Wood ID please

[fabsroman]

Long story short, was told this was red oak. The homeowner got part of it right, in that there was a single piece of red oak off to the side that I split with wedges and a Fiskars. However, the Fiskars bounced off of this stuff as did the wedges. I tried starting the wedges with a 4 lb hammer and even that was tough. Even when I got them started, one shot with the sledge hammer and they were flying out of there.

I had a 2 hour window to get wood this morning because my wife needs to attend a baby shower, and I figured since this was an entire red oak that had been felled I would just load up the small pieces, split what I could, and load up the truck in those two hours. So, I left the splitter at home. Man, I am not in a good mood now.

I have a guess as to what this wood is, but I don't want to influence anybody's opinion.

 

[jackatc1]

Wild guess sweetgum.

But a picture would be nice.

 

[fabsroman]

Wild guess sweetgum.

But a picture would be nice.

I feel like a moron. Thought I had attached a couple pics, but it appears not.

Here goes:

 

[fabsroman]

Wild guess sweetgum.

But a picture would be nice.

Don't think it is sweetgum. Split a couple of them last year and they weren't this tough to crack open. Very stringy, but at least I could get a wedge or axe in them. This stuff is hard as a rock. Plus, the bark on the sweetgum was a lot thicker than this stuff.

 

[jackatc1]

Some sort of Maple.
Look's like it was standing dead, could be the reason its hard to split.

 

[jdp1152]

Norway maple....though I find it easy to split

 

[weatherguy]

I agree with maple, when maple get moist it can be a pain to split, also when you put it on the splitter it will pop when it splits so be careful for flying wood.

 

[fabsroman]

Is this wood even worth picking up then? I have about 7 cords of white/red oak and 1.5 cords of locust sitting here. Only have room for another 1.5 cords. Should I fill the racks with this stuff?

 

[Thistle]

Norway Maple is good stuff.Very close in density & heat value to Hard (sugar) Maple.I'd grab it if I were you.Its normally easy to split,dries in a year,sometimes 9 months if stacked in sunny windy spot.

 

[jdp1152]

Split a bunch of it this summer. I believe Scotty said he burns a lot it and its good stuff

 

[fabsroman]

Alrighty then, going to get a truckload of the stuff tomorrow then. Thanks for all the help guys.