[OP]
Member
A friend has offered to let me have a cherry tree on his property and i am trying to estimate roughly how many BF of useable lumber it mught yield. I realize there are many variables, including how i have it milled. I estimate the trunk and the two main branches are about 2000BF gross, standing. Does anyone know a rule of tbumb for converting standing BF to sawn lumber?
thanks
Member
www.conwaycleveland.com is your friend. I have both their log and lumber rules. A cherry with 2000 bf in it is way beyond huge!!! I have never seen one even close, and I have sawn some 30" plus trees.
Contributor
Agreed, a Cherry tree at 2MBF would be a cherry never before seen on earth. Your average main stem logs may yield 80-100 bf per log, if you have a pristine tree you may get three. The branches are junk for boards but you could get some funky stuff or turning material out of them.
Member
I measured one on the Ramsey cascade trail Smoky Mountain Ntl. Park that was 52" breast height and 75' to first limb. I'd post a picture if I knew how. There is a grove of cherry on a flat almost to the falls. There are many 48" trees in this grove. The biggest cherry tree I ever sawed had 1310 bdft in it. It was over 30" in diameter.
A cherry tree that only sawed 100 bdft in a 12' log would be a small tree.
Member
Clay, you don't usually mill branch wood, as the logs are full of stress and poorly suited for lumber. The only exception is from main trunks on forked trees.Originally Posted by Clay Fails
If you can provide us with log diameter and lengths, either I or one of the other millers on this site can provide you with a board footage estimate.
2K board feet from a single tree usually requires a massive (not a large) tree.
Contributor
A 12' log, 16" on the small end is barely over 100' on the doyle. No idea how big the OP's tree is but cherry has a fairly substantial amount of sapwood. Of course if the but log has a 24" small end you triple that yield (more with oversawing on a band mill).
Given this was a free tree I just assumed it was an average Cherry. One would assume (of course assumptions are what they are) if it was a prize Cherry the value would more than likely sway someone against giving it away.
Will be interesting to hear the size of the main stem.
[OP]
Member
I am having trouble uploading a ohoto, will keep trying. The trunk is 9 feet circumference at 5 feet off ground, straight for 18 to 20 feet. I had included the two main branches which are each about 15 inches diameter by 15 to 20 feet long. I am having a tree service friend price the removal for me, but dont know where to find a sawyer locally. Thanks for all input.
[OP]
Member
I may have overestimated the standing footage, and didnt realize the limbs arent usually included. So maybe it's more average than not! Just trying to figure out if it is worth cutting up.
Contributor
Definitely smaller than first estimate but still a beautiful straight clean trunk.
Member
Look at forestryforum.com to see if there is a bandmill close by.
Contributor
Using the conventional scale a 35" diameter chest high with a single 16' saw log would seem to scale to around 550 bd ft. X 1.25 = 687.5 feet for a 20' log.
Most all band mills will over saw (more) the log scales. Scott could tell you by how much.
Definitely a good size tree but you can see where a more average size trees don't yeild a ton.
[OP]
Member
thanks for all for the input. Much appreciated. I need to figure out how much the felling, sawing and drying will cost relative to the number of BF to be yielded to determine if it's a Go or No Go proposition.
Member
Clay, that appears to be an excellent candidate for milling. From looking at the photo I estimate will probably yield 450 - 550 board feet ( perhaps more - I would need to know the diameters and lengths of the logs to calculate something closer).
For comparison, here are some yield numbers based upon the Doyle scale (a band mill should have a higher yield):
Log dia / bd ft yield per running foot
12" / 4
16" / 9
20" / 16
24" / 25
28" / 36
32" / 49
36" / 64
A few observations. First, there are several nice forks on the tree that will yield some really pretty crotchwood. You want to log to be bucked so that the logs containing the crotchwood are long enough to be dogged on the sawmill. Minimum lengths vary per mill; best to find a local miller that is familiar with GRADE milling. Have your miller advise you regarding the best locations to buck the logs to length; - DO NOT LEAVE THIS DECISION TO THE TREE SERVICE COMPANY!
Some of the logs above the first fork should be ok to mill, as they are really a forked trunk and not a branch.
The trunk appears to be extremely clear. I would ask that it be felled as close as possible to the ground, and ask the tree service company to use a reverse notch so as to maximize the lumber in the log. (a reverse notch results in a log with a totally flat end - the notch cut is on the stump side).
Cherry is usually milled flat sawn. You want your "grade miller" to keep the pith centered in the boards (zero taper sawing) so as to yield the highest quality lumber. He will sacrifice a small amount of yield to do this, but the resulting boards will be higher quality. You will increase yield if you mill the logs in the shortest lengths that you expect to use (or leave them live edge).
I would suggest a mix of 4/4 (milled at 1-1/8" green), and 5/4 (milled at 1-3/8" green) lumber, with the wider boards being milled at 5/4. The extra 1/8" is to allow room for drying related shrinkages. Yard trees frequently grow quickly (wide growth rings), and the boards tend to move a little bit more during the drying process as compared with logs with tight growth rings from forest grown trees.
Last edited by Scott T Smith; 10-22-2014 at 5:53 AM.
Member
I'd go for it if you can get it taken down reasonable. I'd see two good base sections, and that crotch could pay for the whole thing. Looks like it could be nice, but ya never know. I helped a lumber yard and the old timer that did all the sawing, said each tree was like Christmas. Ya, never know till ya open it up. It could be all great curl, and it could be junk.
Member
"You will increase yield if you mill the logs in the shortest lengths that you expect to use (or leave them live edge). "
While the lumber yield from the log may be a tiny amount more for this straight trunk, the yield of useful cuttings in the shop will be much poorer for 8' lumber than 12'. 12' will be easier to stack, keep straight, and minimize end trimming waste With 8' lumber one winds up with piles of short lengths left over from making stuff like tables, chests of drawers and the like that involve cuttings of 2-4'. Personally I think that 12' lumber is a good compromise between minimizing cutting waste and ease of handling and storage.
If the person running the mill is experienced the loss from edging is minimal. I would find it aggravating straightening 500 bdft of live edge lumber when it came time to use it. However, if into trendy table tops the live edge may be desirable.
However......my advice to the log owner would be to sell the log to a mill. I can't tell from a picture but you may get $1, to several dollars per bd ft for the logs. If you don't know what you are doing, a fine cherry log is a poor place to learn. Risks- lumber molds, gets worm holes, dries crooked, gets fatal drying stress if kiln dried, no means of getting it dry if not kiln dried, etc. There is a lot to know and worry about.
Advice based on running a hardwood lumber business 30+ years, owning part of a saw mill for a few years and drying and working many thousand bdft of lumber. Others results may differ. If you don't have room to store 12' lumber its advantages are irrelevant.
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