Need free wood ID please

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spadafore

New Member
Sep 4, 2008
128
northwest ohio
The tree was blown over and hung up on other trees for about 2 years. I thought it might be some type of ash, but no I have no idea what it is. It was free and it will burn at any rate. Any ideas?
 

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My knee jerk thought was black walnut...... but I think it could be black locust.I've never had any black locust but looks like it from pics i've seen in the past.
 
Outside looks like locust, inside looks like walnut. I'd say some kind of locust.. if so, that's a great score.
 
homebrewz said:
Outside looks like locust, inside looks like walnut. I'd say some kind of locust.. if so, that's a great score.
I agree, is it wet? Its very brown, should be more yellowish/ green for black locust.
 
Yes the splits were wet on the inside. I was surprised at how wet the splits were considering the tree blew over and was leaning on two other trees for two years. On the other hand the tree was not totally broke off at the base. I also noticed most branches broke off very easily. Which was kind off weird considering how wet the splits were. At one point I thought this was a cottonwood tree. If it is locust than that is awesome. Any other things to check to verify it is locust without having any leaves from this tree. You can see some of the tree in one of the pics. It is above my trailer and is almost horizontal in the background.
 
Looks like black walnut to me. Split a piece by hand, if it splits easier than anything you have ever split, its black walnut. If not, my next guess is black locust.
 
The darker bark looks like walnut and the lighter bark looks like locust. Is it all from the same tree?


Rob
 
It is not locust, bark pattern is not right. From other pictures it looks like walnut, but I have never had walnut so I cannot be sure.
 
yes this is all the same tree
 
It doesn't look right for either Black Walnut or Black Locust. Black Walnut should be more uniformly dark on the inside. THis wood is kind of streaked, but not all that dark. The bark doesn't look quite right for Black Locust, and I have not seen black locust with dar interior wood like this tree. I don't know what it is. Maybe something diseased, so the wood color is abnormal.
 
cottonwood. 100% certain.
 
berlin said:
cottonwood. 100% certain.
Never had cottonwood, wouldn't know it if it had a sign on it!
 
Looks like it could be Siberian Elm. Similar post last week . . . dont know how to post the thread link though. Decent burn once it drys out.
 

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I was gonna say Elm but it would have jus been a guess. I posted an ID not too long ago that was black walnut and it jus doesnt look as dark as the stuff I had on fresh splits
 
Looks like cottonwood to me
 
All the locust I've ever split looks like someone took a yellow high lighter to the inside when it's freshly split. I'll defer to the more knowledgeable, but I'm 99% sure that's not locust.
 
Definitely not Black Locust. As others have said, green locust is pretty strong yellow inside.

also doesnt look quite like walnut either.

I was thinking some kind of elm, but then when someone said cottonwood - I think that might be it.
 
I certainly agree with the anti Black Locust crowd.
 
Evil Dave said:
Looks like it could be Siberian Elm. Similar post last week . . . dont know how to post the thread link though. Decent burn once it drys out.

Yep. Been quite a bit posted on this wood lately... can easily be confused with walnut b/c both woods tend to split easy, the bark has deep furrows, and the heartwood is dark (not as dark brown as walnut - more like butterscotch).
 
With the big deep bark furrows and dark streaks in the wood I will add another species and guess a big ole Sassafras. If the wood is really light after it seasons That would be my best guess. Either that or a diseased cottonwood.
 
[quote author="Glacialhills" date="1288071417"]With the big deep bark furrows and dark streaks in the wood I will add another species and guess a big ole Sassafras. If the wood is really light after it seasons That would be my best guess. Either that or a diseased cottonwood.[/quot




It could be a big sassy I never thought of sassafras, if you scratch the bark on a small branch or crunch up a twig or leaf and it smells like trix cereal then it is a sassafras. Of course sassafras has a very distinct leaf so that's the easiest way to tell.
 
The bark looks like cottonwood to me but the meaty part looks to dark but like others said if it lightens in color then cottonwood to me.
 
Thanks for all the replies folks. Moving forward I will assume it is cottonwood. Kind of a bummer as it doesnot hold a very good BTU rating. I am clearing a fence row for a farmer and can not pick and choose so it looks like I will have one more load of this stuff next week. Oh well. I am not trying to be a wood snob, but I have 8 cords on hand six of which are seasoned. They consist of oak, ash, and maple and soon to be cottonwood. Darn it.
 
Its cool man,

just mix it in. I just cut up a standing dead white pine from a neighbors yard and stacked it up for next year. as far as btus go, it doesn't get much worse than white pine (although cottonwood is probably close), but I figure, just mix it in with the oak and locust, and it will be all good.
 
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