hard maple?

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splitoak

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Nov 6, 2013
228
Jefferson Co, WV
Hey guys i know this is some sort of maple...is it the good stuff?
 

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I would guess so. The leaves say it's neither red nor silver. The bark says it's not Norway.
 
That's the good stuff, you got a lot?
 
You have a red maple(the smaller one)leaf and a hard maple leaf......... The wood is most definitely RED MAPLE.
 
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A bankshot ID. Looks like what I have here is red maple from nrford's ID. I have never cut any of the things that are like weeds in the middle of my oak and beech trees. May whack a couple and see how they burn.
 
As mentioned, the bark looks like red maple.

That big leaf doesn't have deep enough sinuses for a typical sugar maple; it's more like a Norway maple.
 
Looks like what I have here is red maple from nrford's ID. I have never cut any of the things that are like weeds in the middle of my oak and beech trees. May whack a couple and see how they burn.
Not bad as long as you are going to be around to re-load, and don't need a real long burn. One good thing it that the coals will burn down faster, when you want to do that. I burned a good bit of Red this winter.
 
Looks like a lot of vines - wear gloves :)
 
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sugar maple, alright to good wood to burn on the "free firewood rating scale", if you get it cut, split, and stacked off the ground you should be able to burn it by this November. good luck
 
You have a red maple(the smaller one)leaf and a hard maple leaf......... The wood is most definitely RED MAPLE.

What bark features are you looking at to distinguish red maple from sugar?
 
I have (2) sugars in the back of my house that have very similar bark and leaf features. I really like those tree's, they are absolutely amazing in the fall, but unfortunately I have to take them down this year, they have grown very large and close to the house. Both tree's have developed large cracks in there crotches, its only a matter of time before I have a big problem with them possibly breaking off and hitting the house.
 
Dilemma..lol..is red? Or is it sugar...im going to get a load of locust today...ill cut a piece off and split it..ill post pics and details..:)...we will settle this once and for all!..lol
 
I didn't pick up on the leaf the other day, that's not a sugar maple leaf and does look like a red maple leaf.
 
I didn't pick up on the leaf the other day, that's not a sugar maple leaf and does look like a red maple leaf.
There are two leaves pictured, and I think nrford is right that they're from different trees.
 
You can tell the difference between red and sugar logs if you take an ax to them and try to cut out a chunk. It will be quite obvious after one swing on each.
 
TIP: when possible, always try to grab a couple small twigs with buds for species identification when leaves are not present.
 
The bigger leaf is from a sycamore. Smaller leaf is hard to tell, but the bark says red maple all over to me.

I've never been able to come up with a "tip" for identifying hard & soft maple by bark - after you look at a few thousand of them, you get a knack for it.
 
The bigger leaf is from a sycamore. Smaller leaf is hard to tell, but the bark says red maple all over to me.

I've never been able to come up with a "tip" for identifying hard & soft maple by bark - after you look at a few thousand of them, you get a knack for it.

I can see sycamore on that big leaf. It has the size and they all seem to end up that color.
 
Red maple, small piece gives it away, oh ya maybe Poison ivy vines, pull em off before u cut up
 
Red and sugar, I believe I read, dont cross pollinate, but Red and Silver can because they both flower at the same time.
If the bark looks very much alike, you can go by the tint of the inner bark. Red maple has a pink blush, like just a hint of rose madder. But overnight it fades to a dark tan.
Sugar maple inner bark is a lighter tan. Actually Im just being weird, I mean, its true as far as I see but its a little unscientific.
I can only tell the real difference by the leaves. Its blasphemus to cut down Sugar maples in my woods.
And selecting them out in their juvenile growth is tricky. Almost all of my understory is maple saplings.
Red maples are the first to flower of all the trees and the leafstems are red and so are the premergent buds.
The red "tint" to the woods right now are all the red maples ready to burst forth.
 
Soft Maple bark appears "scaly" to me or consists of small plates. Hard Maple bark is more course and usually more grey. Once on ground and bucked, the inner bark of soft maple takes on a pinkish hue whereas Hard maple is a brown hue.
 
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