# Plenty of big pecans for milling SW Houston



## Narwhale (Dec 28, 2007)

Went by an old golf course between Richmond and Sugarland (Texas), just southwest of Houston. Aggiewoodbutchr and I picked up a pecan trunk from this same place about 2 months ago.
Anyway, they have 3 BIG backhoes in there knocking down the big old pecans and have applied for a burning permit (which has not been granted yet.) The super there says help yourself, work safe, and stay out of the way of his workers and the equipment.
There must be 200 pecan trees there ranging from 16" to 72" diameter. :jawdrop: Average size is probably 24'" to 32" at breast height.
Anyway, going back there to get more turning wood tomorrow, but if you want some wood to mill and can get there, pm me for directions.
Rich S.


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## olyman (Dec 28, 2007)

da$%$--why do these always have to be so far away---would hate to see any of them go to waste---sheesh---


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## woodshop (Dec 28, 2007)

..lemme see now... mapquest directions to Houston TX from Philadelphia PA...


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## olyman (Dec 29, 2007)

got that right woodshop--but can imagine the fuel bill>>>>>>>>:censored:


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## Frank Boyer (Dec 29, 2007)

Pecan is GREAT cooking wood. It is around $600 a cord on the West Coast. Have them call Lazzari in So San Francisco. They buy large quanties of charcoal/cooking wood.


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Jan 4, 2008)

Well... I stopped by the site yesterday and couldn't believe what I saw. It's almost sick what the developer is doing but I'm going to do my best to take advantage of it.

There really are some monsters there. Here's one.







Sorry for the crappy cell phone pics. Here's one of several fields where they knocked down nearly everything.






It's hard to tell from the pic but most of those are 24"+.

I plan to make a run at them this weekend with some family and friends. Should be fun.


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## Frank Boyer (Jan 4, 2008)

I'll be there in a month or so for the BBQ part of the hlsr Rodeo. Wish I could take a few cords back. The problem is that I only do carry on luggage!


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Jan 6, 2008)

My father, brother, BIL and myself made a haul today. We took 3 trailers and came back with only 6 logs total.....








This one had been split by the excavator but still a good slabber. 42" wide at the narrowest point.




















The _smallest_ I loaded (not shown) was 24" dbh just as a load gap filler.


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Jan 6, 2008)

Now for the big one...

50" butt, 44" at the narrowest, flares to nearly 6' wide the top, 18' long, 90+ growth rings
































The contractor let me use their excavator to load which made it almost too easy.


We didn't get back until after dark so I couldn't take good pictures of them on the ground at home. I'll try to get some up tomorrow.


.


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## Gumnuts (Jan 6, 2008)

*Wow -Awe struck.*

*LOOKS LIKE NARWHALE AND AGGIE * HIT A MOTHER LOAD

Very very very very nice score 
Thank-you for the pictures.They really give us a boost.*Ya gotta love those friendly site contractors/BIG TOYS. *That's a hooter of a trailer too ..well done
I  

Will have to do a search on Pecan .Do you guys consider it a choice timber dressed?

NICE TO SEE AN 84 EARNING ITS SPACE


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## woodshop (Jan 6, 2008)

aggiewoodbutchr said:


> ...The contractor let me use their excavator to load which made it almost too easy...


"Curious... how would you have gotten logs weighing several tons like these on that trailer had you not had the loader? Winch?


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## Narwhale (Jan 6, 2008)

Aggiewoodbutchr, am so glad to see you getting some wood out of the gold course. There was ALL sorts of trunks to chose from and you are right, it does seem almost a legal crime for the developers to just knock the big trees over and burn them.
I got about 4 pick-up truck loads of turning blanks out of there before our wedding took me away. Actually, I could store anther 4 loads or so and then would be flush with wood.
Are you going back next weekend if possible?

Gumnuts, Pecan is in the hickory family and similar to work with. There is usually a large contrast of color between the heartwood and sapwood, and can have some spectacular grain. My limited expereince is it dries hard and remains straight. The finished bowls are very beautiful if the heartwood coloration is good. My only negative of pecan as a turning wood is it is hard as concrete to sand when dry.

Rich S.


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## Freakingstang (Jan 6, 2008)

nice pics, thanks


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## zopi (Jan 6, 2008)

Wow! What a haul! Did about as good this weekend with the cypress...gotta go back tomorrow and get at least two more logs...cypress trunks, straight as an arrow...maybe 20-24" and 30 feet long or so...I WANT them! may be a couple fat poplar shorts in there too...

Aggie, those are about the same size as the pecan i've been given up the road..most of those are coming out as firewood due to some rot, but I'm 
crossing my fingers for some 30" plus slabs...as big as I can saw anyway...


good score!


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## reachtreeservi (Jan 6, 2008)

Man, that's some big wood you have there !


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Jan 6, 2008)

woodshop said:


> "Curious... how would you have gotten logs weighing several tons like these on that trailer had you not had the loader? Winch?



We definitely would have had to cut the big one in two pieces and load them with our bobcat using ramps. I estimated that one to weigh about 12,000 lbs.



Rich-

I doubt I'll make it out again this coming weekend but I won't rule it out.



I now have another project saw.... my 084. The saw quit right at the last few inches of the cut in the pics and wouldn't restart so I finished with my 066. I pulled the muffler cover today and found a broken ring along with a destroyed jug and piston. I can't really tell what went first or what caused it yet. I'm sure the guys on the chainsaw forum can help if I get pics up.

Just frustrating I tell ya...


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## zopi (Jan 7, 2008)

reachtreeservi said:


> Man, that's some big wood you have there !



Smile when you say that. :hmm3grin2orange:


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## Haywire Haywood (Jan 7, 2008)

I obviously underestimate what a log weighs... I better rethink what I'd put on my single axle 3500lb trailer.

Ian


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Jan 7, 2008)

Haywire Haywood said:


> I obviously underestimate what a log weighs... I better rethink what I'd put on my single axle 3500lb trailer.
> 
> Ian




This should help.

http://www.woodweb.com/Resources/RSCalculators.html


.


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## Haywire Haywood (Jan 7, 2008)

Yep Yep.... that's a nice calculator. I wonder how it would do in a cell phone browser.. gotta try it out.

Ian


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## Haywire Haywood (Jan 7, 2008)

"page cannot be displayed" So much for using it in the field. LOL

Ian


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Jan 12, 2008)

I made it back out to the site again today with another AS member. Between the 2 of us we bucked at least 50 logs ranging from 12" to 50". I worked a deal out with the contractor to load them onto 18 wheelers for me. It should save us quite a bit of money over hauling them ourselves because it costs us $100 in fuel round trip and a truck can carry 4x as much as we can.


The killing fields...







A bigun'...






The arsenal...






I might try to go back for this one. Not very long but over 6' in diameter. It would be awesome if it is solid all the way through. The top shows no sign of rot.


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## aquan8tor (Jan 13, 2008)

aggiewoodbutchr said:


> I now have another project saw.... my 084. The saw quit right at the last few inches of the cut in the pics and wouldn't restart so I finished with my 066. I pulled the muffler cover today and found a broken ring along with a destroyed jug and piston. I can't really tell what went first or what caused it yet. I'm sure the guys on the chainsaw forum can help if I get pics up.
> 
> Just frustrating I tell ya...



DOH!!! That sucks. This was stage III modded, right? Lots a dough in that one.


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## Haywire Haywood (Jan 13, 2008)

> I might try to go back for this one. Not very long but over 6' in diameter. It would be awesome if it is solid all the way through. The top shows no sign of rot.



Just out of curiosity's sake I put it in the log weight calc. Guessing 5' length it came out to over 9000lbs. Yikes!

Where's the top of it?

Ian


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## woodshop (Jan 13, 2008)

aggiewoodbutchr said:


> I might try to go back for this one. Not very long but over 6' in diameter. It would be awesome if it is solid all the way through. The top shows no sign of rot.


Wow... this is one I might try and take a cookie from, and either make a cut to start it, or try and dry it so it does have only one opening. Then I'd thickness it and flatten it, put in one of those knockouts bridging the crack and somehow mount that monster on a wall of a den or someplace. An example of what I'm talking about is this willow cookie I did up years ago, this one is only 24 inches in dia, but you get the idea. I just think that would be an awesome site taking up the better part of a wall. Of course, not everybody would share that... the wife might not agree with ya.


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Jan 13, 2008)

aquan8tor said:


> DOH!!! That sucks. This was stage III modded, right? Lots a dough in that one.



It was. She's back up and running though. New jug and piston. I haven't decided if I will mod this one again. I do miss the extra grunt it had with the mod though...


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Jan 13, 2008)

Haywire Haywood said:


> Just out of curiosity's sake I put it in the log weight calc. Guessing 5' length it came out to over 9000lbs. Yikes!
> 
> Where's the top of it?
> 
> Ian



Ripped off by an excavator. This is actually the bottom of a double trunk tree.


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## MikeInParadise (Jan 13, 2008)

I think that I am going to have to go out and buy a Ferrari!

(Not that I can afford one but isn't that what you do to compensate for big wood envy!):biggrinbounce2:


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Jan 13, 2008)

MikeInParadise said:


> I think that I am going to have to go out and buy a Ferrari!
> 
> (Not that I can afford one but isn't that what you do to compensate for big wood envy!):biggrinbounce2:


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Jan 15, 2008)

*Logs!!!*

The truck is running today.

Here's the first load.


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Jan 15, 2008)

Second load.


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## wdchuck (Jan 15, 2008)

Nice loads/logs Aggie, that should keep you busy for a little bit anyway. 

Great use of resources too, dump trailers are quite handy, fast too.


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## irishcountry (Jan 15, 2008)

What a awesome thing, couldn't go to more deserving guys I wished that stuff happened around here, I guess its true what they say about things in Texas they really are bigger!! I can't wait to see it slabbed out bet theirs some beautiful grain in there!! Congratulations!!


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## zopi (Jan 15, 2008)

Man..i thought i scored big with that cypress! WOW!

At least i got to play with a big deere skidder...me likey skidder.


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## woodshop (Jan 15, 2008)

So aggie... got a time frame in mind here? Even if you could mill every single evening and every weekend, looks to me like you're looking at many months of busting those monsters into manageable cants with that huge csm of yours, and then milling umpteen thousands of bd ft on that bandsaw you just bought. Plus we're not talking easy stuff here like pine or poplar, we're talking Pecan.


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Jan 15, 2008)

Load 3


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Jan 15, 2008)

woodshop said:


> So aggie... got a time frame in mind here? Even if you could mill every single evening and every weekend, looks to me like you're looking at many months of busting those monsters into manageable cants with that huge csm of yours, and then milling umpteen thousands of bd ft on that bandsaw you just bought. Plus we're not talking easy stuff here like pine or poplar, we're talking Pecan.





Ain't skeerd!




Most of this stuff will be going to the big LM3. That mill can bust down a 36" log without batting an eye.

.


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## dustytools (Jan 15, 2008)

WOW!!! Nice score Aggie.


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## woodshop (Jan 15, 2008)

I can't wait to see you open up some of those huge crotch pieces.


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Jan 15, 2008)

woodshop said:


> I can't wait to see you open up some of those huge crotch pieces.



Me too!


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## Narwhale (Jan 15, 2008)

aggiewoodbutchr,
Absolutely wonderful to see you got a good bit more of thee pecan.  Been reading, but not posting here.
Was there Sunday, talked with Philip who told me your plans. Also read your post about cutting Saturday and missed being there.
Got another couple of pick-up loads Sunday, and saw your cut-up trunks. Had a HUGE internal conflict on wheither I should post about finding them and helping myself to them.  
Just couldn't do it.
The truck loads look great.  
Rich S.


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Jan 16, 2008)

Narwhale said:


> aggiewoodbutchr,
> Absolutely wonderful to see you got a good bit more of thee pecan.  Been reading, but not posting here.
> Was there Sunday, talked with Philip who told me your plans. Also read your post about cutting Saturday and missed being there.
> Got another couple of pick-up loads Sunday, and saw your cut-up trunks. Had a HUGE internal conflict on wheither I should post about finding them and helping myself to them.
> ...





That would have been funny. There's not quite a load left on the ground and it looks like I may have to go back and cut some more a couple more loads worth to justify sending the truck back after them. Now I'll have to wait on this rain to clear out.


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Jan 16, 2008)

It rained all night. What a mess. I'm glad I got the logs off the ground before it got real bad.


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## BobL (Jan 16, 2008)

Great Thread and great score guys - caen't wait fer the millin' pics. opcorn: opcorn:


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Jan 16, 2008)

BobL said:


> Great Thread and great score guys - caen't wait fer the millin' pics. opcorn: opcorn:



Maybe this weekend... maybe...


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