largest sassafras in kentucky.

[milkman]

Little more prespective, that sucker is huge.

 

[TimberWolf530]

Apparently there are three different leaf variations: http://www.augustaga.gov/1630/Sassafras

[/QUOTE

Is the middle one from a subspecies that only grows in Michigan?

 

[Deleted member 83629]

sassafras is one of my favorites to cut smells good and i like to dig up the roots usually smaller ones clean them and boil them to make sassafras tea.
tastes close to rootbeer and the roots when cut smell like old fashioned rootbeer barrels candy.

 

[hardpan]

Get down there every chance I get, 2 of my favorite places there, Rural King and Moonlit BBQ. Go to Moonlite and stop by RK and get bigger jeans.

Don't forget Whittaker Guns.

 

[milkman]

Don't forget Whittaker Guns.

Yep, just a piece down the road

 

[mga]

this guy says the tree he found has three different types of leaves on it. I'm trying my best to learn about them in case I run into one around where I'm cutting trees. I'd hate to drop one thinking it's just some soft wood junk....lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Cs6zbt4EClM

 

[Zale]

What do think the btu's would be?

 

[Del_]

What do think the btu's would be?

My guess is 65% of white oak. Just going on feel.

 

[Oldman47]

Is the middle one from a subspecies that only grows in Michigan?

All 3 leaf forms as well as a left handed mitten form will be found on a single tree. If they are not all present it is not a true sass.

 

[WRW]

There are lobed leaves in that picture.

And, for those questioning cordage and BTUs, Oh Hell No!!! The lumber value is better than the oaks.

 

[Jhenderson]

There are lobed leaves in that picture.

And, for those questioning cordage and BTUs, Oh Hell No!!! The lumber value is better than the oaks.

Good kindling, poor heat. The head forester at a local hardwood mill used it for all the interior trim in his home. It saws out with a beautiful grain. Value is in the eye of the beholder. As for value higher than oak, I've never seen a spec sheet listing grade sassafras, let alone rotary or slicer. Maybe you can enlighten me.

 

[WRW]

Good kindling, poor heat. The head forester at a local hardwood mill used it for all the interior trim in his home. It saws out with a beautiful grain. Value is in the eye of the beholder. As for value higher than oak, I've never seen a speck sheet listing grade sassafras, let alone rotary or slicer. Maybe you can enlighten me.

Just going by local pricing on lumber brought here from W. Va....and that is somewhat dated. That was for lumber, I've never priced veneer.

 

[pdqdl]

Good kindling, poor heat. The head forester at a local hardwood mill used it for all the interior trim in his home. It saws out with a beautiful grain. Value is in the eye of the beholder. As for value higher than oak, I've never seen a spec sheet listing grade sassafras, let alone rotary or slicer. Maybe you can enlighten me.

Ok:

Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
Common Name(s): Sassafras
Scientific Name: Sassafras albidum
Distribution: Eastern United States
Tree Size: 50-65 ft (15-20 m) tall, 2-3 ft (.6-1.0 m) trunk diameter
Average Dried Weight: 31 lbs/ft3 (495 kg/m3)
Specific Gravity (Basic, 12% MC): .42, .50
Janka Hardness: 630 lbf (2,800 N)
Modulus of Rupture: 9,000 lbf/in2 (62.1 MPa)
Elastic Modulus: 1,120,000 lbf/in2 (7.72 GPa)
Crushing Strength: 6,600 lbf/in2 (45.5 MPa)
Shrinkage: Radial: 4.0%, Tangential: 6.2%, Volumetric: 10.3%, T/R Ratio: 1.6​

By comparison to red oak:

Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
Common Name(s): Red Oak
Scientific Name: Quercus rubra
Distribution: Northeastern United States and Southeastern Canada
Tree Size: 80-115 ft (25-35 m) tall, 3-6 ft (1-2 m) trunk diameter
Average Dried Weight: 44 lbs/ft3 (700 kg/m3)
Specific Gravity (Basic, 12% MC): .56, .70
Janka Hardness: 1,220 lbf (5,430 N)
Modulus of Rupture: 14,380 lbf/in2 (99.2 MPa)
Elastic Modulus: 1,761,000 lbf/in2 (12.14 GPa)
Crushing Strength: 6,780 lbf/in2 (46.8 MPa)
Shrinkage: Radial: 4.0%, Tangential: 8.6%, Volumetric: 13.7%, T/R Ratio: 2.2

"Sassafras is easily worked and readily accepts a finish. It glues well and holds screws better than it nails, where pre-boring may be necessary to avoid splitting. It requires care in drying as it has a tendency to check with small movement in performance."
​

So! It is not quite as dense as red oak (70% as many BTU's per cord), only about 1/2 as hard as red oak, and only about 62% as strong. Sounds like it would be in the same league as basswood for furniture carving. Or...easily split...kindling, if you set the bar fairly high for your firewood.

 

[rarefish383]

It's even bigger now, the thread is three years old. I have a Dulcimer made from Sass, it is beautiful wood, light blond in color. It produces a soft mellow sound. I bought it from a custom instrument maker when he played Amazing Grace on it for me. Unfortunately, I can't play a tape recorder, much less an instrument, so it hangs on the wall, Joe.

 

[67L36Driver]

sassafras is one of my favorites to cut smells good and i like to dig up the roots usually smaller ones clean them and boil them to make sassafras tea.
tastes close to rootbeer and the roots when cut smell like old fashioned rootbeer barrels candy.

As a young lad in the ‘50s, I dug roots from the fence lines in our south St. Louis neighborhood and sold them to our local grocer. Easy money for a ten year old.

Neighborhood is all houses now, no truck farms left.