So, being in the logging business…I sort of feel I ought to ‘know’ the answer. But, I don’t. I know that oak is the gold standard, that hemlock is lethally dangerous (it splinters on a side impact), and pine is eaten like candy.
But, how about ash? We have a sawmill, we have thousands, upon thousands, of board feet of dead ash. I would like board fencing on some critical areas. Anyone used ash for their boards? I know it can’t be used for the posts, because it rots immediately on ground contact. But as the fence rail?
Any good/bad experiences? What is the best wood for a fence rail?
My horses tell me ash is delicious.
Oak is what we use.
Let’s see your mill set up! I’d loooooove one but it’s so overkill for us 
1 Like
Bother, I was afraid that ash might be delicious…
Here is a view of the mill running, fully portable, 30 inch throat and up to 14 feet in length. The catch is loading it. At home, we have an Iron Mule and grapple to pick up a log, but off the property…
https://www.facebook.com/anne.hall.90260/posts/pfbid0jpBdo7XBKLafUkVVr5T1m2gtEZn2BNaxCjCdviam6g9dJ5FsQP3BrrEk3Yjb1AbKl
1 Like
And just for the heck of it. The Iron Mule:
2 Likes
I think FB is being cranky on the mill post but that grappler thing is ACES. How fun!
I’m kinda intrigued with those very portable chainsaw mills, I think that’s maybe about our speed. There’s just so much wood that seems like such a shame to burn.
Do you have enough oak to mill that for fence? The boards I’ve bought are all red, if that makes a difference. A lot of hemlock IS sold as the “cheap” board option… I’m replacing a lot here and it’s just soft. Kinda feels like balsa. But it’s pretty old! Idk about you but we pull down SO MUCH hemlock. Would be nice to do something with it, ugh.
Ash boards are far less tasty than cedar posts, but they can be tasty. That said, I’ve kept horses in barns of ash, with miles of ash fencing and damage from chewing has been fairly low so long as there is adequate hay/pasture. Dry lot fences with inadequate hay supplied are fair game and will get eaten.
That said, if you own a wood lover (Sascha’s hand goes up) wood fences may not be the best choice. I had to put angle iron over pressure-treated stall posts (FFS!) To prevent her eating right through them. She did leave all the flat edge to edge ash walls alone though. Field fences were left alone. Dry lot fences not so much.
3 Likes
when we used wooden rails we tired to find rough sawn treated poplar, it was dimensional stability and had a life of 15 to 20 years or longer
1 Like
If the ash is free, why not just put up a hot wire? I have half inch hot tape on the top rail in the pasture and the top two rails in the dry paddocks. Easy to install, easy to repair.
7 Likes
Or go old school and paint it with used motor oil (especially if untreated as whole). That tends to keep their mouths off of things.
It would help if I had set that post to public… try this!
The mill is a Woodland Mill, which is a small Quebec company. They aren’t cheap, though cheaper than Woodmizers by quite a bit. Very handy.
I don’t recommend the chainsaw mills, they are slow, hard to handle, and not much fun. They are very well suited for the backwoods of the beyond, but otherwise not worth it in time, money, and muscle.
The oak all gets sold! But the ash is past being sellable on the market, once the bark is off the mills won’t take it.
1 Like
I do have plenty of that!
1 Like
Might be worth doing a test 30’ of the ash board fence, see what happens. Try a few things if they start beavering to see if it works, if it doesn’t- there’s your answer.
1 Like
Yeah, we’re finding the ash is getting to the point of perhaps not even being worth burning, even if it’s been standing. Maaaaybe a year or two left where it’s worth bringing it in, but that clock is really rapidly dwindling :-/
I guess that’s another reason to skip it for fencing, it just seems to rot so FAST?
That’s good to know about the chainsaw mills. I’ve drooled over the little Woodland options! FB is still being cranky about sharing your milling video 
Do you cut all the way up to 16’ boards for fencing?
I haven’t found this to be true. I can think of a couple of 25-30 year-old runs of horse fencing that apart from regular repairs here and there is still doing its job.
1 Like
Oak is strong and horses typically ignore it.
1 Like
Perhaps pre dating the borer beetle makes it different. Everything here is borer beetle kill. It’s been dead for awhile, although not anywhere near 25-30 years, and trees that are still standing are very quickly running out their usability even as firewood.
1 Like
Ah yes, the fences and stalls I am familiar with definitely pre-date the stupid beetle.
Can you use maple for fencing? Just curious because we have 30 or so acres of it.
Oak
Oak is the answer it seems.
1 Like
