Slab wood ID. Is this oak?

[jr27236]

I used to be able to get all the slab wood I wanted from the local saw mill and use it for making firewood logs. That usually included both red oak, white oak, ash, maple, etc. That supply died when the mill started selling wood chips for landscaping mulch. All the slabs from logs are now being run through a huge barrel shredder/chipper and then color dyed. That's the way it is these days.

I guess if it's making the mill money and keeping the people employed, that's a good thing. At least your flower beds will look good while your freezing your tail off inside lol

 

[Wood Doctor]

I guess if it's making the mill money and keeping the people employed, that's a good thing. At least your flower beds will look good while your freezing your tail off inside lol

My sentiments precisely. The only complaint I ever had with the slabs was that the dry wood was mixed in with green, so you had to be careful what you threw into the stove. I must admit that slabs cut to stove length and split sure does stack nicely and very compact. Yes, it has an abundance of sapwood, but for some species that means very little.

 

[Fred Wright]

Well... I can see grinding softwood scraps and unwanted mill tailings for mulch. But prime firewood? That's just plain wrong.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Well... I can see grinding softwood scraps and unwanted mill tailings for mulch. But prime firewood? That's just plain wrong.

Several of us have told the sawmill owner this, but he won't listen. Actually, I think he's just too lazy to set up a firewood dispatch area for his slabs and figures there's too little money it to bother. Over 70% of the logs he brings in are cottonwood, but the other 30% is oak, maple, ash, elm, and other really good hardwoods. He has lots of land, so that's not the issue. Making more money off the slabs as mulch is the issue.

 

[Gugi47]

White Oak
Where in Delaware? And how much for a truck load?

 

[rarefish383]

I was 4th generation in the residential tree business. Before I retired we would just about break even on firewood. We didn't make any money on it, but it kept the guys busy on rainy days. Since then, my cousin, also in the tree business, has quit messing with firewood altogether. We made a lot of money on the tree work, next to nothing on firewood, so why mess with the firewood. We wholesaled out most, kept about 20-30 cord of Oak for ourselves and a few old customers. I'm sure it's the same with the mill. If he made more with firewood he wouldn't grind the mulch. It's all about making money and keeping the guys working, Joe.

 

[tla100]

Grain really looks like ash, bark not so much.