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The majestic oak in your yard has reached the end of its days, either blown over in a storm or cut down for safety reasons. As a professional woodworker, one thing I always wanted to do was make a project out of a tree that I cut down and processed into wood, taking the effort to complete it myself from the forest. I’ve done this with small logs using my bandsaw and regularly harvest pieces of wood for woodturning projects, and it’s very satisfying. After learning How to remove a tree In your backyard, you may have thought the same thing: Since lumber is expensive, can I turn that tree into usable wood chips? The answer is yes. Will that lumber become a gold mine and save you money? The answer is: it depends.
Large diameter trees contain hundreds of board feet of lumber. Because freestanding trees grow straight and unencumbered, the quality will often be very good. The variable that determines cost per board foot is how you process those round tree balls into rectilinear boards.
There are several ways to turn logs into lumber. The easiest is to hire someone. There are many small sawmills around the country and most will mill your logs for a fee. Some people with portable mills will cut logs on site. Otherwise, you have to somehow move the logs to the sawmill, which can be expensive. Then, a charge will be made, usually hourly or per board foot, for cutting the logs into lumber. Rates typically range from about $75 to $150 an hour. Once cut, you will also need to pay to get the log home, unless you do it yourself. If it all seems too much, you can try to cut the tree on the site yourself.
Cut downed trees into boards yourself
Another option for processing a downed tree is totally DIY. There are devices known as chainsaw mills, viz Carmyra Portable Chainsaw Millwhich will allow you to cut your own lumber. Splitting lumber this way is cheap but also laborious. You need a high-quality chainsaw with a guide bar longer than 20 inches, which can cost more than $500. A chainsaw mill costs about $150 for a reasonable quality model (prices vary), and ripping chains (chains that effectively cut the length of a tree) and other accessories will run another couple of hundred dollars. So, expect to pay around $800.00 in total. A 24-inch diameter log 16 feet long can produce over 400 board feet of lumber. Doing the math, that will get you lumber for about $2 per board foot. If your tree is a prized species like maple, walnut or cherry, that’s a super-bargain price (though you’ll still need to surface the wood). Plus, the initial investment will set you up to process any downed trees in the future.
Drying the lumber is your next decision, as freshly cut lumber is “green” and mostly unusable because it contains too much water. Air drying is the cheapest option but takes a long time. You will need to store the lumber in a dry place and stack it with sticks between each layer of boards. It takes about a year for each inch of thickness to dry the board. Kiln drying is a process that you can hire to dry the lumber more quickly (a few weeks or months), but it will cost you more per board foot. A customer of mine recently had kiln dried wood, and it cost about $5 per board foot. (I’m making her a custom desk out of wood.)
Advantages and disadvantages of homegrown lumber
In my mind, the biggest benefit of cutting your own wood from downed trees is not the savings but the fact that you can use it to create projects that are special to you. That dining table or desk will take on personal and sentimental value because of its origins. Another advantage is the ability to grind to your specific needs. You can quarter-sawn lumber (aka Tiger Oak) or rift-zone, which is more desirable in certain species such as oak. Another advantage is to make lumber from species that are not commonly available in the market. Box alder, butternut, mesquite, live oak or even redwood are beautiful species that are hard to find on the market, but if you have one growing in your yard…Bob is your uncle. You’ve got high quality wood at a bargain price.
The downsides of the DIY route are that it’s a ton of work, takes a while to air dry, and has risks. You can dry the lumber improperly, making it less useful, and some species are prone to insect infestation. And if you hire someone to do the milling and kiln drying, it’s unlikely you’ll save any money. In some cases, it may just be cheaper Buy quality wood from a latiyard. However, you’ll still have saved that tree from turning into mulch or being sent to a landfill, and you’ll have the added lasting satisfaction of having made a special piece of furniture out of a tree you used to live with. So, will you turn your downed tree into a gold mine for future woodworking projects? Maybe, but it may depend on whether you’re looking for real gold or heart treasure.
