Crawford County, Robinson, Illinois | oldbones - 11/23/2012 17:13 Had an old cottonwood go down today in the wind. Not sure what to do with it. About 30" diameter base and the trunk that didn't shatter is about 30 feet long. It's been dead for a couple years, was planning on dropping it next spring, but Mother Nature decided it was time now. At least it missed the 50 new arbor vitae and fir trees we planted a few years ago. Don't think it will burn without splitting, no good for woodburners (I don't have one, anyway). Any suggestions? Thanks.
FIL said years ago they used Cottonwood on rafters, it held nails well, was easy to nail shingles since the wood is soft. However, if the shingles go bad, the wood also goes bad quickly. Most of the hand built sheds on the farm had cottonwood roof with tin.Most of those were sawed in 2" by wide, some of those old cottonwood trees were almost as wide as plywood, so made for quick construction.. Never did find a better use for it, but pallet makers bought a lot on our farm, many huge ones near the riverbanks and in the wood. I guess they were not worried about more than one use for the pallet, and it is easy to nail. |
What to do with cottonwood?
