Just About Heartbroken....

[steve white]

Decades ago, I kept my wife home with our preemie baby by cutting walnut trees into gun stock blanks. My head was on a swivel looking for larger trees. One, in my own neighborhood, was growing at a 45 degree angle over a gazebo. It had a massive crotch, no rot or broken limbs to lead to such, and the angle coming out of the ground meant the root wood would be filled with compression fiddleback. I almost prayed for it to crush that gazebo....

Well, day before yesterday it did. And the owner said to me "cut what you want, take anything you want." I told her I had a doctor's appt. the next day, but would get with it asap 100 degree weather or no! I cannot blame her for what happened. From her perspective, it was a windfall....

Guess what? The city of Dallas cruised by, and for no charge lumped it all up into firewood size and hauled it off in less than a day since they were in the area doing curbside pickup. And it had an unusual light brown color. Never got to see if the crotch figure was large or small. Never even got to be there to have them cut out a section for me and let me haul it up to my house to rip it myself. Just GONE, like it never even happened. I felt like an alcoholic watching someone empty his booze bottle. And to add insult to injury, the city of Dallas just doesn't DO that for free--what are the odds?

I wonder how much walnut goes to waste just like that, or cleared out of drainage projects, etc. etc.? It for sure took 100 years to grow, never even started to rot from the inside, and now, after one gust of wind, it's in the Dallas landfill. I am at a loss for further words. Wood lovers join me in mourning!

 

[Hunt anything]

That stinks, there’s nothing like a beautiful pice of wood be it a rifle stock, furniture or even a baseball bat.
I had no idea any govt department would take any initiative on their own or be that efficient.

 

[obmn]

I can perfectly understand that feeling. Sorrow, really.

 

[Doug3006]

There’s a tree service guy in north St. Louis who opened a sawmill in town. He and every other tree removal company has been busy since the big tornado hit St. Louis a year ago. He’s buying or holding onto any good trees and running them through his mill and drying kiln. Every other Saturday he’s open for folks like me. White Oak, Walnut, Persimon, Hickory, you name it, he probably has some. I’m glad he is doing it. Otherwise all that 100 year old timber would be going to the chipper for pulp.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Brother and I took down many walnut trees that would have made good stocks but wound up as firewood. Most were on the edges of former pastures and full of barbed wire, nails and other assorted pieces of steel. Cursed them profusely for dulling our chain saws.

 

[Stubbleduck]

I wonder which of the city employees is a wood working craftsman on the side.......are you sure it ALL ended up in a landfill??

 

[Firebird]

Not walnut but beetles killed the 20 year old shade trees in my backyard. Due to fences and power lines and roof lines I had a tree service come in take them to the ground. Then I chain sawed them into bite size chunks and then I loaded them into a 20 yard dumpster. Despite mostly my labor it still was $3k and now I am without any shade in my yard. Different story but still hurts my soul

 

[K-man]

I have a couple blanks my grandfather cut out of his neighbors old walnut tree circa 1965. I have saved them a couple of times from family throwing them out. I understand the pain of losing what might have been a treasure.

 

[BRICKBURN]

That is a crying shame!

 

[Xpraetor]

There’s a tree service guy in north St. Louis who opened a sawmill in town. He and every other tree removal company has been busy since the big tornado hit St. Louis a year ago. He’s buying or holding onto any good trees and running them through his mill and drying kiln. Every other Saturday he’s open for folks like me. White Oak, Walnut, Persimon, Hickory, you name it, he probably has some. I’m glad he is doing it. Otherwise all that 100 year old timber would be going to the chipper for pulp.

You said, "Persimmon" ? Those groe like weeds on my place in Louisiana.... dam nuisance, and none of the mills around me wants the stuff. It crazy how some stuff is coveted in 1 location & considered firewood in another.

 

[Doug3006]

You said, "Persimmon" ? Those groe like weeds on my place in Louisiana.... dam nuisance, and none of the mills around me wants the stuff. It crazy how some stuff is coveted in 1 location & considered firewood in another.

Golf club heads. It’s extremely hard and dense.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Most Black Walnut here is burned. People think they will retire on cutting a Black Walnut tree. Very few are made into veneer or lumber

 

[migrabill]

Decades ago, I kept my wife home with our preemie baby by cutting walnut trees into gun stock blanks. My head was on a swivel looking for larger trees. One, in my own neighborhood, was growing at a 45 degree angle over a gazebo. It had a massive crotch, no rot or broken limbs to lead to such, and the angle coming out of the ground meant the root wood would be filled with compression fiddleback. I almost prayed for it to crush that gazebo....

Well, day before yesterday it did. And the owner said to me "cut what you want, take anything you want." I told her I had a doctor's appt. the next day, but would get with it asap 100 degree weather or no! I cannot blame her for what happened. From her perspective, it was a windfall....

Guess what? The city of Dallas cruised by, and for no charge lumped it all up into firewood size and hauled it off in less than a day since they were in the area doing curbside pickup. And it had an unusual light brown color. Never got to see if the crotch figure was large or small. Never even got to be there to have them cut out a section for me and let me haul it up to my house to rip it myself. Just GONE, like it never even happened. I felt like an alcoholic watching someone empty his booze bottle. And to add insult to injury, the city of Dallas just doesn't DO that for free--what are the odds?

I wonder how much walnut goes to waste just like that, or cleared out of drainage projects, etc. etc.? It for sure took 100 years to grow, never even started to rot from the inside, and now, after one gust of wind, it's in the Dallas landfill. I am at a loss for further words. Wood lovers join me in mourning!

My knowledge of wood terminology is lacking. I hear the term Fiddleback often. Is this an example of fiddleback?

 

[Rafiki]

I have a huge troublesome walnut I'd love to give to someone to turn into something useful; unfortunately it is in Minnesota.

 

[C.W. Richter]

'Have had similar in the past, but your story is the "Best!" in this regard. In the NE, walnuts (locusts, willows) just LOVE water (well drillers and those looking for springs need only find a line of 'em,) but the big boys get so heavy after a torrential (hurricane season or heavy ice storm) event that they simply topple over when in perfect shape. I used to drive around with my son when the utility companies were clearing roads and we'd "cherry pick" the finest segments of black walnut. 'Had a local mill saw them into ~48" x 4" slabs (some on the bias) and they've been stacked for drying in a basement for years. I've had what happened to you occur MANY times, but all I wanted out of the big fallen tree was the firewood (we have 3 places, all heated to differing degrees by wood-wood furnace, woodstove, fireplace.) We just cut a bunch of walnut, oak, maple, cherry and ash deadfall last weekend and here was the one new thing I learned....

We in the NE have major problems with the gypsy moth caterpillar (now they've made the name more PC-spongy moth...we still call 'em gypsies!) They wreak havoc with oaks and fruit trees on average about every 4 years, but sometimes for years in a row. When we have heavy rains, it's not a problem (always in Spring/early Summer.) However, the log splitter had a flat, so I fixed it via SlimeTM and took it for a victory lap around a planted field to get it sealed really well and only because of that did I notice a small walnut completely devoid of leaves at the very beginning edge of a hedgerow. It was covered with white caterpillars and large clumps of caterpillar larvae where branches met the trunk and I thought it was strange for caterpillars to be causing issues at this time of year. The Walnut caterpillars (they eat related species Walnut, Hickory and Pecan-TX is loaded with the latter! We don't have 'em up N.) So miraculously I found the first affected tree on the property, went to sleep, came up with a plan and the next a.m., 3 trees were infested....I was able to treat most via soapy water, but i cheated using that 30' stream wasp/hornet spray on the highest clumps. I did notice the birds doing a fine job on the outermost leaves, and they apparently favor young trees and have little or no effect on older ones (as the fruit/nut is already formed) but I took no chances because I was more concerned with a huge grove of hickory trees <100 yards away.