Anyone doing this?

[Jonathan Harvey]

I know it may seem like a crazy question but I'm going to ask anyways.

Has any one bought a whole tree before? I live in the middle of nowhere so space is not an issue. My neighbors are all farmers and all have quite a bit of forest. The forests are mainly Maple, beech, cherry. I know that my one neighbor is in there cutting out firewood almost year round. I'd like ask him if he would sell me a tree of my choosing but have no idea how much to offer him. I know that he sells fire wood at $65 a face but I hove no idea what a face cord equates to in the size of a tree i.e. is there more then a face cord of wood in a tree. I also realize that this is subjective as each tree is a different size.

Does this seem like a crazy idea? Any idea what someone should ask in regards to pricing?

All thoughts and comments are welcome.

Jonathan

[alex carey]

I bet if you show him some work/give him some work he'll give you tons of free wood. Usually how it works around here.

[Matt Haus]

If he cuts wood, offer to help him for a free tree. I am sure he would enjoy the company.

[Phil St.Germain]

I have bought trees from firewood guys before. I got a huge butternut for $50 because it was too big to go through his machine. I also bought an 18" x 20' cherry log for $75 and would do so again.

I also get a whole lot of logs from the town, all they are going to do is chip them up, so yo can save them money if you take them away.


Phil

[Steve Frederick]

I'd say go for it!
I have done a similar deal with my firewood guy who runs a "factory". I get stump and crotch wood, since it's a bear to split.
In your case the gentleman won't have to split it, or even cut it up, so the price may be better.

[Jonathan Harvey]

In your case the gentleman won't have to split it, or even cut it up, so the price may be better.

This is exactly what I was thinking

[Mark Norman]

Great ideas posted.

Do a lil horse-trading and see what he wants. And if ya dont have a horse.......

[curtis rosche]

it depends on what youa re turning. if you are doing spindles. just ask him if you can go in after him and take the branches he cuts off. if you are doing bowls. go after hes done and cut whats left of the stump. you almost always get figure from it. or since hes using it for fire wood. ask him for the peices that are hard to split.

[Jim Koepke]

Talking always gets better results than wondering.

Just the other day was talking to another wood hunter. He drove by a place where they were cutting down a big black walnut tree. He figured he would stop and ask on his way back. When he came back, it was already cut to length for fire wood.

Don't wait, don't hem and haw.

jim

[Richard Madison]

And carry a chainsaw in your truck. My pickup always veers toward the sound of a chainsaw that it does not recognize as its "own" chainsaw.

[Jonathan Harvey]

Thanks for all the comments guys. I'll head over and ask him tomorrow. I'm sure by the end of the week I'll have more wood then I know what to do with (fingers crossed)

[Jim Underwood]

I'm sure by the end of the week I'll have more wood then I know what to do with

I'd bet money on it.

[Mike Meredith]

Make sure you have a plan what to do with the wood once you have it. You'll probably split the rounds for ease of transport. Depending on the species, you'll need to end seal the wood very quickly so have plenty of Anchorseal or other sealer on hand. If it's cherry, get it sealed as the tree is falling! A place out of direct sunlight to store the wood would be useful too. Wood always has a cost and even free wood is never free. Taking wood from log to finished project is very satisfying. Good luck