# 4 ft wide Cherry



## roberthathaway7 (Jul 14, 2010)

I have on my land an old cherry tree that is a little over 4 feet wide.. I was wondering if anyone knows if this tree is valuable for milling. I have been researching this and it seems like it would be good to make flitches out of. It might even have some figuring, seeing how old and knarly it is, with some big old branches that have fallen off through the years. Let me know if you think I have something??? Love the tree but its in such an obscure place.. I'd rather see it made into something beautiful to be enjoyed...maybe I can work something out and get some of it back.


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## tomtrees58 (Jul 14, 2010)

unless you have a use for it leave it wood is down to0


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## smokinj (Jul 14, 2010)

Any Pic's of this tree?


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## Mike1974 (Jul 16, 2010)

Actually - the price of cherry is UP right now, at least according Penn State. I keep an eye on a report they update quarterly for stumpage and lumber prices.

Apparently, cuts made in anticipation of declining demand were steeper than they needed to be, and some hardwood species are stabilizing and/or climbing (like cherry).

here's the thing:

I have yet to meet a cherry bigger 24" that doesn't have some rot in the center. The pith starts to go at the base of the tree, then insects just work there way up.

Good news: the rot and bugs will kill the pith, but the heartwood and sapwood is fine ... I've milled around some rotted-out centers. A lot of work for not much production.

I'd say take it now, before rot gets more of it. 4/4 of cherry takes 180 days to air dry anyway, so you can let it sit around for plenty of time if you're planning on selling it.


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## Mike1974 (Jul 16, 2010)

Here's a link to the page where I check out those reports... may be interesting, but it only covers PA.

http://extension.psu.edu/tmr/


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## gemniii (Jul 16, 2010)

Mike1974 said:


> Here's a link to the page where I check out those reports... may be interesting, but it only covers PA.
> 
> http://extension.psu.edu/tmr/



Good link, but the 2010 I looked at was only first quarter.

Here's a site for framing lumber:
http://www.nahb.org/generic.aspx?genericContentID=527

and it looks like prices peaked in late April ($360) and have dropped over 30%.


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## roberthathaway7 (Jul 17, 2010)

*Timber prices*

WARNING: New guy posting, don't make fun

I can't mill anything myself, just plan to haul some logs to the mill and sell them. Here is a chart that I have found though along with the base site that got me there which you all might like

http://web.extension.illinois.edu/forestry/il_timber_prices/index.html

http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/econ/data/prices/

I'm from southern illinois, zone 1, but I really don't know how to read this chart.. what does per M. Board Ft. mean? 1000 board ft? Tell me if this is right.. if I have a black cherry log that is 10ft long with 10" DIB at the short end, I will have 27 board feet so 27x.460= $12.42 if the price of black cherry is $460/1000 board feet?

If i'm going to take these logs to a nearby mill, does anyone have any tips on how to go about selling them? Will I have to haggle on a price or is it just like going to the recycling plant where you just give them your goods and take their price unless you find a better price somewhere else, in which case you would take it there. Do I have options when I take it to the mill, like to have it made into veneer to get a better price? I feel like i might take a log in that they pay me reg bdft price for but then make veneer or flitches and cash in without me? I really have no clue about this process, help me out!


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## smokinj (Jul 17, 2010)

roberthathaway7 said:


> WARNING: New guy posting, don't make fun
> 
> I can't mill anything myself, just plan to haul some logs to the mill and sell them. Here is a chart that I have found though along with the base site that got me there which you all might like
> 
> ...






If you have a veneer log quility you will have no problem selling it. More than likely it will not be that grade....Wood worker would be your market or diy people. At .46 cents a board ft for milling puts an investment on your side, money tide up for 3 months if kiln dry and longer if air dryed. Cherry will go about 2.00 a board ft dryed.


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## roberthathaway7 (Jul 17, 2010)

smokinj said:


> If you have a veneer log quility you will have no problem selling it. More than likely it will not be that grade....Wood worker would be your market or diy people. At .46 cents a board ft for milling puts an investment on your side, money tide up for 3 months if kiln dry and longer if air dryed. Cherry will go about 2.00 a board ft dryed.



First of all, i don't even know if I did that conversion right and 46 cents is right.. I actually called a place the other day and was offered 60 cents a board foot though so I guess I was close.

I'm kind of confused about what you said.. are you saying I should let them keep the 60 cents/ bd foot and opt to pay them to dry it then sell it for 2.00 when it's dried?


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## smokinj (Jul 17, 2010)

roberthathaway7 said:


> First of all, i don't even know if I did that conversion right and 46 cents is right.. I actually called a place the other day and was offered 60 cents a board foot though so I guess I was close.
> 
> I'm kind of confused about what you said.. are you saying I should let them keep the 60 cents/ bd foot and opt to pay them to dry it then sell it for 2.00 when it's dried?



What I am saying thats about whats its worth right now "cherry" dryed 2.00bf so you dont want a dime holding up a dollar. Margins are very tight in the lumbar game...May be better just to sell the logs to the mill.


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## betterbuilt (Jul 17, 2010)

post a picture. I think everyone want to see this tree. All this talk about money. It could be a gem but it may be firewood. 

I know for a fact that mills have orders for cherry here but no logs to saw. $2.00 is about the lowest it goes for here.


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## smokinj (Jul 17, 2010)

betterbuilt said:


> post a picture. I think everyone want to see this tree. All this talk about money. It could be a gem but it may be firewood.
> 
> I know for a fact that mills have orders for cherry here but no logs to saw. $2.00 is about the lowest it goes for here.



Same here, but seems if your selling out of your garage you need the lower price to get them there. OH YEA WE NEED PIC"S


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## roberthathaway7 (Jul 17, 2010)

*4 ft cherry pic*

Well guys... i didn't mention that i hadnt layed eyes on the thing since last year. I went to take some pics and this is what I found. The two main branches fell off just recently. One at about 24" diameter had some pretty crispy leaves, and the other still had dying leaves so this all just happend. Regardless of what I would have done with the tree, it sure is sad to see it go down like this.. I believe what it needed was every little tree cut out within 50 ft about 10 years ago at least, you could tell those huge branches had been trying to squeeze up for sunlight for a while.

in reply to the last couple posts-
I actually do have a bunch of 10-20" cherry at the edge of the woods that I plan to cut, and I don't plan to dry them, just sell the logs to the mill. Either that or sell them as firewood, I am just trying to see which is more profitable


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## komatsuvarna (Jul 17, 2010)

Looks like youll have some good firewood now!


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## smokinj (Jul 17, 2010)

komatsuvarna said:


> Looks like youll have some good firewood now!



Yep firewood, There maybe a few good slabs out of it, but the mills not going to want it. :agree2:


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## discounthunter (Jul 18, 2010)

mill wouldnt touch that. should be some good turning stock in there,maybe some slabs but i done see anything big.that centers pretty rotted out.still good for firewood and smoker wood.might be able to get some money selling the wood to local bbq places.


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## betterbuilt (Jul 18, 2010)

Thanks for the pictures. Looks like you should learn to mill and cut that upper stuff. The lower part would have some short wide boards in it. Turn the rest in to firewood. I'm sorry to see that but, now we know what were all talking about. I'm not sure there's a lot of money to made in selling logs anyway's.


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