after an incredibly mild winter where i didn't touch my 2 year old oak (makes it better for next year), i got a hold of some of what the tree service guy called, "silver maple". and by some i mean about 2.5-3 cords when its processed, maybe more. it's massive, most of it being more then 30" in diameter and up to 40"+. i took a shot at it today with the maul and even the limbs laughed at me... the maul literally bounced off. i'll tackle it with the splitter this week, but i'm expecting a fight from every split. so my question is, anyone ever dealt with this stuff, how does it burn? is it worth the work?
silver maple
- Thread starter FishKiller
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tigeroak
Feeling the Heat
The silver maple I get around here splits like butter. We burn a lot of it every year about 80% of what we use. I save my hard woods for over night and when it is real cold- like around 0 and below. Wife loves it keeps the house very warm. 1 year split and stacked then ready but we go every 2 years.
i don't think i'm a wiener when it comes to hand spitting, its usually faster... i put a fresh edge on the fiskars 9 pounder and let er have it. it literally bounced back. doesn't help that its still dripping wet i suppose. either way i suspect it's decent to burn, and at ayear to burn. i want to get to it asap
tigeroak
Feeling the Heat
I use a 6 lb maul and you darn near drop it on and it splits. The most I split one day was right at 2 cord split and stacked by hand. I get it just as soon as it hits the ground wet and green. Nobody around here will mess with it and I get all for the taking. Yours may have a twist to it , which will make it harder to split. Here is a picture of 2 days split and stacked - first 4 rows are 2 cord of walnut then 2 cord of soft maple
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Diabel
Minister of Fire
I have processed quite a bit of silver maple, some will split like butter and some like elm!!
Good day or shoulder season wood.
Good day or shoulder season wood.
I just picked up some silver maple that had a pretty decent twist to it that even in small ten inch rounds and with a ten pond maul was putting up quite a fight, with the maul bouncing off the first few strikes before finally splitting. And I only split by hand. So I know how you feel.
Diabel
Minister of Fire
Fred Wright
Minister of Fire
Nice score. 
Twisty maple can give ya a good workout with the axe. You may wish to consider noodling and renting or borrowing a hydro splitter for this.
I like soft maple for those not-so-cold days. Will season in less than a year under good drying conditions.
Twisty maple can give ya a good workout with the axe. You may wish to consider noodling and renting or borrowing a hydro splitter for this.
I like soft maple for those not-so-cold days. Will season in less than a year under good drying conditions.
I really like Silver Maple, ignites easy, burns lively, usually splits easy but you can get some "angry" pieces as these other fellas have said. I love it for kindling too as it splits (with the splitter) real thin and usually splits easy. Good stuff!
Flame On
Member
Based on the size of those rounds, you have a pretty old silver. The twisty stuff from the trunk can be a bear. I split the big rounds with the spiral method, where I worked the edges and slowly moved into the middle. It makes for a lot of brick shaped splits though...
As for burn quality, it is pretty good. I burned mostly silver and ash this past winter. I agree with Diabel that it is a daytime wood that requires more frequent reloads. I used my ash for the long burns and overnights. It is great for getting things heated back up in the morning though.
As for burn quality, it is pretty good. I burned mostly silver and ash this past winter. I agree with Diabel that it is a daytime wood that requires more frequent reloads. I used my ash for the long burns and overnights. It is great for getting things heated back up in the morning though.
Bootstrap
Burning Hunk
I have split more than my share of silver maple with an 8lb maul. And now I use a log splitter 99% of the time. Moving, stacking, unstacking and carrying it in the house is plenty of work. I hated how often the maul would just bounce off that stuff. I find splitting wood much more pleasant now with a splitter.
very similar to box-elder (they are the same family ). it dries easy, burns fast.... a pain to split... and its all i have
http://forestry.about.com/od/treeplanting/p/bad_silmaple.htm
http://forestry.about.com/od/treeplanting/p/bad_silmaple.htm
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