An Early Christmas Gift

[82Rigger]

We had some bad weather in my area yesterday.

A pretty severe cold/storm front moved across us during the day, and we had tornado watches/warnings going on and off all day.

Got home from work last night and found this gift from the gods in my back yard...pulled out by the roots. Took out part of a cedar tree and an azalea bush as it came down, but no other damage...just a big mess.

Anyone missing a 52-foot Southern Pine can get up with me to reclaim it.

Otherwise, anyone need some firewood?

[39mto39g]

What is this

[82Rigger]

Dang!

I gotta quit tossing my cigarette butts out in the yard!

[SparrowHawk62]

Missed the house and what looks like a fence in the background, that's a good thing!
Bad thing it's a pine, and they don't make the best firewood!

[82Rigger]

Yeah. I'm lucky.

Gotta trim up that cedar tree a little, and I'm gonna have a lopsided azalea bush next Spring, but, hey, could'a been a lot worse. :re:

These Southern Pines have a lot of resin in them. They burn HOT and don't last long.

[Bill Farnie]

Steve, Take it to a mill and have it cut and trimmed into boards. So. Pine makes mighty fine wood for woodworking projects.

[39mto39g]

Saw mills wont buy wood from residential trees, They don't even buy fence line trees, Thats why you see a bunch of trees by a hi way and behind that small stand is nothing. The saw mill companies don't really care that they are leaving some trees by the fence line, its that people put nails in trees by the fence line. Then if a mill did cut the tree he would have to sign a waver for damage to the $5,000 saw blade and they would charge him a bunch to cut One tree and then he would have to have a place to keep it flat and dry for a year. After that he would have 10-15 2X4s that would cost about $7.00 each. But they would be his pine tree 2X4s.
Pine trees have to much sap unless you let them dry out for a couple years and then they burn up quick.
The best thing that tree is good for is Camp fire wood,
Camp fire+friends+some Miller lite+ a couple hamburgers on the pit behind you=a good time.

[Bill Farnie]

Ron,
I wasn't saying for Steve to sell the tree, so I don't know where you got that impression but have a mill cut it into boards. They could also Kiln dry the wood. It will have a higher moisture content and because of that be somewhat softer but they would still be good boards.

[39mto39g]

Bill
I was making a statement not an impression, If you would read the rest of my post it states that 'IF' a mill would cut the tree for him it would cost more than if you would buy the lumber from Home Depot, because of the quantity.
A real saw mill wouldn't touch the tree, I don't think Florida even has saw mills.
But a camp fire, now thats good times, all you need is a chain saw.

[82Rigger]

The northern part of my county does, in fact, have some sawmills.

Up to about 1930 one of the economic mainstays of this area was pine lumber and the manufacture of turpentine.

Not sure how economically feasible it would be to haul 10 foot sections of a tree 50 miles and back to have boards cut from it.

Now, however, I have two rather nice outdoor "tables" about three feet in diameter and three feet high.

They're a little heavy, though!