What to do with a fallen persimmon?

[StephenK]

So now what? It's 250 miles away, and I can't get there very soon. Limb it and put it in a barn? Need some advice.

 

[CrealBilly]

Looks rotten probably why it fell.

Never do anything during the day that will keep you awake at night

 

[StephenK]

Just the bottom! Surely I can get something useful out of it. There's all kinds of spoons in those limbs for sure.

 

[CrealBilly]

Just the bottom! Surely I can get something useful out of it. There's all kinds of spoons in those limbs for sure.

Buck it above the dote, seal the ends with ancorseal, mill immediately.

Never do anything during the day that will keep you awake at night

 

[Mike Davis]

If you can't mill it in the next few days then get the bark off of it and get it off the ground.

I tried to get persimmon mallet blanks from trees on my old farm and they always got grubs in the wood.

Removing bark, sealing the ends and getting it up off the ground should help.

 

[StephenK]

Would latex paint be decent if I can't get anchor seal to my brother in law?

 

[Mike Davis]

Shellac would be better than latex.

 

[CrealBilly]

Would latex paint be decent if I can't get anchor seal to my brother in law?

Not really... But in a pinch heated paraffin wax would be better. What ever you do, don't seal up logs ends with roofing tar, anyone that does that, should expect to be taken out back to the woodshed and be introduced to a good old fashion can of whoop***.

Paraffin wax is available where ever they sell canning supplies and is cheap.

Never do anything during the day that will keep you awake at night

 

[aplpickr]

Several years ago after three brushes with hurricanes coming up from the gulf in ten days, we lost the top ten feet of a 8" persimmon. Placed it in a sawbuck and cut it into lengths with a chainsaw. Every piece CRACKED while falling to the ground. I wanted to turn some mallets. Ended up burning it for firewood!

 

[CrealBilly]

Several years ago after three brushes with hurricanes coming up from the gulf in ten days, we lost the top ten feet of a 8" persimmon. Placed it in a sawbuck and cut it into lengths with a chainsaw. Every piece CRACKED while falling to the ground. I wanted to turn some mallets. Ended up burning it for firewood!

That stinks but happens sometimes.

"the internet is not a luxury, it's a necessity." Barack Hussein Obama II - 15 July 2015

 

[Jeff]

Persimmon is mostly sapwood so it's pretty susceptible to bugs and rot. Debarking it soon may help that, but presents drying problems (cracking, etc) unless the entire blank is covered in AnchorSeal (wax) to slow down the moisture loss.

http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/persimmon/

There's all kinds of spoons in those limbs for sure.

It's worth trying to salvage some of it but it's gonna be a crap shoot! Maybe ask your BIL to limb out a few pieces 2-3 ft long (preferably sealed) and store them well off of the ground in the barn until you can get to them.

 

[Stuart Kent]

Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) is the only North American tree in the ebony (Ebenaceae) family. I like to turn it and agree with suggestions above. On the rare occasion I get my hands on persimmon, I handle it like this with nice results:
1. limb trunk
2. debark immediately
3. break the trunk down into small - medium sized turning blanks
4. put prepared blanks into a heavy trash bag and throw in a few moth balls for 3-4 days
5. pull the blanks out and seal with heavy coat of canning paraffin softened in a double boiler (or anchor seal if you have some on hand)
6. store indoors on vented shelving for.......

 

[StephenK]

Thanks, everyone. If we can get anything usable, I'll be happy to share.

 

[Roy G]

If you cut it up into blanks, be sure to cut out the pith. Don't just cut down the center, you want to cut on both sides of the pith center to make sure you get it all out. That will cut down on the splitting.

That's a nice size tree. I only see them around here in the 6" to 8" range.

Roy G

 

[StephenK]

I've eaten fruit off that tree my entire life. We knew it was time, but nature made the decision for us. I just really regret not having time to get there - today - and start trying to split, rive, and hew. My dad and brother in law will buck it to 3-4' sections tonight, seal the ends with paraffin, unless they get lucky and find some anchor seal, and drive the logs to a mill tomorrow. As luck would have it, the mill about two miles away closed this spring. The guy that owned it decided to retire. We're going to try to get billets as thick as we can.

Worse comes to worse, I'll have a bunch of persimmon to experiment and smoke some food.

 

[CrealBilly]

I've eaten fruit off that tree my entire life. We knew it was time, but nature made the decision for us. I just really regret not having time to get there - today - and start trying to split, rive, and hew. My dad and brother in law will buck it to 3-4' sections tonight, seal the ends with paraffin, unless they get lucky and find some anchor seal, and drive the logs to a mill tomorrow. As luck would have it, the mill about two miles away closed this spring. The guy that owned it decided to retire. We're going to try to get billets as thick as we can.

Worse comes to worse, I'll have a bunch of persimmon to experiment and smoke some food.

Been there / done that / wont do it again. If you want to ruin a good BBQ toss in a few persimmon chips.

"the internet is not a luxury, it's a necessity." Barack Hussein Obama II - 15 July 2015

 

[scsmith42]

Persimmon can make some extraordinarily pretty lumber too.


Scott

 

[Ken Massingale]

It is prized for golf club heads/
http://persimmongolfclubs.com/acatalog/Persimmon.html

 

[Skymaster]

There IS your answer, call the company and sell them your tree for nice bucks, then take money and run to store and buy better wood