Expert: Jamie Yocono - 2/23/2008

Question
hi there .i have recently acquired a oak tree which was on my land and unfornately had to be removed for road development.This tree is about 130 years old and very good wood.I was wondering how much the but of this tree would be worth its approx 18 foot long.it must be very rear to have such a tree and must be worth a lot to many woodworkers''. t

Answer
Hi Vinny,

Funny you should ask about how much a tree is worth, I just sold my third batch of hardwood trees off a piece of property I own, so I have somewhat current information and pricing.

First off, most timber buyers won't even bother talking to you unless you have a lot of trees to sell them. I've heard some buyers go by the amount of acreage you have, and others go by the number of trees you want to sell. But as a rule, most won't come out for less that 3 acres worth of trees. Now that doesn't mean that they're going to take all the trees on 3 acres, but that they want to have 3 acres of trees to look at, choosing only the biggest and best ones of the lot. If they're a responsible company, they will intelligently harvest trees to help the smaller trees flourish. As I said, I've sold trees three times, each time about 40-50 trees, and the first original harvest allowed some of the smaller trees to really grow like crazy.

As to how much, most timber buyers have a measuring stick that sort of looks like a ruler, which allows them to calculate how much board footage of wood each tree will  yield. A while back, I Googled a few different keywords to find out about these sticks, and at the time, I found plans for making one. I can't remember what words I used, but I know the information is available out there, so you may have to play around with a couple of searches. Anyway,I think that the amount they pay is determined by a couple of factors, but the yield is #1.

The last time I sold trees, which was May, 2007, I was paid roughly $200 each for mid sized Cherry trees. They weren't nearly as big as your Oak. Cherry is considered a better, more desirable wood, and is probably worth twice what Oak is worth. So I'm just guessing, but your Oak tree is probably worth $300 or $400. But - as I said, you probably won't find a timber company willing to come out for just one tree.

So here are my four suggestions:

1)  If you live around a college that has a decent art department, you might approach them about selling some nice sections of wood to students in sculpture classes. When I was in college, people from the neighborhood would come around with nice pieces of Walnut or Cherry and would sell them for $25 or $50 or whatever. If you put an advertisement up on a bulletin board in the art department, maybe the students could even come buy and pick the stuff up, so that you wouldn't have to transport the wood to the school. Look at it this way- if you sell a dozen pieces, you've already made what a timber company was going to pay.

2) Place an advertisement in a wood turning magazine.  People who turn bowls on the lathe are always looking for nice pieces of wood.  Your Oak tree is probably pretty valuable to someone who makes bowls. You could even look for a group of wood turners in your area, and advertise with them.

3) Look for people in your area with their own portable sawmill set-up. There are woodworkers out there who travel to various places just to harvest primo wood like you have. You may have to place an ad in a woodworking magazine, but it would be worth the cost of the ad, as some woodworkers really go nuts over special trees.

Finally-
4)As much as it pains me to say it, your tree is probably pretty valuable for the BTUs it contains, as in firewood. Look in the phone book for firewood dealers and make a few calls. These dealers have everything they need to take down trees and clean up the debris, leaving you with nothing but the stump and some dollars in your hand. I knew a fellow who was a firewood dealer and was always on the lookout for trees.

OK, that's all the info I have for you. You'll need to do a little bit of research, but I'm sure you'll find a market for your tree. Unfortunately, a timber buyer probably isn't going to be interested in it, but there are many other options out there for you.

Good luck, write back if you have any other questions,

Jamie Yocono
www.wooditis.com
Las Vegas, NV