Wood ID help

[MarkJ]

I have a a fair bit of this stuff from when my lot was cleared. I don't have the limbs or any leaves to id it. It's tough to split and the wood seems fairly dense although it's not very seasoned right now. Any ideas? BTW I'm from the Hudson Valley NY region if that helps.

There's some red oak around it so don't let that throw you off. The bark is a bit on the brown side in good light.

The split peice is from the same species.

 

[bsearcey]

White Oak. Can be stringier than red oak, but shouldn't be too bad to split.

 

[smokinj]

[quote author="bsearcey" date="1272601388"]White Oak. Can be stringier than red oak, but shouldn't be too bad to split.[/quote
+1

 

[MarkJ]

Thanks guys. You're right it is a little stringier so it sounds like thats right on the money.

 

[Wood Duck]

I see two different species of tree in the photos. Around the edges of the photos are rounds of White Oak, but the round in the center of the photos seems to be either Elm or Pignut Hickory. I think the two-toned wood, with a dark center and wide ring of lighter wood, seems like hickory.

 

[MarkJ]

I see two different species of tree in the photos. Around the edges of the photos are rounds of White Oak, but the round in the center of the photos seems to be either Elm or Pignut Hickory. I think the two-toned wood, with a dark center and wide ring of lighter wood, seems like hickory.

The two toned logs are the ones in question. The single toned logs - I think - are scarlet oak or some sort of red oak. The logs with the darker core are unknown. The bark didn't look like oak to me but I'm certianly not an expert. It is a little stringier than the scarlet oak.

 

[RAY_PA]

I am leaning toward a young hickory,... sure looks like it anyway.

 

[smokinj]

I am leaning toward a young hickory,... sure looks like it anyway.

hickory at least shag bark is white all the way through.

 

[MarkJ]

Also - I was really wacking it hard with a 15 pound monster maul and it was just bouncing off and making small split cracks. It's really tough stuff whatever it is.

 

[smokinj]

Also - I was really wacking it hard with a 15 pound monster maul and it was just bouncing off and making small split cracks. It's really tough stuff whatever it is.

when hickory gives way it has a very unforgetable cracking sound

 

[billb3]

I have lots of old white oak around my house and I don't see any in either of those pics.

What is that huge round in the upper top left of the upper pic ?
With the wide flakey bark that is red where it has been torn off ?

 

[MarkJ]

I have lots of old white oak around my house and I don't see any in either of those pics.

What is that huge round in the upper top left of the upper pic ?
With the wide flakey bark that is red where it has been torn off ?

I believe that to be scarlet oak.

 

[benjamin]

I must have my beer glasses on.

My guess is elm, with silver maple and/or hickory rounds at the top of the top picture.

 

[MarkJ]

I think we may have a winner with elm. Tomorrow I'm going to look at a couple of standing trees that have similar bark. But I know for sure one seems to be bearing elm leaves.

 

[purplereign]

My money is also on elm, due to the tone of the wood as well as a vague diamond pattern in the bark. The spiral grain is likely to defeat anything short of hydraulics!

 

[FLINT]

I think it looks like Hickory - but I'm not sure if you have hickory up there and I'm not familiar with elm - so I'm not saying its not elm.

If I had something that looked like that in my woodpile it would likely be hickory.

The hickories around here - pignut and mockernut - have really light almost white wood around the outside, but the center is a dark reddish brown and can be super stringy and tough to split.

Also, i'm not familiar with elm, but you will know hickory when you pick it up - I can't think of a heavier wood when green - that stuff is HEAVY - when green definitely heavier than locust, though maybe not when dry.

 

[MarkJ]

My money is also on elm, due to the tone of the wood as well as a vague diamond pattern in the bark. The spiral grain is likely to defeat anything short of hydraulics!

I also think it's elm. I saw a couple of standing trees with similar bark that were elm. This stuff just won't split with a maul unless it's a pretty small peice. It's also very heavy due to it hasn't been seasoned very long. So I guess that could make it hickory too but I'm thinking it's elm. Wish it was hickory since that would be a better burner from what I understand. But it's free so into the splitter it'll go and just have to give it enough time to season.

 

[Wood Duck]

I still think the ones in the top of the picture are White Oak, not Scarlet or Red Oak. Elm seems like a good guess at the two-toned round in the center of the pic.

 

[MarkJ]

I still think the ones in the top of the picture are White Oak, not Scarlet or Red Oak. Elm seems like a good guess at the two-toned round in the center of the pic.

It very well could be white oak. There was a lot of oak that was on the lot and of different species. There is a tree very nearby that has similar bark and the leaves look to be scarlet oak and that's why I made the assumption. But I could very well be mistaken.