There’s this walnut tree that blew down in one of the local parks, and when it fell it was blociking the intersection of two trails, so some of the seasonal workers were sent out to cut a few chunks out of the middle of it to make the trail passable.
I’ve since spoken with the park super. and he indicated that it would be ok for me to clear and salvage some of the wind fallen trees that I’ve noticed. So, could any of you tell me how to proceed. The cut pieces are small enough that I can pick them up in the bucket of a front loader. They’re about 3’x3′, and I think I should be able to lift a good section of the un-cut trunk onto some sort of axle assembly and haul it to the tractors trailer to transport it. I know of at least one saw-mill in the area. So, if I want to try my hand at making my own cabinets from the harvested wood, how would you suggest I have it milled? Or whatever, since I’m a total novice when it comes to green wood.
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There are many folks here that have a lot more experience with this stuff than I but keep in mind that many saw mills will not touch wood that came from a public type place (backyards, streets, parks etc.) because of the possibility of the blade being ruined by hitting a buried nail or other metal object.
I'm not trying to rain on your parade because it can be done, and you might get some nice wood out of it, and it is kind of fun to take the material from the tree stage all the way to the furniture stage, but I'd check with the mill first before you end up with a truck load of logs that you can't do anything with.
CL,
Also ask your sawyer what length and diameter his mill can/can't handle. Many of the "rigs" have limits for lengths shorter than 4'.If you are going to stick and air dry it yourself, you will need a "stack of stickers" and about a year to dry a 1" thick board cut from the log. Purchase a moisture meter and set up for strait-lining the boards and thickness planing.Good luck, it's an experience! ...............Iron Helix
Contrary to what you've heard black walnut isn't worth that much, especially as a "yard tree." Getting it, hauling it, having it sawn, stickering it and drying would consume far more of your money and time then just buying it from a sawmill in the first place.