If wood from a cut oak tree is very dense, does that mean it's good for furniture making?

Question

I know nothing about trees and wood, so would appreciate advice from someone who does. My mom just had a very large, very old oak tree taken down in her back yard. It had been dropping large limbs from high up, causing damage to her roof and vehicles. Now that it's mostly down, there are large, thick logs lying all over the yard, and we're considering selling or trading them to someone for furniture making instead of letting the company that's cutting it down haul it away. My mom says she wanted to try and count the rings to see how old the tree actually was, but that the wood is so dense she can't even make out the rings. Does this mean it's the type of wood that would be coveted for creating furniture or millwork?

BTW, this tree has never had anything nailed to it at any time. It's stood in the middle of our large back yard for generations.

Answer 1

Yes. It should be quite valuable; don't give it away only let them cart off the small stuff. Be firm. Try your yellow pages for Timber yards.
Good luck!

Answer 2

You're going to have a hard time selling that timber.

Trees that are along property lines sometimes have wire fencing staples or nailed to them. A few years later, someone goes to remove the fence, and the tree has grown around it. They simply cut away what they can.

No trespassing signs and no hunting signs may have been nailed up. In a backyard, it's pretty common for boys to nail boards to a tree, possibly to help them climb into the tree, possibly as part of a treehouse or lean-to. It's also common that husbands have run screw hooks into the tree for a clothes line.

You don't know whether that tree ever had anything nailed to it or not. You weren't even born yet when the tree was young.

Take that log to the sawmill, and the saw blade bites into the metal. Possibly it ruins the sawblade. Those blades are terribly expensive, and it's a lot of work replacing one. Possibly, the metal comes loose, which means it doesn't ruin the sawblade, but the end result normally is that the metal goes flying. If it hits the roof, there's a roof to repair. If it hits a worker in the sawmill, there's a man to bury.

No, nobody wants to buy *those* logs, and nobody wants to turn it into lumber at *their* sawmill. They want logs from the middle of the woods.

And oak is one of the cheapest hardwoods out there, anyway. That's why you see so much oak furniture. Black walnut and pecan, and fruit woods like cherry, apple, and pear are much more valuable. I don't know the current price for oak, but twenty years ago, I bought roughsawn oak 1x4s, for about 20c a foot, delivered.

You need to do something pretty quickly with that oak. It will dry out, and get so hard, you'll have the devil's own time trying to cut it up.

I'd suggest putting an ad in a pennysaver, offering it for sale. There may just be some damnable foot silly enough to buy it from you and cart it off. And if he's going to use it for firewood, perhaps he will get his money's worth. But if he's buying it for lumber, give him a receipt that says as is, no refunds.

Answer 3

There's all different kinds of oaks, some a good for furniture, others for making barrels and cutting boards, others for low quality pallet material or firewood. Getting someone to saw up the logs might be difficult because most mills won't cut a log from a yard or fence. Too much chance of metal being embedded in the wood which damages blades. At
$8 a tip, a sawmiller can't afford to be replacing a couple dozen tips on his blade.

That's not to say there's someone with a small portable bandmill who'd take the logs. As far as making any money from the logs, it'll be difficult. Since the tree was dead or dying, it's greatest value is probably for firewood. Someone who burns wood might give you a few bucks but don't expect to buy a new truck with it.

Answer 4

A lot depends on where you are. First you need someone who mills wood. Some home crafts people mill there own wood in order to get special woods not normally available from lumber dealers, but they would be hard to find. There are also portable mills that some small companies have, they take the mill to the site and rough mill it right there. A single oak tree is not going to be very valuable unless it was very large and tall and had a straight bole. The species of oak is also important,,the lack of easily discernible rings probably indicates the wood grain is not going to be very prominent, lessening it value. Also dense oak is more valuable the thin oak.

And lastly--they are all right about mills not wanting to chance it with a tree that could have nails and wires embedded in it. But you do have valuable fire wood. With heating prices getting so high, firewood prices are also high. Depending on where you live you should be able to get 200$ a cord or better.

Answer 5

well, oak is the most commonly used wood for furniture, but if this tree's been dropping branches, it may be rotten and not suitable. You should contact a furniture maker and ask them to look at it.

Answer 6

You would actually need solid wood. Oak trees are great for furniture. The reason you can not see the rings, is that the tree is not fully grown yet. I wouldn't sell the wood.

Answer 7

Oak and walnut make excellent furniture. Varnish it 3 times.

Answer 8

Yes I love oak furniture.

Answer 9

Yes, Oak is one of hte best to make furniture with.

Answer 10

I'm not positive, but I think as long as the wood is healthy, not rotting or falling apart, it can be used for making furniture.