Timber from a large felled Ash tree..

[smuudge]

Hi everyone. I have a very large old ASH tree on my property that is being removed due to rot at the base.
The tree is circa 150 years old.

Question is the timber worth anything?

I have been told approx 20 tons of timber will come from the tree felling, seems too nice to be chopped into firewood!

Any advice most welcome.

Thanks!
Ben

 

[Wildman]

plank it, google alaskan chainsaw mill and do it yourself.

 

[woodfarmer]

yes, ash boards of 3-4 inch thickness make great bowls and the smaller offcuts are very useful

I got this out of a rotten "head" from and old oak tree

 

[smuudge]

thanks guys, but the tree needs to come down before Christmas and i simply don't have time or space to do that. Was hoping someone would want the lot!

 

[Rhossydd]

Hi Smuudge,

Welcome to the forum. You don't say if you're a woodworker yourself or just don't want to see the wood wasted.

Whilst a big Ash tree might be a good source of usable, potentially valuable, timber, it might also not be worth the cost of conversion. Especially if the rot extends far through the trunk.

Many big timber mills won't touch timber from domestic gardens because they frequently contain bits of metal that can damage their saw blades, nails, screws and, especially in the South East as you are, shrapnel.
Moving full sections of trunk where access is difficult, back gardens etc. can also be a costly nightmare that will put off commercial operations.

If you think the rot isn't extensive, a tree surgeon should be able to give you an idea, and you know the history of the tree pretty well, you may find that a small firm might be interested in bringing a portable mill to you and planking it up on site. You'd have to phone/Google around a bit to find someone.

 

[tomf]

Unless it's very easily accessible and on the way passed for an other order, it's probably not worth anything to a mill.
You could as others have said plank it yourself or get a mobile mill in for about £200, they may take some wood as payment but who knows.

It might be worth someone as firewood and they will come and take it away but you're not talking big money £20-£30 a tonne?

 

[smuudge]

Thanks everyone. Access to the tree is at the front of the house and very easy to get to. As for the rot, difficult to say but visibly it is at the base (a hole). It is a big tree so there will no doubt be a considerable amount of good timber still in it.
Not a woodworker myself just wondering if there is any more uses for the old Ash in the afterlife!

The portable mill option sounds interesting, would anyone know of anyone worth contacting anywhere in the South East?

 

[Woody2Shoes]

Ash makes excellent firewood and is a very nice timber to do joinery with, but it obviously needs planking and kiln or air drying before it can be used for this. The timber is not durable for outside use.

No personal recommendations I'm afraid, but you may find someone here (WoodMizer is a popular type of mobile sawmill):

http://www.woodnet.org.uk/woodlots/timb ... ng-service

Cheers, W2S

 

[blackrodd]

I just googled "mobile sawmill in Kent" and got this,-

http://www.canopyworks.co.uk/mobile-saw-milling.html

Could be just right for you!, There are others.
HTH Regards Rodders

 

[Woodmonkey]

Funnily enough the rot can cause a dark stain in the heart wood which can made the timber a lot more desirable, known as olive ash, but you need to catch it before it's gone too far

 

[Inoffthered]

I suggest that you post this on http://arbtalk.co.uk which is a site for arborialists.

There are a lot of people on there with Alaskan mills who may be interested in your ash.

 

[smuudge]

Thanks everyone. I will see what the guys at Arb Talk have to say about it. Im thinking i might turn the base of the trunk into a playhouse for the kids..... (hammer)

 

[Bm101]

If the tree is in close proximity to your house your tree surgeon may well advise it's better to leave the bottom section in the ground for a while and just take down the top 2/3 initially to prevent any rapid resettlement of the ground now that the tree is no longer taking large amounts of water up. I don't know the rule of thumb here precisely. Maybe worth asking your T/S, if it hasn't been brought up already.
Then you could make your playhouse and take the final bit down in a few years when the kids don't use. Just a thought.
Chris