Wood ID

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Deron

Member
Nov 3, 2009
142
Northern Kentucky
What is it? Kind of smells like cedar and has a lot of knots and stringy.

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That is an odd looking piece of wood. Has the bark been damaged? It sure doesn't look like Eastern Red Cedar, which would be the normal native 'cedar' where you live.
 
The bark is coming off fast of all the pieces. It's very stringy and very knotty and has a fragrance of cedar but
on the stinky side and not the profound cedar smell.

I was thinking the same thing about red cedar, but the photos I have seen all show it having an almost dark
purple as the predominat coloring. This had red streaks while I split it and dried the next day to a brown.

I'll grab another piece and take a photo.
 
Here's some more pics.

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All of the eastern red cedar I have cut has stringy reddish bark, whitish, wide sapwood, and a dark purple heartwood. The smell is very distinct when freshly cut, but fades with age. If you split it again, I think you'll have a strong aroma if it is cedar.
 
I see the new pics now, and it still does not look like cedar. I am not sure what it looks like.
 
Wood Duck said:
All of the eastern red cedar I have cut has stringy reddish bark, whitish, wide sapwood, and a dark purple heartwood.
The smell is very distinct when freshly cut, but fades with age. If you split it again, I think you'll have a strong aroma if it is cedar.

The bark on this isn't stringy or red...and the heart of the wood is not purple like the pics I've seen online. It has a smell like cedar but not nearly as profound. What
had me thinking cedar was all the knots.
 
Do you have any hickory around your neck of the woods? It kinda looks like a smooth bark variety of hickory from the pics. Hickory will have a smell, although not really a "cedar" smell, and it does dry to a more brownish color than the original split. This isn't a positive ID, just throwing that one out at ya.

Could we get some additional pics. Do you have a clearer log to look at?
 
Jags said:
Do you have any hickory around your neck of the woods? It kinda looks like a smooth bark variety of hickory from the pics. Hickory will have a smell, although not really a "cedar" smell, and it does dry to a more brownish color than the original split. This isn't a positive ID, just throwing that one out at ya.

Could we get some additional pics. Do you have a clearer log to look at?

This ^^^

I'm going to say it's hickory.

Either a smooth bark species, or because of the furrows in the bark, it could be a young Shagbark hickory (before the bark actually starts to get shaggy).
 
Looks like a duck splits like a duck smells like a duck.... Cedar!
 
CountryBoy19 said:
Jags said:
Do you have any hickory around your neck of the woods? It kinda looks like a smooth bark variety of hickory from the pics. Hickory will have a smell, although not really a "cedar" smell, and it does dry to a more brownish color than the original split. This isn't a positive ID, just throwing that one out at ya.

Could we get some additional pics. Do you have a clearer log to look at?

This ^^^

I'm going to say it's hickory.

Either a smooth bark species, or because of the furrows in the bark, it could be a young Shagbark hickory (before the bark actually starts to get shaggy).

I would say the the same Hickory. Just got some young trees look just like that.....
 
Bark looks like Hickory to me. sure seems to have a lot of knots & twists though. looking just at the wood I'd never guess hickory. Any idea whether it was a yard tree...?
 
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