Big score of Ash

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basswidow

basswidow

Minister of Fire
Oct 17, 2008
1,316
Milton GA
Like most, I am constantly looking into the woods when I drive for down trees I can ask the owners for.

Saturday, I noticed a nice tree with two big branches in a patch of briars behind a house (it was barely noticeable from the road).

Spoke to the owner and she said I could have it. I was somewhat concerned about how I would get to it. Turns out there was a driveway leading right to it (easy access).

When I got to it, I found it was much bigger and better then I had hoped. It was a big Ash tree that was split. It had 6 major branches 12-18 inches in diameter and nearly 50-60 feet a peice. Two were on the ground to prop the main trunk and 4 were about 4-6 feet off the ground and hidden in the briars. All easy cutting. One tank full was enough to drop 2 pickup loads. The main trunk is probably beyond the ability of my saw, but I am hoping to get a bigger saw anyday now. Its atleast 3 ft or more in diameter and a good 30 feet long.

As I am looking at where the tree split from, I notice another missing trunk piece and looked to my left and hidden in the briars is another massive split off ash trunk with more big branches. Almost identical in size (twice the wood)!

Sat and Sunday I cut 3 truck loads and I am only thru 4 of the branches. All of the branches are nice and straight. It's really good looking wood.

It will take me probably 4 weekends and 10 truck loads or more to get it all - but I will. I would have taken a picture of the tree - but they are covered in prickers/thornbushes and they would be hard to see.

Here's a pic of the rounds I cut this weekend. I would estimate 4-5 times this amount is still there!

So.... it pays to look while you are driving!
 

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Nice score Bass.......should be ready to go next winter,,,I got two Ash trees i'm workin on right now. A year for Ash is usually plenty enough time.....
 
That dont look like any assh I ever had.
 
smokinjay said:
That dont look like any assh I ever had.
Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking too
 
basswidow nice score, we have white ash on our property and the heart of the tree is not that color.


zap
 
Only ash that I have cut is white ash, that was already downed without leaves on. I thought it was some type of Oak until I split it....and all the ash borer beetles came out to greet me.

Wood: Ring porous, is fairly hard and heavy and very tough. The heartwood is a light brown or tan color; while the sapwood is an "off white." It weighs about 3.5 lbs. per bd. ft. at 8 percent moisture.

seems possible that this is an ash with borers turning the wood to dust in the middle of it
 
Not all of the rounds have that brown in them.

I will split some open and take another Pic. The homeowner and neighbor both said it was Ash. I'm not 100% sure myself. I sure hope it's not elm. Elm can have a brown center. If it's Elm, I'll kill myself now for wasting 2 days on this.

Maybe that should have been the first thing to do for me - Cut a round and see how it splits.

There were leaf's on some of the branches. I'll do alittle research
 
basswidow said:
brown center. If it's Elm, I'll kill myself now for wasting 2 days on this.

.

.
Click to expand...
Oh come on now its not that bad :cheese: I like elm!
 
smokinjay said:
That dont look like any assh I ever had.
Click to expand...
My thought as well.... doesn't look like any ash that I've seen.
 
Hi Ho Silver Away (silver maple).....I burn a lot of it good enough for firewood!
 
No it's not maple.

Well after researching - I have a sick feeling it's Elm and Not ash.

I just went from being Thrilled to disgusted ........ Dang it.

I will try and split one when I get home from work and post up. If the axe just bounces - I'll know why everyone else passed on this tree (Elm).

Figures.
 
basswidow said:
No it's not maple.

Well after researching - I have a sick feeling it's Elm and Not ash.

I just went from being Thrilled to disgusted ........ Dang it.

I will try and split one when I get home from work and post up. If the axe just bounces - I'll know why everyone else passed on this tree (Elm).

Figures.
Click to expand...


Nothing wrong with elm or maple
 
These are all ash. You be the judge. Did he get ash or is he surprised?

Wood-4-1.gif


3-6-08a.gif


3-23-09b.gif
 
The elm I got my first year had more of a round brown center. It was terrible to split. I rented a splitter and it turned each round into a birds nest that I had to noodle the splits free. Even then - seasoned - it was not great wood.

I won't know until I get home from work to split it - I just took the homeowner and neighbors word for it.

If I have screwed up and taken 3 truck loads of elm - I'm not sure what I will do with it.

Fingers crossed it's something else.

Reading the Elm identification - the leaves look the same and the long straight branches also is a what the tree had. Bark looks like that too.

I was SO Excited too..... I was too busy cutting and loading to stop and think and split a piece for identification. Plus they told me it was ash and I was only thinking how great this find was!

My work computer usually blocks posted photos - for some reason - I cant view the ones posted above.
 
Bass, you just might have to rent a hydraulic splitter. Elm is not that bad of a wood to burn. I'd take it.
 
Wow... that bark looks so dark and it is hard to see the texture - At first I was thinking maple, and the dark bark reminds me of red-oak but there is way too much sapwood and some ash does have darker centers. Who knows?!? I hope you have a nice ash tree there! You'll know when you split it. If it has been growing in the woods - nice and straight like you describe - it would be awesome splitting!!!
 
If it is Elm,

I will cut my losses now. I will not even mess with the rest of it. And I barely made a dent in the amount of wood there. I've got oak and cherry I can be cutting. I thought this was a jackpot of ash, but I should have figured around these parts - if it was good - someone else would have gotten it already.

Other then Elm - are there anyother possibilities?
 
Backwoods is right rent a log splitter and burn it, other than the splitting ELM is a good wood.
 
basswidow said:
If it is Elm,

I will cut my losses now. I will not even mess with the rest of it. And I barely made a dent in the amount of wood there. I've got oak and cherry I can be cutting. I thought this was a jackpot of ash, but I should have figured around these parts - if it was good - someone else would have gotten it already.

Other then Elm - are there anyother possibilities?
Click to expand...

Could it be Green Ash.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UdIftRLT2...t.com/2008/08/daily-photo-green-ash-bark.html


zap
 
basswidow said:
If it is Elm,

I will cut my losses now. I will not even mess with the rest of it. And I barely made a dent in the amount of wood there. I've got oak and cherry I can be cutting. I thought this was a jackpot of ash, but I should have figured around these parts - if it was good - someone else would have gotten it already.

Other then Elm - are there anyother possibilities?
Click to expand...

Darn sure looks like silver maple....I would double down on that bet. Lol
 
This is a giant tree. The main trunk is 5 trees in the area about the size of a van with 3 still standing and 2 that have fallen. The trunk sections are 3 - 4 feet wide each. The tree is probably 80 ft tall.

The homeowner said summer storms brought the one section down. Some of the branches still had leaves. Cutting it showed it was still green and the rounds had sap. It wasn't a dry tree like you would expect from an Ash tree. The rounds were heavy back breakers. This also lends itself to it being Elm which is really full of water. I remember splitting the last elm I got and it was like water oozing out of it as the ram struggled thru it.

Fingers and toes crossed for something other than Elm.
 
Looks like the ash that grows around here in the wetter areas,moss and all. I would hit a piece or two with a maul. An instant elm vs ash identification tool,bounce vs split.
 
Ncountry said:
I would hit a piece or two with a maul. An instant elm vs ash identification tool,bounce vs split.
Click to expand...

basswidow said:
Some of the branches still had leaves.
.
Click to expand...

Seems you have two positive IDs. Ash will be compound leaves. Elm with be heavilly serrated. Maple will be . . . . maple leaf shape.

Throw it in the boiler and have a chuckle on yourself for having fallen for the "If it looks too good 2 B true, it prolly is' thang.
 
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