HOW to IDENTIFY WOOD

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sandie

Feeling the Heat
Oct 29, 2009
279
West of Boston, MA
I want to learn more about picking the wood for my fires and knowing which is good for starting a fire and which for keeping it going, lasts longest and if there is some not to use at all. How to identify those different woods. Is there a book on barks or looking at the wood and seeing the grain etc.?
Thanks in advance!
 
Go visit the wood shed part of the forum and spend some time browsing around. (this thread would normally belong there)

Start here for more information about wood ID: https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/51096/

In my short experience on this forum so far, most people on this forum will agree that any wood is good wood, just different. You can burn any wood and get plenty of heat. Softer woods are better for establishing a fire, or building short burning "flash" fires, harder woods are better for long sustained output, but either can be used for any scenario depending on the size of the pieces and other factors.
 
I wish someone would go back thru all of Hearth.com and compile a resource of photos for wood identities. I know theres a bunch on here. I don't know of any resource that you can search that shows the inside of a split or the grain and bark. There are some web sites that show bark and leaf ID's. Many barks are similiar. It's difficult to do by bark alone. The best way is to identify by the leaf if possible. Do you buy your wood or gather it yourself? I think it just comes with time. Do you know the types you have now? and just want a recipe for burning?

My wood pile usually doesn't have more than 4 - 5 species in it. For longer burns, it usually means grabbing a larger split or filling the box full. Best for start up is usually smaller splits. Best for maximum heat - are super hard woods like oak. For lighter shoulder days - I'll burn my junk wood (soft wood). These you can tell by density and weight. Lighter woods are soft and hard woods are heavy (even when seasoned). When I am bringing wood in and I find oak splits, I set them aside for the really cold days (Cherry picking). Like now, it's 40's and I really don't even need to run the stove hardly at all, so I'll burn some birch, tree of heaven, and junk stuff. I don't want to burn thru any of my good stuff now and then be stuck with junk wood for Jan/Feb.

I can avoid this by just gathering the good stuff. That's been difficult to do, prior to the recent storms. Two years from now, I'll have nothing but OAK. Next year, ash, BL, and shagbark. Very little junk wood in my future.
 
sandie said:
I want to learn more about picking the wood for my fires and knowing which is good for starting a fire and which for keeping it going, lasts longest and if there is some not to use at all. How to identify those different woods. Is there a book on barks or looking at the wood and seeing the grain etc.?
Thanks in advance!

There are several good books out there . . . as well as free on-line resources.

Massachusetts is pretty darn close to Maine . . . I most often use this resource . . . I suspect most of what is in here would work for you.

http://www.umext.maine.edu/mainetreeclub/MTC.htm

As for wood . . . in general all wood is good wood . . . there isn't much out there that I wouldn't burn . . . but of course some wood is better than others for certain times of the year. I should mention that for me (and I suspect most folks) the easiest way to identify a tree species is by the leaf rather than the bark.
 
I think the best way to ID wood is to first learn to ID trees. There are numerous good tree identification books out there - I use a Peterson guide to Trees and Shrubs, and recently I saw David Sibley's Guide to Trees which looked good.

It takes time to learn trees (or wood). I'd start with trees around your house. Learn one at a time and you'll start to recognize similar trees in the neighborhood. Eventually you'll get the chance to see these same trees cut down, and you'll learn what the wood looks like. Yeah, this is slow but I think it is the only sure way to know what type of wood you're looking at.
 
Since the only wood you're likely to encounter is that which grows near you, I suggest talking with a neighbor who has lived there a long time. Get them to walk you around and point out the various trees. (Based on experience, I suggest you take digital photos of the bark and leaves of each, so you can review them later...I found that I could only remember 2 or 3 when I got home, even though the neighbor had pointed out 8 or 10).
 
I do realize that all wood is good wood. The question was more about knowing which is soft wood and which is hard wood so as to know what to load to get the stove up to temperature and which to use to use to keep burning over time so softer wood to start the fire and get it going, and then wood to put in to continue a good long burn between loads.
Thanks for all the advice!!! Well appreciated.
 
Can't go wrong with the thumbnail test as to hardness. The great thing about tree ID in regards to wood collecting/burning is in addition to the normal factors like leaves, buds, fruit/nuts, and bark is you also have the wood color, texture, odor, grain etc.
 
Softwoods are trees with needles (pine/cedar/fir/spruce). An exception would be holly. These would make good kindling
When dry & seasoned.
Hardwoods are trees with leaves that drop in the fall/winter/early spring. Your mast producing trees (produce nut/fruit)
Will generally put out the most heat. These include oaks, beech, hickory, cherry, mulberry, sugar maple, etc.
There are exceptions...Trees like buckeye or box elder don't put out the long lasting heat like the ones
Mentioned above. They'll burn, but not what you want on a cold winter night.
 
sandie said:
I do realize that all wood is good wood. The question was more about knowing which is soft wood and which is hard wood so as to know what to load to get the stove up to temperature and which to use to use to keep burning over time so softer wood to start the fire and get it going, and then wood to put in to continue a good long burn between loads.
Thanks for all the advice!!! Well appreciated.

If all you're looking to do is ID softwoods and hardwoods . . . Beagler nailed it pretty well . . . softwoods in general have needles and do not lose all these needles at once (there are some exceptions though such as tamarack which loses its needles and cedar which retains its foliage.)

It is also worth noting that there are hard softwoods and soft hardwoods . . . and not all hardwood is created equal . . . as Beagler said . . . all wood is good . . . just some is better than others. The link I provided may provide some assistance with the wood you have in your area.
 
I haven't seen the other books mentioned here, but I've got The Audubon Society's 'Field Guide to North American Trees-Eastern Edition' and it's been very helpful. Nicely laid out, once you familiarize yourself with the different sections of the book and how they are cross-referenced.
 
If you're needing to identify hard vs soft from your ready to go wood (already split seasoned and stacked) and have no idea if it had needles or leaves (because they are splits and all look similar), just pick the splits up and hand weigh them. A soft wood is gonna feel lighter and may also be lighter in color too. Your hard wood splits are gonna feel heavier and dense and are usually darker in color.

As the heating season goes along, you'll get a feel for what the better wood is, especially if you are the one tending to and loading the stove. You'll be able to identify which woods have staying power.
 
basswidow said:
If you're needing to identify hard vs soft from your ready to go wood (already split seasoned and stacked) and have no idea if it had needles or leaves (because they are splits and all look similar), just pick the splits up and hand weigh them. A soft wood is typically gonna feel lighter and may also be lighter in color too. Your hard wood splits are typically gonna feel heavier and dense and are usually darker in color.

As the heating season goes along, you'll get a feel for what the better wood is, especially if you are the one tending to and loading the stove. You'll be able to identify which woods have staying power.

I fixed your quote . . . hemlock when fresh cut often weighs as much as most hardwoods . . . and poplar when fresh cut weighs about the same as pine or fir . . . of course these are some examples of hard softwoods and soft hardwoods . . . but you're right . . . most of the time there is a notable difference in the weight of similar sized hardwoods and softwoods.
 
I wouldn't get too caught up in the dictionary definition of softwood versus hardwood. Many 'hardwood' trees such as aspen, for example, are about on par with average 'softwoods.' What really matters is how a wood burns. You'll find oak, Sugar Maple, Hickory, Black Locust, Honey Locust, and a few others are the most dense and therefore the longest burning woods, while pine, spruce, aspen, and Box Elder are softer and burn faster. There are many woods in between. All of them are useful as firewood, and they are all most useful if you know how they burn so you can choose the one that suits the situation.

My guess is you'll find a place or two to reliably scrounge wood and this will give you regular access to a certain number of wood types. Once you get to know the woods you get regularly you'll easily recognize the ones that are unusual for you.
 
When I was a young lad and wanting to learn more about trees and wood, one old fellow gave the advice to not be too hasty. Take your time learning is what he said. I've tried to follow his advice and now I'm an old man and know very little..... Don't try to learn too much at once or you'll only confuse yourself. Stick with the main types of wood that you have in your area. Learn 2 or 3 more every year or maybe 4 or 5 each year. It will all come together faster than you think. It helps to know someone in the area who is knowledgeable and willing to help you.
 
Couldn't resist...
 

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bluedogz said:
Couldn't resist...
lol
I was thinking the same thing!
 
Google is a great resource for identifying different wood species, if you think you have red oak for example then google "red oak leaf" or "red oak bar" and you will see tons of images of that specific part of a tree, very helpful.
 
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