On our property there a a couple of good size sassafras trees that have been blown down.
One is 24"+ in diameter and has about 30' of straight trunk, and the other is 18-20" diameter with 25' straight.
At this point I'm just looking to get something out of them, on my sawmill.
What uses are there for sassafras wood, and where might a person find buyers for it?
I've heard it's used in some bows, but anything else?

Retails for about 10 bucks a bf.

Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) heartwood is pale to golden brown, resembling ash or chestnut. The narrow sapwood is yellowish white. Sassafras lumber has a coarse texture much like Oak and is generally straight-grained. Well-known as an aromatic species it is said that it resist moths and other winged pests much like Aromatic Red Cedar does. It is light weight but strong.

Sassafras lumber is easily worked and takes a finish well. It glues well and holds screws very well. Interestingly enough, the roots and blossoms of this tree were used by colonial Americans to make tea.

Sassafras lumber is great for furniture, millwork, custom moldings, windows, doors and cabinet work. It is also used to make walking sticks, musical instruments and beautiful hand crafted Canoes. It is very buoyant and was the primary wood for making oars and boat paddles before fiberglass came along. Sassafras lumber is also very rot resistant. Sassafras is a great all around wood which will work well for nearly any project that you have in mind.

It is very nice wood to work, just lacks figure usually. I love cutting it for the root beer smell. One would think it would be easy to sell to furniture makers?

I had a mantel cut out of 34" diameter log . 4" full in. by 14" deep and 8 ft. long , it's over my fireplace . Looks great, I left it rough sawn and it's aging beautifully after 8 years . I could smell it for about 2 years. I have drank more than my fair share of tea over the years and the grain is very attractive. I have a big solid chunk leftover that I may turn into a bowl.

I had several, but the Reverend Ike took care of them along with several white oaks.

I have seen furniture made out of it, but to be honest, there isn't much of a market for it, at least not here. The sassafras trees are all dying here, as a insect is killing them.

Lot’s of Root Beer! memtb

My dad made a bar top and a large bench out of some lumber from a big sassafras. They look really nice. You don't see large sassafras trees very often any more.

my dad ended up with a bunch of rough cut planks somewhere. i planed them and ripped and routered them for trim in our bunk house. i just slapped some spar varnish on it and now 25 years later it looks really, really nice. like a honey oak kind of look with a subtle grain.

Great wood for many things, but avoid ingestion thru any path as it carries carcinogenic compound traces.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sassafras

I never knew that sassafras trees grew that large. Interesting.

These are two of about 25-30 large sassafras trees on the property.
Sapling size ones number in the hundreds.
One of those thumb size saplings showed me just how flexible and tough it is. And still is, after I decided it was done kicking my azz after bending, pulling and twisting on it for a bit.
I could hear the little bastard snickering at me as I walked away.

Make a large fuggin' cup of sassafras tea.

Left to their own they get quite big in time. Have several at my place, one is about 40' tall with a butt diameter of about 8".

Dan, I always wear a half mask respirator and a tyvek hoodie suit when working with volatile wood like walnut and hemlock.
Thanks for the reminder.

Very easy wood to work with grain characteristics much like oak. Great for furniture.

my uncle, since passed worked for the wpa, and the ccc's. they'd attack them with cross cut's and axes.
same thing with buckeyes while building and improving roads in the se usa during the depression.

it was make work, and also very hard physical work.

sassafras leaves are also used in seasoning.

and the roots make the tea. add sugar.

Golf club wood heads were made of it. At one time the Japanese would buy it.

I do a fair bit of wood craft from time to time and work with a fairly populated variety of woods. Prefer the hardwoods but do a lot with red cedar...fella wants his eyes opened on price he should check out the cost and applications for magnolia.

FWIW one of my favorites is persimmon.

Sassafras is pretty good looking wood Mark.

I guess if I was gonna cut it up I'd cut some up into slabs and some up into lathe stock.

We have sassafrass all over the place down here in Georgia and N. Carolina.
I have made tea from the roots a hundred times.
The biggest diameter I ever saw of a sassafrass tree was 3 inches.

Dont cut em yet!! I may have someone who would love to have some blanks, and they will have to be cut as such. It's an Ozark tradition to make paddles and oars from it. let me get in touch with a fella. What state are you in??

I sold some sassafras logs many years ago to be used for golf club heads. Not suit that market is still out there.

Talked to him he needs finished dimensions 1-1/4x8x72" So rough cut blanks would be 2x10x80" maybe depending on how smooth your rough cut is...

Cannot imagine a less suitable wood for that! Persimmon is the favorite and sassafras is at the opposite end of the spectrum

Send me a pm with the fellow’s contact info please.
The trees are still alive although with a considerable amount of trunk laying on the ground they won’t live long.

Thanks for the replies gents, as almost always the Fire shows it’s unique side with lots of knowledge and good advice.
I’m in Southern Michigan
Mark

Guess I'm mistaken, I heard it was persimmon the Japanese were buying for golf clubs. Since persimmon is a highly sought after wood for golf club construction.

James, ours are being affected by Laurel wilt, ambrosia beetle.

10$ a bd ft?

Holy fugk, I'm gonna be rich. fencerows and bottomland is decorated with them. Always considered them and suckamores, junk

Would make a beautiful stock for a custom built Creedmoor.
You could engrave each of the 3 leaf shapes on the receiver.
One for each mile it will shoot.

I wouldn’t get to excited about that $10 bd ft number. Yesterday, I bought 800 bd ft of air dried rough sawn sassafras for $.50 a bd ft. I’ve never paid over a $1 a bd ft for it and I’m not that far from you. It’s great to work with and soft enough to resaw easily. I use it for drawer sides and bottoms. Plan to build some small tables in the near future.

we have persimmon loggers come through, looking for larger diameter persimmons for just that, golf club heads. turn them on computer driven machines and at one time Japan would buy everyone of them.

another good one, maybe kind of like sassafras in a way, are the Paulownia (princess tree). will make fine casegoods, and much sought after in the larger diameters. often found as individuals growing next to hog pens in the countryside. but ya better watch out, somebody will steal away with them in the dark of night.

The old timers go to wood for boat paddles here in the Ozarks.

After reading all the responses, this one best embodies the Campfire.
A semi (?) serious answer with some good ideas.
And the piece-de-resistance, ends with a Fire joke.

Perfect!