Oppurtunity knocks

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b33p3r

Feeling the Heat
Jan 29, 2008
286
NE Pa
Hello everyone, I've been active in the boiler room and a little bit in the gear room. I've been lurking in the wood shed trying to learn wood I.D. and maybe get some good ideas to keep my wood conveniently dry.
My situation is this. I've had a friend offer me access to his 100+ acres for any downed trees I want. It's only a mile away so I told him I would definitely take him up on it. My kid and his kid are best of friends and they often camp out there in the summer. My dilemma is I don't know what a tree is without leaves. So with that said, are there any tips on how to tell a hardwood from a soft wood just by looking at bark and grain? I know there is but .....for a beginner is there any easy signs to determine whether it is worth hauling home? I know it's all worth hauling home ...you all know what I mean.
I am also planning on c/s/s the not so high BTU stuff at the camp site so they always have firewood for camp outs as a thank you but I'd hate to leave a high BTU wood for a campfire and haul home a pine.
I would also be willing to post alot of pictures of logs for I.D. but I also don't want to wear out my welcome. On another note, if I ever came across a money tree that the owner could make big bucks on for gun stocks and such, I'd hate to burn it!. Thoughts?
 
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LOL one way to make friends fast is post lots of pics.Here I dont think there's such a thing as 'too many pics'

Kinda like me & 'too much garlic or black pepper',its just not possible ;)
 
The more you give them.....the more they want (pics that is) :)
 
Even without learning the wood species, ya could use the 'fingernail test'. Try to shove the end of a thumbnail into end grain (snap off a 2" branch from the top) and try to make a groove into the grain by pushing/sliding the nail. With hard & dense wood, barely any mark is left in the wood. If soft wood (silver maple and lesser wood), your nail will have sunk in & made a channel.
 
If the saw cuts through the log like a knife through butter, move on to the next one. Also, in general, the harder the wood, the harder it cuts. Also after you cut the wood, look at the ends of the log. With good hard wood the cut will be smooth but on softer wood, the cut will be a tad rough looking. I like to compare it to looking at animal tracks. You can tell the difference between today's track from a track a couple days old because it is sharper and more defined.
 
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Thanks for the welcome and the tips for knowing hard or soft. That is exactly what I was looking for. Once I get the wood hauled home, I;m sure I'l be posting pics so I know specifically what I have. Who knows I might eventually get good at it. Thanks again.
 
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