Worth milling red oak?

[FS7]

I don't use red oak often. But my neighbor took down a tree that is otherwise in good shape (timber seems clear, trunk relatively straight, no metal, etc.) a few days ago and I wanted to mill some. It's just plain old red oak, but the main trunk will yield at least 1200 board feet, and the smaller logs probably another 400 or so. I feel for the cost of milling (a full day with the sawyer would cost me about $800, so $.50 a board foot for wet lumber) it's probably worth it given I can stack it in my garage to dry. 

The base of the trunk is around 30-31" in diameter, with a slow taper, so I would be able to get quite a few 7'-8' live edge slabs out of this. I'm fairly certain I could recover the cost of the sawyer from selling a few of these alone (and probably then some). All I really want out of this is some bar top material - live edge one side, the other square. But I'd end up with quite a bit more lumber than that.

[iclark]

Definitely worth milling.

Red oak is not as desirable as white oak for outdoor use, but it can still be beautiful indoors.

If your sawyer is good, I would suggest having at least some of it quarter-sawn at 6/4 to 8/4. I would love to have had some of that for the feet and verticals of a hanging cradle. It would also be very nice for the base for various tables.

[FS7]

Definitely worth milling.

Red oak is not as desirable as white oak for outdoor use, but it can still be beautiful indoors.

If your sawyer is good, I would suggest having at least some of it quarter-sawn at 6/4 to 8/4. I would love to have had some of that for the feet and verticals of a hanging cradle. It would also be very nice for the base for various tables.

I like oak, but I don't use it much. I actually much prefer the appearance of red oak to white, and I don't have much of any use for it outside so that's not an issue.

I don't know how good the sawyer is. Of the people that actually picked up the phone, one guy gave me a bunch of excuses and reasons why he couldn't do it (advertised $75 an hour for portable milling) before quoting me $2500 for the day. Another mocked the first guy, saying people like that are what gives him business, and then he never called me back despite me pinging him a few times. Left a few voicemails for others, one returned (but likely expensive as well).

This guy picked up and said it would be no problem, $100 for travel and $100 per hour for the mill. I think he is well regarded, just further away than others. So we'll see. I know the mills advertise something like 600+ board feet per hour, and at 2" on the bigger logs that will go pretty quick. I don't need that many slabs (honestly, those are better for selling on Craigslist than using myself, at least in the quantity I'll get) so if he asks about quartersawing I'll happily take some.

[ajkoontz]

I hate to say this but I really don't like working with red oak. It's mostly because the 80's ruined red oak for me because it was (over)used in everthing. So to me, even at $0.50/ BF, it wouldn't be worth it. Ordinarily I would be the first one advvocating to hire a sawyer and get some affordable, sentimental wood just for the experience but with red oak I just wouldn't myself. IF I was going to do it I would do what someone else here said and have it quarter sawn. It's not quite as pretty as white oak, but QS red oak sometimes has some cool fleck that might make me reconsider.

[jteneyck]

Definitely worth milling if you need/want red oak.  It's $3.50 at retail, or more.  

Putting it in your garage to dry is a really bad ideal unless you have windows and doors you can leave open.  You need air flowing across the lumber to prevent mold from growing.  You need windows and doors open to get rid of all that water.  Red oak is around 60% moisture.  You are talking thousands and thousands of lbs of water that needs to be vented out.  

John

[FS7]

Definitely worth milling if you need/want red oak.  It's $3.50 at retail, or more.  

Putting it in your garage to dry is a really bad ideal unless you have windows and doors you can leave open.  You need air flowing across the lumber to prevent mold from growing.  You need windows and doors open to get rid of all that water.  Red oak is around 60% moisture.  You are talking thousands and thousands of lbs of water that needs to be vented out.  

John

Prices are slightly higher here, especially for quartersawn.

The garage has three windows and a powerful window fan, plus I have the garage door open most days (even in the winter). I was thinking of putting up some plastic sheeting around it and using a heater/fan combination to blow warm air over it. I'll at least try that for a few days and see if it helps any or is just a waste of energy. One of the advantages of the winter here is that the humidity is very low, so being in the (unconditioned) garage should definitely help.

[EdL]

Need to see pics of the log ends, where is the pith at? Branches are not worth milling, high stress wood, makes lumber that is impossible to work with.

Ed

[FS7]

Need to see pics of the log ends, where is the pith at? Branches are not worth milling, high stress wood, makes lumber that is impossible to work with.

Ed

The pith is right in the center of the trunk, where I would expect it to be. It was straight and true for about 36 feet, then it split into two smaller logs. I assume I won't mill anything other than the trunk sections, single and double.

It looks good to me, at least from what I can see.

[ianab]

I was going to post the same as John about the drying. As well as the amount of moisture, it's also acidic with oak species (tannic acids). So now your shed is both humid and dripping acid. Air dry outside first, probably get down to ~!5% moisture. Then bring it inside to complete the drying. Everything metallic in your shed will thank you.

[EdL]

Good deal....you might have to shorten the logs (sawmill depenant) an 18' log is a little long for many mills. Or go to 4, 9' logs, much easier to handle, both in log and lumber form.

Ed