Red oak and shagbark hickory

[Asher Langton]

I've been wishing for a source of green wood, and somewhere a monkey paw must have curled. A particularly violent storm went through the NH Seacoast yesterday and we have at least 2 trees down: a good sized red oak and a smaller shagbark hickory underneath. Any tricks for working with either? A tree guy in the neighborhood clearing other fallen trees quoted $5k for removal due to the difficulty of accessing the area, so it looks like I'll be doing it myself and harvesting as much wood as I can, but from my searches it seems like neither red oak nor hickory are particularly nice woods to turn when dry.

On the bright side, the gallon of anchorseal I bought recently in anticipation of felling a small weeping cherry tree (currently casting shade over my wife's garden) no longer seems like overkill!

 

[Norm Marentette]

I would certainly take as much as possible. I spent a year turning 19 logs of hickory 4 feet long last year and found its a great wood to turn and has some fantastic grain patterns, especially after letting it sit for a year outside with created some great spalting. Yes it can be hard on tools just sharpen as necessary and you will be pleased with the results for sure. As far as the red oak I have found it splits like crazy but I see guys like ASH&Plumb do some fantastic work with oak. I turned down some large red oak trees but wish I would have taken a few logs to eperiment with. Good luck and have fun.

 

[hockenbery]

seems like neither red oak nor hickory are particularly nice woods to turn when dry.

You got a pile of fun out there.

Put a couple scrap logs under the tree to keep the log off the ground when you limb it.
Makes the job easier and keeps the chain out of the dirt.

Cut a few 6x8 blanks from 6” limbs. From both trees.
Then turn NE bowls. This will tell you everything you need to know about how it turns.
It’s something I do a lot when I get access to a tree.

I’ve turned both. Recently most of the oak I turn is either live oak or laurel oak(a member of the red oak family)
Red oak has open pours so it won’t hold liquid.

Hollow forms an NE bowls. There are lots of red oaks and you probably have the red oak that has the common name red oak.
This is a small hollowform from real red oak with a spalted sap ring easy to turn when green

This little goblet is laurel oak - technically a red oak but I think it turns more like white oak
Get yourself a straight section of limb and have some fun. Get a limb with the pith off center - don’t want pith in the stem.

A hickory HF about 12” diameter turned green

You might cut some of each tree into 3x3 and 2x2 in about 3 ft lengths anchor seal the end sticker them dry them for a year
Great for gavels, spheres, boxes, napkin rings, pepper mills……

This ball in a ball is pecan(a hickory) turned dry
Dry pecan has been called pecancrete.

 

[hockenbery]

it looks like I'll be doing it myself and harvesting as much wood as I can,

I don’t know your skill level with a chainsaw.
If you have solid skills and have cut up lots of trees you’ll be fine.

If you don’t have much time with a saw ask a couple club members to share the wood and give you some sawing lessons.
Fallen trees roll and move as you cut limbs off. Tension shifts you can pinch a bar.
Everyone knows Cutting a Limb the tree is resting on will cause the tree to drop and maybe roll - have an exit strategy.
But be just as wary cutting a limb sticking up- it may change the load balance and the tree will roll.

If there is a lot of tension I cut a notch so I don’t get the bar pinched.

 

[Asher Langton]

I don’t know your skill level with a chainsaw.
If you have solid skills and have cut up lots of trees you’ll be fine.

If you don’t have much time with a saw ask a couple club members to share the wood and give you some sawing lessons.
Fallen trees roll and move as you cut limbs off. Tension shifts you can pinch a bar.
Everyone knows Cutting a Limb the tree is resting on will cause the tree to drop and maybe roll - have an exit strategy.
But be just as wary cutting a limb sticking up- it may change the load balance and the tree will roll.

If there is a lot of tension I cut a notch so I don’t get the bar pinched.

Good advice, thanks. This will be the biggest chainsaw project I've attempted, but also should be a good learning experience. I'm planning to get help from a friend, and will likely need his larger chainsaw for some parts anyway. I'm going to watch some videos and be very cautious/conservative. If there's anything I'm not comfortable with, I'll suck it up and call in a professional.

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

You might want to leave the rough turned hickory a little thicker. I hear it moves more than most other woods.

 

[Mark Fairchild]

I’ve turned a good bit of green hickory. In Mississippi it’s a great wood to turn and is not that prone to cracking.

 

[Wally Crawford]

Hickory never disappoints. I love turning it and if it spalts, all the better. It is hard when dried, but just sharpen more often and take your time. Oak is another story.

 

[Daniel Bartlett]

You can do a lot with oak.

 

[Richard Coers]

"Tricks" to turn different species? I hate that term. In my experience, the only woods that don't turn well when green is weeping willow and horse chestnut. All other domestic species pretty much turn like peeling potato when wet.

 

[Kent Jaffrey]

Looks like some nice wood.

Red oak looks good and turns really well, however the open pores means if you want until it’s bowls you will need to use a finish like poly to clog them up. It can shrink a lot and crack, but if you rough it out before it has started cracking you should be fine.

I haven’t turned hickory but made my kitchen cabinets out of hickory that blew down in a storm. I love the grain and figure that can be present but it is a hard wood and can crack when drying.

Overall leave it as longer logs, with the bark on and ends painted, until ready to process and when processing expect any cracks you see to grow.

 

[Lou Jacobs]

Put a couple scrap logs under the tree to keep the log off the ground when you limb it.
Makes the job easier and keeps the chain out of the dirt.

To follow-up on Al’s chainsawing advice, any time you’re cutting a span that is supported at the ends, (as your tree is, by the root mass and the crown) cutting down from the top (towards the ground) will result in the kerf closing, likely pinching the bar. I usually cut about half or 2/3 of the way down, then position the saw under the log and cut with the top edge of the bar upwards towards the kerf. This cut will open as the log falls and not pinch the bar.

PS- start planning for how you’re going to spend the $5K you saved by not hiring the arborist!

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

These are some examples of once turned northern red oak with the pith included. but since mother nature does not pick the right time to blow a tree down don't expect the bark to stay on. The goblet forms below are best if the pith is offset so it is not in the stem.