# Pecan Crotch



## flht01 (Dec 17, 2006)

I'll be going after a pecan in the next day or so and have a question. This tree was laid over by hurricane Rita but has been living off the root ball so it should still be green. The trunk looks to be about 24" dbh and about 20 feet to the first limbs. That part will be easy to get to. Right above that cut I could get a 6' to 8' piece with one big limb and a crotch but it could be a little risky. Does anyone have experience with pecan crotch, is there enough figure to get excited about? My gut feeling is to leave it since it's tangled up in a couple of oaks.


----------



## tribalwind (Dec 17, 2006)

all's i know now is that the pecan ive seen from texas is Way more figured than the 12"d. stuff i got from my neighbor(its closer to holly) 

heres an article i found on oils,pretty interesting.
the 1st pic is a platter from pecan crotchwood, 
http://www.arbortech.com.au/articles/013.html

good luck!


----------



## woodshop (Dec 17, 2006)

Crotch wood from ANY tree can be a prize, even from bland wood like Poplar although it's rare to find a big poplar crotch in the first place since they grow so strait. Sometimes you have to stain it to bring out the figure so you can see it better.


----------



## flht01 (Dec 17, 2006)

woodshop said:


> Crotch wood from ANY tree can be a prize, even from bland wood like Poplar although it's rare to find a big poplar crotch in the first place since they grow so strait. Sometimes you have to stain it to bring out the figure so you can see it better.



That does it then, I'll be spending a little extra time getting it out along with the rest.

As good as it feels being caught up (finally got all of the logs cut) I realize now just how much I enjoy having a few logs laying around waiting to be milled.

I'll try to get a few pictures along the way.


----------



## flht01 (Dec 17, 2006)

*on the bunks*

Well, I got the pecan sitting on the bunks with all exposed cuts coated with aquaseal (sp?). Wasn't quite as big (21" dbh) but doesn't have much taper and ended up nearly 28' long including the crotch. Pictures are bad, but...

Here's a shot showing the area before I started:







And a shot of it on the bunks ready to mill along with a small pine:


----------



## woodshop (Dec 17, 2006)

Nice... can't wait to see if that crotch is a keeper or not. Once in a while you really get a nice one. Keep us informed.


----------



## flht01 (Dec 17, 2006)

woodshop said:


> Nice... can't wait to see if that crotch is a keeper or not. Once in a while you really get a nice one. Keep us informed.



I'll post a few pictures within the next week or two, weather permittting. I'll be spending a couple of days trying to get at a pin oak that will be a real handfull. All these pictures of ray fleck and walnut floating around lately gave me the millin' itch.


----------



## dustytools (Dec 17, 2006)

flht01 said:


> I'll post a few pictures within the next week or two, weather permittting. I'll be spending a couple of days trying to get at a pin oak that will be a real handfull. All these pictures of ray fleck and walnut floating around lately gave me the millin' itch.


Ill second that. I tried to do a little squirrel hunting today but I kept getting distracted by the trees.


----------



## woodshop (Dec 18, 2006)

dustytools said:


> Ill second that. I tried to do a little squirrel hunting today but I kept getting distracted by the trees.


Ain't it just so true... I can't pass a takedown without slowing down to see what kind of tree they are dropping and whether it's worth milling. When walking through the woods I also size up trees for milling without even thinking of it first. It kinda gets in your blood don't it? Just need more weekends to mill, and more space to sticker and store the wood when I do.


----------



## aggiewoodbutchr (Dec 19, 2006)

woodshop said:


> Ain't it just so true... I can't pass a takedown without slowing down to see what kind of tree they are dropping and whether it's worth milling. When walking through the woods I also size up trees for milling without even thinking of it first. It kinda gets in your blood don't it? Just need more weekends to mill, and more space to sticker and store the wood when I do.



X2! I catch my mind wandering into "milling dream land" too often when in the presence of good trees. "In the blood" is an understatement.


----------



## RiverRat2 (Dec 19, 2006)

flht01 said:


> I'll post a few pictures within the next week or two, weather permittting. I'll be spending a couple of days trying to get at a pin oak that will be a real handfull. All these pictures of ray fleck and walnut floating around lately gave me the millin' itch.



Hey flht01 where are you located in SEtexas,,, I live in little cypress?????


----------



## begleytree (Dec 19, 2006)

woodshop said:


> Nice... can't wait to see if that crotch is a keeper or not. Once in a while you really get a nice one.



WS, you old horn dog!! hafta agree with you though..........
-Ralph


----------



## oldsaw (Dec 19, 2006)

woodshop said:


> Ain't it just so true... I can't pass a takedown without slowing down to see what kind of tree they are dropping and whether it's worth milling. When walking through the woods I also size up trees for milling without even thinking of it first. It kinda gets in your blood don't it? Just need more weekends to mill, and more space to sticker and store the wood when I do.



I've scoped out every tree between work and home. There is this HUGE Osage Orange....I keep waiting.

Mark


----------



## RiverRat2 (Dec 19, 2006)

oldsaw said:


> I've scoped out every tree between work and home. There is this HUGE Osage Orange....I keep waiting.
> 
> Mark



Your a sick Puppy Old saw


----------



## aggiewoodbutchr (Dec 20, 2006)

RiverRat2 said:


> Hey flht01 where are you located in SEtexas,,, I live in little cypress?????



It's good to see some more members from this area. Maybe a GTG is in the future for us. My place is available and I have/ can get pleanty of logs.


----------



## aggiewoodbutchr (Dec 20, 2006)

flht01 said:


> I'll be going after a pecan in the next day or so and have a question. This tree was laid over by hurricane Rita but has been living off the root ball so it should still be green. The trunk looks to be about 24" dbh and about 20 feet to the first limbs. That part will be easy to get to. Right above that cut I could get a 6' to 8' piece with one big limb and a crotch but it could be a little risky. Does anyone have experience with pecan crotch, is there enough figure to get excited about? My gut feeling is to leave it since it's tangled up in a couple of oaks.



My $.02 on your origional question... good pecan crotch is well worth the effort. Like anything else, it needs to be sealed to prevent checking. I'll try to dig some of mine up and post pics.


----------



## aggiewoodbutchr (Dec 20, 2006)

Here's one example. Not really crotch wood but it shows the color range of pecan with a little spalting.


----------



## flht01 (Dec 22, 2006)

aggiewoodbutchr said:


> My $.02 on your origional question... good pecan crotch is well worth the effort. Like anything else, it needs to be sealed to prevent checking. I'll try to dig some of mine up and post pics.



When you mentioned sealing it to prevend checking, are you talking about sealing the ends of the logs?


----------



## RiverRat2 (Dec 22, 2006)

*Sounds like a plan!!!!!*

Ive also got access to some that are 30" - 36'' diameter Pine and oak some in La and some in Orangefield TX but my bros have dibs on most of these but I could coax em out of some for a gathering as we will get more,,,,


----------



## flht01 (Dec 23, 2006)

RiverRat2 said:


> Ive also got access to some that are 30" - 36'' diameter Pine and oak some in La and some in Orangefield TX but my bros have dibs on most of these but I could coax em out of some for a gathering as we will get more,,,,



Those 30"+ logs are a prime candidate for the csm, either slabbingdown to a cant that will fit in a mill or qs'ing. I've got a big pin oak that falls in the 40" range I'll be playing with in a few weeks. 

Won't be long I'll have to start thinking about a trailer to haul logs with...

Sawdust fever - no cure


----------



## RiverRat2 (Dec 23, 2006)

*Sounds like a plan!!!!!*



aggiewoodbutchr said:


> It's good to see some more members from this area. Maybe a GTG is in the future for us. My place is available and I have/ can get pleanty of logs.




That would be awesome......after the first of the year Flht01 is gonna give me a shout and we are going to hook up and we will get something going...
Hope Your Christmas is Blessed, and The New Year Is Bright....

God Bless


----------



## dustytools (Dec 23, 2006)

You guys should shout at Aggie too. I think that hes close to you guys.


----------



## RiverRat2 (Dec 25, 2006)

Yeah we did, actually it was his idea anyway look @ page 1 of this thread,,, we are looking forward to our GTG,,,

Merry Christmas

R2'ed


----------



## dustytools (Dec 25, 2006)

Cool, I hope you guys have fun, and dont forget to take plenty of pictures for the rest of us.


----------



## aggiewoodbutchr (Jan 4, 2007)

flht01 said:


> When you mentioned sealing it to prevend checking, are you talking about sealing the ends of the logs?



Sorry it's taken me so long to answer this...

Yes, the ends but I also seal areas that have large amounts of edge grain showing due to the irregular grain structure of crotch wood. This has helped prevent surface checks from developing.


----------



## flht01 (Jan 4, 2007)

aggiewoodbutchr said:


> Sorry it's taken me so long to answer this...
> 
> Yes, the ends but I also seal areas that have large amounts of edge grain showing due to the irregular grain structure of crotch wood. This has helped prevent surface checks from developing.




I usually anchor seal the ends and any other cuts made shaping the log before milling. Hadn't thought of sealing the slab area's with end grain showing. Maybe that's why a lot of my red oak slabs cut last year will probably end up firewood :hmm3grin2orange: 

I'll be milling the pecan soon, would have already started but I got tangled up with a big pin oak. That one really gave me a whole new level of respect for woodshop's methods and a new found appreciation for csm's.


----------



## oldsaw (Jan 4, 2007)

RiverRat2 said:


> Your a sick Puppy Old saw



21 miles...I've missed a couple over the past 9 years, but, there are still a couple of trees available, just been too wet to get into them. Hard to look at a tree anymore without doing a lumber analysis in my head.

Yes, I'm a sick puppy, I'll openly admit it....here at least.

Mark


----------



## aggiewoodbutchr (Jan 4, 2007)

flht01 said:


> I usually anchor seal the ends and any other cuts made shaping the log before milling. Hadn't thought of sealing the slab area's with end grain showing. Maybe that's why a lot of my red oak slabs cut last year will probably end up firewood :hmm3grin2orange:
> 
> I'll be milling the pecan soon, would have already started but I got tangled up with a big pin oak. That one really gave me a whole new level of respect for woodshop's methods and a new found appreciation for csm's.



I've given up on milling red oak around here for any thing. Southern red oak checks worse than any thing else I've milled.

What about this GTG now? I'm pretty busy for the next few weeks but how about early February?


----------



## flht01 (Jan 4, 2007)

aggiewoodbutchr said:


> ...
> What about this GTG now? I'm pretty busy for the next few weeks but how about early February?



Let me rattle river rats chain and see if he's got any time. Feb sounds good to me.


----------

