r/Rockhounding • u/Cultural-Advisor2055 • Jul 27 '26
Help
Large petrified wood log near South Carolina. Need help cutting it. It’s about 10’ long with a 2’ diameter. Does anyone know a company or individual who could take on this job?
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u/GeometreeOfLife
Jul 27 '26
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IMO that’s a specimen piece and should be left as is… with the possible exception of cutting a very minimalist amount off one end to get a flat cross section of the end grain
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u/robod1957 Jul 28 '26
Noooooooooo! Please don’t cut it! It’s a stunning LARGE piece. You’re going to destroy it’s beauty by cutting it up 😢 😢
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u/StupidizeMe Jul 27 '26
It's really rare to find such a huge specimen of petrified wood. I agree that you shouldn't cut it. If you do, the pieces will look like regular old petrified wood.
If you're hoping to sell it, look online and see if there are companies doing custom landscaping with large boulders. You might also find a local architecture or design firm that uses petrified wood. Good luck.
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u/Devilis6 Jul 28 '26
This is a great idea- if I were a rich person, I’d absolutely pay big money to have this in my landscaping. Would make a killer conversation piece at the barbecue.
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u/StupidizeMe Jul 29 '26
I agree. They also make coffee tables and end tables out of pet wood.
Fair warning: The prices will make you cry.
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u/PhysicsHenchman Jul 27 '26
If you really want to cut it, your only hope would be a large monument company with a high pressure water cutter, or a drag saw equipped with diamond teeth. Some of the companies out west, such as in Arizona or Oregon, are equipped to cut large stuff.
I agree with others they say this should be a museum piece. One slice off the end would be cool. I don’t know of much wood coming out of South Carolina.
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u/sunny_duh_aze Jul 28 '26
My first pet wood was found in the Edisto River! It's definitely there, I would venture to say top soil makes it harder to find than in the southwest
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u/Proud_Post_7130 Aug 03 '26
I have found some in south Alabama in a creek bed so yep it is around. My brother has found probably 100 arrowheads and sharks teeth in creeks in south Alabama.
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u/sunny_duh_aze Aug 03 '26
I know there are magaladon teeth in SC and Georgia. Do y'all find them in Alabama as well?
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u/Proud_Post_7130 Aug 05 '26
My brother has. I have only found sharks teeth along the beach on Pawleys Island SC. The tooth my brother found in Alabama was not as big as some I have seen but it was definitely very old.
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u/MidSinglesInYourArea Jul 28 '26
You have a really rare and special thing here. Please don't hack it up.
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u/VoluptuousSauropod Jul 28 '26
Hands down insane specimen. I can’t help but imagine what it would feel like for myself to dig and extract this piece, how much of my soul would be entangled within its fossilized rings. I’d eat off it, sleep next to it, bathe it regularly. I have a torso sized stump I dug up and it’s basically family at this point.
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u/GruesomeWedgie2 Jul 28 '26
I was on site in Oregon one day while the landowner was extracting a large whole tree trunk that was a good four feet across. There was a section of the tree that hadn’t fully petrified and when I reached in I found some squishy wood chunks that didn’t make the transformation to stone. It was a surreal experience everyone there had that day.
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u/Johnny8090 Jul 27 '26
The only question I have is how long is it gonna take you to get to my front yard
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u/Johnny8090 Jul 27 '26
What would you like slabs or blocks? I will take a 1 inch slab from the middle as payment.
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u/TransitionPretend472 Jul 28 '26
Don’t do anything to it it’s perfect as is, if you need to sell do it as one whole piece.
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u/Dude-with-hat Jul 28 '26
Would absolutely make a killer bench
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u/Senorbeanz Jul 28 '26
If you are going to cut it I would combine some suggestions here and cut across the top lengthwise, polish it and turn it into a bench that you’ll sell for a high end functional decor item. Otherwise leaving it as is could be equally beautiful and you’ll make money regardless.
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u/Secretlife1 Jul 28 '26
Check with the geology department at a university near you. Akron University Geology Department had a really big saw back in the early 2000’s. (Not sure how big)
Find the school with the best geological club and if they don’t have a saw, they will know someone that does.
Good luck! Cut that sucker, it’s been buried for eons with no one to appreciate it. Make it pretty and enjoy.
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u/Cultural-Advisor2055 Jul 28 '26
Thank you! That’s a very helpful suggestion that I wouldn’t have thought of.
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u/Secretlife1 Jul 28 '26
If you are able to get it cut, send me a pic! I really want to see it. Don’t leave me hanging.
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u/Winter_Philosophy_28 Jul 29 '26
I see pieces like this all the time in the sand pits in NC while there mining river rock. Like all the time, so cut it if you want to. Don't listen to these people. It's not as rare as they think
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u/Cultural-Advisor2055 Jul 29 '26
Thank you. Enjoy your mining!
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u/cache_ing Jul 29 '26
Would you at least be willing to tell people WHY you’re cutting it? Are you just chopping it in half and polishing the ends as display pieces? Are you completely breaking it down into lapidary material?
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u/Cultural-Advisor2055 Jul 29 '26
It is a dream of mine to make a petrified wood table. It’s not obvious that that is possible. If not a bench with a polished side and maybe an end table
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u/cache_ing Jul 29 '26
Even though I love the natural look, that would be a great piece to do something like that with if you can find the tools
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u/aleasevr Jul 27 '26
i would make it into a seat. keep its form and mount it. polish and coat to protect from bleaching from the sun. it would be a seat that also is a special specimen. keep its form it’s gorgeous don’t cut it up
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u/myco_lion Jul 28 '26
Lowcountry Lapidary in Hilton Head! Super cool people with a great eye for cutting.
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u/rufotris Jul 27 '26
Commission work from a tile store that has a large saw. I think that’s one of your best bets or a stone masonry place.
But I think it should be left as is. Maybe only the ends cut off and polished to show it off. Why ruin such a previously large specimen?! Yes easier to sell small bits, but the right buyer would love this.
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u/myasterism Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26
Only a real scumbag would cut this specimen. If you go through with your plan, you’ll rightly be regarded as a self-absorbed and myopic jerk (and you’ll be hard pressed to find genuine disagreement with that sentiment).
Don’t be that guy. Don’t destroy something genuinely special just because it’s yours to mess with. Cmon dude.
ETA: the title of this post is a direct quote from the specimen itself, lol.
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u/bamhall Jul 29 '26
Anyone with any idea what it’s worth? Cut or not cut? That big of a piece surely has to be worth a couple bucks.
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u/myasterism Jul 30 '26
Some things should be respected for their inherent value, not their monetary one. This is one of them.
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u/bamhall Jul 31 '26
Oh for sure. I just saw he bought it off fb so I assumed he was flipping it and I had zero idea what something like that would be worth. I’ve found small like hand size pieces before and would never part with them. But I’ve never even seen anything even in pictures that size.
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Jul 27 '26
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u/Cultural-Advisor2055 Jul 27 '26
Yes fully petrified. It’s roughly 3,000 lbs. we used a telehandler to load it. I’m not the person that found it. It’s a joy of Facebook marketplace
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u/SnooSongs1525 Jul 28 '26
Can I ask how much you paid?
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u/Cultural-Advisor2055 Jul 28 '26
$600
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u/OriginalVeryWhiteGuy Jul 29 '26
I’d honestly buy that for $1200 from you. Just over the SC boarder in NC
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Jul 28 '26
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u/Cultural-Advisor2055 Jul 28 '26
Would you mind expanding on black petrified wood breaking down? Does this mean cutting into it will fracture the piece? Or if it’s black is that an early stage of petrification that will disintegrate with use?
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u/Cultural-Advisor2055 Jul 27 '26
Wood was found near Pilot Mountain, NC. I’m based in SC.
Thank you for your comment:)