# Beech wood value?



## HardyOWB (Feb 24, 2008)

I own about 10 acres of woods and recently had a logging company come out and give me some estimates. I burn quite a bit of wood (25+ face cord per year), but I don't want to burn wood that may be valuable for lumber. The owner of the logging company told me to cut all the Beech out of my woods and burn it. Apparently this is a fast growing tree that will take over a woods if unmanaged. I have only owned these woods for a year, but I already see what he is talking about, there is Beech everywhere.

Does this make sense to anyone else? Is there any value for large Beech trees other than for firewood?


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## Mike Van (Feb 24, 2008)

Beech makes good mallet heads, and they used to use it for runners on sleighs & wood shods. Pretty tough stuff. It burns really good -


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## HUSKYMAN (Feb 24, 2008)

There is not much of a market for beech logs, except for firewood. It is fantastic firewood. 

Beechwood also ages Budweiser 

One thing about beech is its great for wildlife. Lots of animals live in the hollows of beech trunks and beechnuts are eaten by every type of animal in the woods. 

I think it wood be foolish to cut every beech down that you find, but the leaners and sick/dead trees make great firewood


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## fugazi42 (Feb 24, 2008)

Beech is a really nice wood to work, but it doesn't have much as a saw log. A while back I was looking for some think quartersawn beech to use to make wooden planes. Long story short, I couldn't find any so I bought a beech log and had it sawn.. The log cost me about $40 if I remember correctly and yielded something like 120bf. The saw time cost more than the dang log did. I was told that most beech logs go to the pallet makers, or are used in the construction of upholstered furniture.

Josh


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## acer saccharum (Feb 24, 2008)

As Huskyman said, they are an important source of food in the woods. If you have any larger ones you might find bear claw marks from a bear climbing the tree in search of beech nuts. So as far as cash at the mill they might not be worth much, but depending on how you intend to manage and use your land, some of the larger ones might be more valuable to you as a mast tree than as firewood. They are also very hard to get rid of. Beech regenerates from its roots and stumps. So if you cut down a stand of Beech and expose the forest floor to light, those roots and stumps are going to shoot up thicker than ever before. If you want to get rid of them you will need to be out there every year with a brush cutter taking out the saplings until some other trees can take over and shade them out. (Or use a herbicide.)


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## HardyOWB (Feb 24, 2008)

Thanks for the replies.

I have no plans to strip all of the beech trees from the property. I like burning them, so I will probably pull out a few of these trees each year.


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## iCreek (Feb 24, 2008)

*Beech trees in Missouri ?*

Can't say I have heard any call a tree a Beech tree in Missouri. I had to Google 'beech tree Missouri' to see if we even had any. Looks like we have a 200 year old one somewhere. But not sure we have any on our farm? Do they all look like the picture in the link?

http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM2DG1

We mostly have hickory, oak, and elm, I would say these three are 70% of our woods, and I'm not complaining....


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## jeff1632004 (Feb 24, 2008)

I am a forester for a sawmill in PA. If you are trying to manage for timber production that is exactly what you should do to your woods. Beech has very little value other than firewood. Beech have such a huge canopy to them that they block the sunlight from getting to the ground and eliminating any regeneration of valuable species like black cherry, red oak, and white oak from ever growing. The best thing you can do is try to cut the beech for firewood and try to get some other more valuable trees to grow. If you do a timber harvest and do not cut out the beech they will literaly take over the woodsand, and that is probley what the previous owners did if you say it is all over the woods . It is a shame though that there is not more of a market for beech wood, it can cut out to be very nice for flooring and furniture.


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## acer saccharum (Feb 24, 2008)

iCreek said:


> Can't say I have heard any call a tree a Beech tree in Missouri. I had to Google 'beech tree Missouri' to see if we even had any. Looks like we have a 200 year old one somewhere. But not sure we have any on our farm? Do they all look like the picture in the link?
> 
> http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM2DG1
> 
> We mostly have hickory, oak, and elm, I would say these three are 70% of our woods, and I'm not complaining....



That is exactly what they look like when allowed to grow out in the open. They do not have a dominating leader so they branch out and form a massive crown. In the woods where there is competition for light they will grow tall and straight. Easiest way to identify one is by its smooth silver bark.


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## Zodiac45 (Feb 25, 2008)

HardyOWB said:


> Thanks for the replies.
> 
> I have no plans to strip all of the beech trees from the property. I like burning them, so I will probably pull out a few of these trees each year.



Absolutely right! Just what I'd do too. It's really nice firewood, splits easy, burns hot. Life's a Beech! :greenchainsaw:


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## farmer (Feb 25, 2008)

Whereabouts in wny are you? I am in Niagara County and the beech here are dying off fast from some kind of fungus. By the time the tree is dead it is punky. It is hard to stay ahead of them for me. It is a shame as I think they are beautiful and great for wildlife. If u see any that are looking kind of thin and unhealthy cut those first to get a jump if you get the fungus.


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## streeter (Feb 25, 2008)

I will agree with Farmer! My brother lives on the edge of Erie, Niagara, Genese county. Right now he has enough wood to last him a life time with the storm that came thru 2 years ago and bend all the trees over with ice Wish I was not 2000 miles away in arizona:censored:


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## Mikecutstrees (Feb 25, 2008)

farmer said:


> Whereabouts in wny are you? I am in Niagara County and the beech here are dying off fast from some kind of fungus. By the time the tree is dead it is punky. It is hard to stay ahead of them for me. It is a shame as I think they are beautiful and great for wildlife. If u see any that are looking kind of thin and unhealthy cut those first to get a jump if you get the fungus.




The fungus is actually a disease called beech bark disease. It starts with a scale insect and get finished off by a fungus. The bark develops cracks and you can see the reddish fungus in the cracks. Eventually this kills the tree and this is why in most areas there are very few mature beech trees. Another good reason to cut the beech and manage for other species. The disease hits mature trees and kills them off.


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## JPhilip (Mar 14, 2008)

My landscaper gave me some beech logs for firewood. I found it extremely difficult to split, and I actually found this forum by googling beech wood to see if in fact it was good firewood. 

Everything I read confirms that it is valuable as firewood, but I find it far harder (damn near impossible, actually, and I have both an 8 and 12 Lb maul) to split than maple or ash. Does anyone know if it needs to age a bit before I attempt to split it? The only thing that works is a sledge hammer and wedge, but that takes it's toll on you physically far more than a maul does. 

Thoughts?


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## doubletodd (Mar 14, 2008)

you sure it's beech, the stuff I got splits pretty good. local pole co. has been selling me square butts 4-5' long, 8"x8" for $10 a cord. saw three times and split and you got next years wood


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## davegster (Mar 14, 2008)

Beech has a very low value as a saw log and as lumber. It's really a pain to dry into lumber because it likes to twist, warp and stain (discolor). In other words; mills are not going to put much value on your beech. 

Beech can really become a nuisance when trying to manage timber. Cutting will encourage suckers to come up from the roots: it can take over and choke out everything else. You never want to wipe out a species from your woodlot: diversity is important. You may want to look into herbicide treatment a few years before doing logging so that the beech brush can be knocked down to allow more desireable species to take root and grow.


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## farmer (Mar 14, 2008)

I have split a lot of wood using a wedge and sledge. If you can stand your log in a spot where it won't keep falling down that saves a lot of energy. You can use a 6 pound sledge and just give it light hits, not knockout hits helps too. Beech can be tough if it is knotty. Of course a log splitter makes it simple but that must not be an option.


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## JPhilip (Mar 15, 2008)

doubletodd said:


> you sure it's beech, the stuff I got splits pretty good. local pole co. has been selling me square butts 4-5' long, 8"x8" for $10 a cord. saw three times and split and you got next years wood



It is beech for sure- the tree guy is quite trustworthy and it matches the pics I have looked up on the 'Net. The feedback I have gotten from one person is that green beech can be difficult to split with a sledge and wedge but easier once it dries out. 

I could rent a log splitter, but where's the fun in that?


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## JPhilip (Mar 15, 2008)

I should add that I may be spoiled- the ash and maple I got was relatively easy to split with a maul. I could, in some cases, whack a 2' wide log with a 6 Lb maul with 8-10 swings if it didn't have knots. 

Very therapuetic when you are in real estate lately. 

Maybe I should go back to what works and pretend that the beech log is an attorney.


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## farmer (Mar 15, 2008)

I think allmost any wood is easier to split after it dries even a little bit you can see the small cracks opening up where the wood wants to split.


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## goatchin (Mar 15, 2008)

right now im workin on a pile of beech logs from when we logged in fall of '06. the mill took only the straightest and knot-less logs, dropped a couple others as culls and left a couple standing here and there.

I was also wondering what the red was on the bark...guess i know now. it seems to only develop on the logs on the ground not the standing trees. 

some of the logs that im workin on are those that came from the wood edges or open spots and LOTS of branches started in the crown....really tough splittin on rounds w/ knots on 3 sides LOL. could be easier to split if i had a hydraulic splitter but alls i got is a splittin maul, a sledge, and 2 steel wedges  ....but hey the wood still gets split


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## farmer (Mar 15, 2008)

I see the red on standing live beech trees. It means they don't have long to live. It will be sad to lose all the mature beech. They were a beautifull and unique tree.


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## JPhilip (Mar 16, 2008)

farmer said:


> I think allmost any wood is easier to split after it dries even a little bit you can see the small cracks opening up where the wood wants to split.




That makes alot of sense to me. Yet some people say you should split wood logs not long after they are cut! It must help them dry out faster, because it isn't easier to split green wood in my experience.


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