]

Great deal and great advise from Dennis . Depending on what good stuff is left when you get near the end maybe you can round up some heavy equipment or even hire a logging crew to take down a bunch of trees, delimb them, and deliver them to your house .

 

[prairiefire]

if your not comfortable falling a tree that size then don't, no sense dying over cottonwood! maybe start with some of the smaller trees and work your way up to that one. lets see those pics smokinjay :cheese:

 

[hareball]

Nice score! I agree on getting the best species and try and get the ones that will be easy to process so you can make a quick turnaround.

Leave the cottonwood. I tried some in November and hated the smell. I tried it again the other night and still hate it! I have about 3 wheelbarrow loads and am gonna give it away to someone on CL that needs firewood. I bet people refuse it haha

 

[patch53]

I agree, leave the monster cottonwood and clear out all the trees around it. If it is infected with termites/ants a good windstorm might take it down for you.

 

[SolarAndWood]

I'd rather dig a hinge than cut one. Take the easy stuff now and wait for the machines to make a big pile of logs for you, especially if it is only a year or two away.

 

[08brute]

I posted 2 new pictures taken from my car on my drive past the grove in question. The large tree is one of many like that. The one in the pic is probably 60 - 70' tall and probably 40 - 50" around. Most of the other ones are taller and have less limbs.

Thanks for all of the advice everyone. After looking at the large trees again i am questioning what breed they are. They might not be cottonwood. I am very bad at tree ID. I think there is a lot of ash that i will target first. (Its my favorite!) I think i just wanted to cut the large trees for an excuse to buy a 362!

 

[maxed_out]

thats gonna be a lot of wood! jackpot!

 

[JustWood]

Ja, that is a sheet load of wood. You're not even gonna put a dent in that woodlot in 2 years.

 

[NH_Wood]

Share the wealth! If you know you can't get to all the wood in 2 years, let some buddies know about the score and you could share the wood - plus have some company in the woods. I've been in some groves like that in the mid-west and sometimes they were nearly pure cottonwood - hope you find some good stuff mixed in! Cheers!

 

[08brute]

Share the wealth! If you know you can't get to all the wood in 2 years, let some buddies know about the score and you could share the wood - plus have some company in the woods. I've been in some groves like that in the mid-west and sometimes they were nearly pure cottonwood - hope you find some good stuff mixed in! Cheers!

If i had any buddies that burned wood i would definately let them in on it. Me and my Parents have 3 Wood Furnaces between us so we are hoping to get a lot of wood out of it. I was even thinking about cutting trees in 24' lengths and hauling them on my trailer to my house and buck them later just to save time. (So i can cut more) It might be easier to buck them on site though. As far as it all being cottonwood... i sure hope not. The real tall trees are on the outside of the grove and there are a lot smaller trees on the inside. I am hoping that the cottonwoods are only the tall ones and the rest are something else. I will get some pics of different trees i see in there and you folks can help me tree ID.

Thanks again for the ideas.

 

[08brute]

I just did some figuring... I can lift about a 16" Diameter 20' log with my skid steer but i could only haul about 4 or 5 of them on my trailer at a time. Think it would be worth cutting them in 20' lengths and hauling them 1/2 mile to my house to cut up at a later date? I could probably cut twice as much wood out of this grove that way.

 

[JustWood]

You got the right idea.
I wood hire a log truck to get them home. The gas you use alone may pay the trucking and they can stack the logs neater and higher than a skidsteer.
Then work on the smaller top wood as you have time.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Brute, the pictures don't help for identification except to say the picture of the lone tree certainly grew to look like a cottonwood. The one of the grove of course doesn't help. Hopefully you can get some close up shots of various trees.

 

[08brute]

Brute, the pictures don't help for identification except to say the picture of the lone tree certainly grew to look like a cottonwood. The one of the grove of course doesn't help. Hopefully you can get some close up shots of various trees.

I will get some close ups this weekend.

Unfortunately i think a logging truck is out of the question. I live in eastern SD where logging is non-existant.

 

[Wood Duck]

I'd cut them a lot shorter than 20 ft, maybe 6 or 8 ft, to make them easier to move. A six or eight footer you can push around by hand, and when I am bucking logs I find myself often having to shift things around. Still, I think the idea of moving logs is a good one. After you have next year's wood split and stacked, I'd focus on moving as many logs home as possible. You never know how long the wood supply will be there.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

On second thought, maybe South Dakota doesn't have much other than cottonwood. In that case, cut them and burn them. But I'd recommend starting with the 2 footers rather than the 5 footers. Good luck how ever you end up.

 

[deck2]

I think you need to find a bigger trailer to put behind your truck or tractor, maybe a dump trailer?