Wood connoisseur's question

[Semiretired]

I had a Black Jack Oak get hit by lightning in my back yard. I am going to have to cut it down as it will not survive. I am not looking forward to it because Black Jack Oak wood is extremely hard and chainsaws do not like it.

If the wood is in good condition - would it be good for making a mod Box? I have thought about tinkering with a box and in a way this tree volunteered. I am just not that familiar with the wood as far as working with it... Any body familiar with it?

 

[mostlyclassics]

For a start, Semiretired, you'll have to age the wood long enough to reduce the moisture content. Otherwise, anything you make from it will be dimensionally unstable, and you'll have constant fit problems between the parts. This process could take months to a year or more. There's always kiln-drying . . .

Then, you'll need some serious woodworking tools, etc., etc.

You might want to PM "fono" here on ECF. He's the maker of Phidias Feedimus wood bottom-feeder mods and is always looking for interesting woods to work with. I have two Phids, one a southpaw model, and they're both superb vaping instruments.

EDITED LATER: Fono's handle here is "fonosmoak". Sorry for the confusion!

 

[Semiretired]

I have a way locally to get it kiln dried and he would buy it if it is in good shape and I don't want to use it, but before I give it up for sale I thought I would see how hard it is to work with - just checking to see if someone has experience with it. I could probably get him to kiln dry some for me for free if I also shared with him or sold it to him at a reasonable price.

Thanks for the pointer though. If I decide to use some of it and not sell it to this person locally then maybe I will contact this "fono" guy to see if he is interested in a few pieces of it. Maybe I can do a little trading with him also (???)...

 

[mostlyclassics]

You might well be able to work a trade with fono, especially if the wood is kiln-dried and thus ready to be turned into mods.

My southpaw Phidias was made from 1,100 year old cedar supplied to fono by the original owner. And if you go to google images, then search for "Phidias Feedimus" you'll see a bunch of pix of his work.

Do PM him -- he's a very decent fellow.

EDITED LATER: Fono's handle here is "fonosmoak". Sorry for the confusion!

 

[Semiretired]

1st, I got to cut the tree down and see if the wood is any good. This tree is over 75 years old - maybe even over 100 and I do not know if they get hollow inside like many oaks do or not. I had to take a Great Oak down about 10 years ago and got several table tops, seats, clock faces and a few other things out of just the scraps. Sold most of the main trunk to a furniture maker - the tree was estimated to be over 150 years old and it was not hollow - so this could be in that range since it is on the same property (this tree is about 10" in diameter and it takes a while for them to get that size). I hated taking the Great Oak down, but like this one - Mother Nature made that decision for me - a hurricane made the Great Oak lean towards the house with the roots loose on one side...

I am waiting for a warmer day to cut it and I have to sharpen my chains. It will take a couple of chains at least to cut it up...

I am keeping this post so I can look it up again for his contact info in case that is the route I go... Again thanks for your input - all input is appreciated.

 

[Semiretired]

I got anxious and decided to cut the tree down yesterday - the wood is not any good - beetles all in it - it was not dead when it got hit, but that is what probably weakened it and made it a better lightning rod. Well maybe next time.