[Brian Ostner]

Friends,
This HAS to be the largest Oak tree in Burlington County NJ.
I only burn Oak, Locust and cherry firewood.
This is by far, the biggest oak tree I have ever seen.
The base rotted off about 5 feet from ground and fell into my cousin’s hay field this summer.
Another relative cut up all the branches... till he got 40’ from the base...
Now I like the BIG rounds... so my turn... I was using my 044 Stijl saw with a 42” bar and skip chain with chisel teeth.

Measuring the diameter and 40’ from base and it is 42” across.

here are 2 pics.. one is of my two boys at the 42” section.
The other is my lady standing next to the base.

this tree should provide a years worth of firewood.


Thoughts on wood volume after done splitting? Lol

 

[Brian Ostner]

Friends,
This HAS to be the largest Oak tree in Burlington County NJ.
I only burn Oak, Locust and cherry firewood.
This is by far, the biggest oak tree I have ever seen.
The base rotted off about 5 feet from ground and fell into my cousin’s hay field this summer.
Another relative cut up all the branches... till he got 40’ from the base...
Now I like the BIG rounds... so my turn... I was using my 044 Stijl saw with a 42” bar and skip chain with chisel teeth.

Measuring the diameter and 40’ from base and it is 42” across.

here are 2 pics.. one is of my two boys at the 42” section.
The other is my lady standing next to the base.

this tree should provide a years worth of firewood.
Dammit man!

Thoughts on wood volume after done splitting? Lol View attachment 2487235 View attachment 2487236 View attachment 2487235 View attachment 2487236 View attachment 2487235 View attachment 2487236

 

[Brian Ostner]

Don’t know why my phone put multiple pix or my dump truck or my lady finding egg under porch?🥴
Sorry

 

[PA318Guy]

That's definitely an old growth three. Did you count the rings to see how old it is?

 

[PA318Guy]

Go back to that post and click on the three dots in the upper right of the post, that will let you "Edit" the post and delete just the photos you didn't want there. Nice GMC though!

 

[MARK (LI)]

Some nice looking wood, there...I hope @Jere sees this and gives his opinion on the yield ...I think he would be able to tell better than anyone...but my guess is about 21/2 cords......what year is the GMC?.....my guess on that is 1951

 

[Alien5044]

Wow that is a monster. Might want to cut one thin round and finish it to bring out the rings, even for a wall hanging it would be cool.

 

[TWG1572]

If that thing is solid all the way through, I know lots of woodworkers would would pay big $$ for the slabs so they can make "live edge" tables and the like. That's old enough to have beautiful wood.

 

[LLigetfa]

The philosophical question is did it make a sound?

What is needed here is an "Excalibur" style picture of a chainsaw with a Huge bar plunged into a large round.

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

Wow, huge tree! Wonder how old it is. We were in your neck of the woods, stationed ar McGuire for 4 years. Stay warm up there!

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

 

[Dan2cyldsel!]

That certainly is huge, would be very interesting to know its approximate age.

 

[MARK (LI)]

I lived next door at Fort Dix for a short while....I had to move, you AF guys made so much noise with your jets I couldn't take it any more 😂

 

[mopar65pa]

Dag Gone that's a big tree!

Yes, I would like to see the rings and how old it is.

 

[LLigetfa]

Yes, I would like to see the rings and how old it is.

Maybe we can ask @Brian Ostner to count the rings. LOL

Might need to be careful cutting into it. I've heard of old Oaks having Civil War cannonballs in them.

 

[sparklie]

I've heard of old Oaks having Civil War cannonballs in them.

And fence wire and nails if close to a fence line.

 

[sparklie]

We were lucky we found a nail in a 4' round tree we cut down then split the nail was about 3' in so it was nailed in there when the tree was about 1' round.

 

[Steamguy]

Would be real interested to see your count on the rings! Would give me an idea of the age of a different tree, more on that story in a second. My understanding is that in the old wisdom, farmers would plant a Live Oak in the middle of their acreage; the Oak would help with weed control.

My Granma owned three-quarters of a block at the edge of town and her house was built in about 1893. There was an old Live Oak (like the one you have here) in the yard, near the front corner. According to a couple guys my Granpa knew, that tree had to have been there for at least 50 years or more when the house was built. I remember sleeping under that tree as a kid, marveling at how really big it was. I mean as a kid, you could take like "ten giant steps" from side to side.

We had a HUGE storm on Columbus Day, 1962, and that tree came down. (Something like 150+ MPH wind gusts if I remember right.) That tree was so tall, when it fell, it went from that one corner of her property to the other corner; plus spread into a couple neighbors' yards. The only damage it caused was to a bit of the corner of her roof over the 'breakfast nook'. The hand of God at work...

I could never tell how many cords of wood came from it, but there were a couple guys working on it for the better part of a week. And then another couple of guys for another week and a half, after the first couple of guys ran out of space to put the wood.

These weren't just ordinary guys - we lived in a town where logging was king, and these guys had SERIOUS chainsaws and handling tools! Dad told me to "stay the heck" away from them while they were working, it was way too dangerous. No standing and watching, either. And Granpa enforced that with an iron fist.

Meanwhile, after the guys had quit for the day, we packed Granpa's garage to the rafters with their culls. Granpa passed about ten years later, and I don't remember him ever needing any more wood for their stove - and they heated their house with that stove.

 

[tracktortag]

That is one massive tree. Good thing you like cutting big rounds. Good seeing the 42" bar at work too. I like Alien's idea cut a slice, and make a wall hanging, or small(ish!) table out of it.

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

I lived next door at Fort Dix for a short while....I had to move, you AF guys made so much noise with your jets I couldn't take it any more

The C-17s make quite a racket, as do the KC-10s. If you were around for the fighter days, that's a whole nother level of loud!!!

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

 

[bertsmobile]

It would be a tragedy to just burn that wood.
It would make a lot of really good lumber to clad that shed of your if nothing else .
Or as previously mentioned quite a lot of $ 500 o $ 1000 craft tables from the rounds.
Let alone fine Oak cabinet timber.
The Plantation suff we get forced to do is just not the quality of a really old tree with lovely fine grain and little warpage.
We had a 120 y/o pine that blew over in strong winds a few years back.
We were going to just cut it up and take it for chipping as pine is not much use as firewood & I don't have access to a mill.
A wood turner knocked on the door and paid us $ 2000 to be allowed to cut it up and take the wood away.
Some time latter a set of georgous solid timber turned pine bowls turned up at the gate .
He had turned the 5 bowls from a single branch.
Sister got them for a birthday present .