Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: zxcvbob on August 14, 2011, 03:39:23 PM
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The entire top of a black walnut tree at the back of the church property broke off about 20' up; looks like a windstorm got it (but I don't remember any strong winds recently.) I can either cut the top off clean where it broke and let the tree try to grow back, or I can cut the tree down. To safely fell the tree, I probably need to trim the broken part off first anyway.
I assume the tree will send up a plethora of watersprouts if I leave just a trunk there. Will a it grow back into a respectable tree from that if I thin the watersprouts to the 3 or 4 biggest ones? Would they also need spreaders or ropes to grow them more laterally instead of straight up?
Or is the tree doomed and I should just cut it now and plant something else?
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You might want to call in an arborist and ask their opinion.
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You might want to call in an arborist and ask their opinion.
Hmmm. The county has an arborist... But his default answer to any question is "cut it down", so I don't know how useful he is. Maybe I need to call the state dept of agriculture.
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If it is a big enough tree might consider selling it for the lumber, make some money for the church and buy a replacement tree.
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Do you realize how valuable black walnut lumber is? chris3
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Gun Stocks?
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Do you realize how valuable black walnut lumber is? chris3
This looks like mostly white sapwood. I know it can still be stained dark...
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This looks like mostly white sapwood. I know it can still be stained dark...
That's been a problem with walnut for the last 30 years. How big around is the tree. Are you just looking at the top that came out?
A lot of companies pay good money for walnut outside city limits. This is due to the amount of liability insurance they have to carry to drop a tree in the city. If you call some of them and tell them you will have the tree down and want to know what lengths they want it cut to. You should get a very fair price.
jim
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That's been a problem with walnut for the last 30 years. How big around is the tree. Are you just looking at the top that came out?
A lot of companies pay good money for walnut outside city limits. This is due to the amount of liability insurance they have to carry to drop a tree in the city. If you call some of them and tell them you will have the tree down and want to know what lengths they want it cut to. You should get a very fair price.
I'm just looking at the broken part still hanging in the top. It broke right above the first limb, then the top fell on that limb (don't know how much damage it did to the limb. The usable trunk length for a saw log looks like about 20 feet. Not sure what the diameter is (18"?) and I'm really bad at guessing. It's out in the country and away from anything. I can drop it or they can. It grew too fast for a veneer log, but it might make good gun stocks.
I'd still like to save it tho' if that's reasonable. I'm going out there Wednesday night to do some other work, I can take some measurements then, and I'll call the DNR.
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If it's only 18" diameter it's probably not worth anything, other than perhaps as firewood. If it was 30" it might be mature enough to be worth something.
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I am given to understand that mills won't take logs from residential lots; the risk of imbedded metal is too high. Taking a couple of teeth out of a bandsaw or circular blade is one thing but having a veneer blade hit a nail from a long-ago treehouse is too big of a risk. Some mills will cut logs for you but you will have to pay to have the carbide teeth replaced. To be economical, a log would need to be a couple of feet in diameter of sound wood.
Russ
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I'm just looking at the broken part still hanging in the top. It broke right above the first limb, then the top fell on that limb (don't know how much damage it did to the limb. The usable trunk length for a saw log looks like about 20 feet. Not sure what the diameter is (18"?) and I'm really bad at guessing. It's out in the country and away from anything. I can drop it or they can. It grew too fast for a veneer log, but it might make good gun stocks.
I'd still like to save it tho' if that's reasonable. I'm going out there Wednesday night to do some other work, I can take some measurements then, and I'll call the DNR.
From your description it doesn't sound worth saving. Can you post a photo?
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If the main stem broke, then the tree with probably shoot up a couple dominate leaders and the tree will have a forked form in time.
Black Walnut trees can stump sprout if they are under 30 years old but chances are slim for an older tree.
Walnut sawlogs are usually 16' long and at least 20" in diameter. Hardwood market is really soft right now, lots of hardwood sawmills here in Iowa have closed their doors.
I would just drop the tree and buck into firewood for future youth bonfires. Then plant a couple trees to replace it, probably choose a better tree. Where do you live I can help you out with a decent tree selection.