Wood ID Please

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ethanhudson

Burning Hunk
Feb 18, 2012
132
South Dakota
Is this Oak? There is a ton of it (must be at least 10 cord) behind a local Volunteer Firestation and they told me to take all I could. If its Oak or another quality hardwood I will take it all. Any info is greatly appreciated. 03272012082.jpg03272012083.jpg03272012084.jpg
 
Some of the pieces are HUGE; literally 40"-48" diameter but if its that high a quality of wood I'll mobilize a loader and dump truck to get it. We don't often get high quality wood in my neck of the woods...
 
Some of the pieces are HUGE; literally 40"-48" diameter but if its that high a quality of wood I'll mobilize a loader and dump truck to get it. We don't often get high quality wood in my neck of the woods...

might not be locust then... i dont think they generally get that big.
others will chime in soon, im sure
 
I have seen very old locust that big. It does look like locust to me. Does it have thorns on the small branches. Are the leaves small and oval shaped?
 
I have seen very old locust that big. It does look like locust to me. Does it have thorns on the small branches. Are the leaves small and oval shaped?

No leaves to speak of this time of year. I'm pretty sure it was dead and thats why the fell it. They have a large pile of branches but I didn't look at any of them I will check if it comes down to it. Im gonna take my pickup over tommorrow after work and grab the stuff I can get without heavy equipment.
 
I would wait on an ID from the folks here before pulling out the heavy equipment, it may not be worth the time and effort for the huge ugly ones.
 
Another member just had a locust bigger than that cut down, sure looks like locust to me.
 
if you have locust 40 some inches in diameter and the heavy equipment to get it out of there, I think you hit the jackpot.
 
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I think it's oak.
 
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That deep rough bark & some of it being 40-48" sure says Cottonwood to me.
 
That deep rough bark & some of it being 40-48" sure says Cottonwood to me.
Say it ain't so...

I think it's oak but I am FAR from a tree expert; about the only thing I can tell you definitively is the difference between pine and spruce.
 
That deep rough bark & some of it being 40-48" sure says Cottonwood to me.
I had the same exact thoughts. The core wood is just darker than any I've ever seen in any cottonwood 'round here,,, but SD is a long way from NY.:eek:
 
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I had the same exact thoughts. The core wood is just darker than any I've ever seen in any cottonwood 'round here,,, but SD is a long way from NY.:eek:

I think the darker color to the end grain is from a while in the sun - ends are already pretty well checked. I've had the end grain of beech get real orange in just 2-3 months. Wondering if that's why it might appear darker than you might think. Cheers!
 
Sorry,not locust wrong color,locust aged or fresh is yellow. My guess cottonwood looking at a giant one as I type .View attachment 64251buckin 008.jpg Check out locust dry,and fresh bark on your trees similar but wrong color,imo. But good luck to you.
 
Could someone post pictures of cotton wood ?

I would like to see what it looks like so I can not scrounge it.

I am not sure if we have cotton wood here in Connecticut.

Thanks in advance.
 
I have some rounds that a homeowner told me were some kind of oak but I can't remember what kind he said it was. The bark is exactly the same. After splitting it is does look like some kind of red oak. On the other hand I also have about 1/2 cord of red maple he told me was oak also but after splitting it looks nothing like oak.
 
That deep rough bark & some of it being 40-48" sure says Cottonwood to me.

I had the same exact thoughts. The core wood is just darker than any I've ever seen in any cottonwood 'round here,,, but SD is a long way from NY.:eek:

These are my thoughts exactly. I've seen some Cottonwood logs sitting out for a while around here get dark like that. I just don't see Locust get bark that thick & deeply furrowed unless it's near the bottom of the trunk from a very big OLD tree. Several rounds in the picture look way too small for that.

Cottonwood, final answer <>
 
Could someone post pictures of cotton wood ?

I would like to see what it looks like so I can not scrounge it.

I am not sure if we have cotton wood here in Connecticut.

Thanks in advance.
Another thing I've noticed is when locust gets as dry as shown in your pics the bark peels off,try peeling some bark off the rounds they should be wet and greasy when they come off,peeled enough locust always the same slimy result. Anybody else experience the same?
 
What you have there is what we refer to as Rock Oak here in central PA. Seems to be everywhere in the mountains around here. Great wood, burns long and makes a good coal bed. Take all you can get.....
 
I am not sure what it is. But I'm pretty darn sure what it isn't and that's Locust.
 
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I am not sure what it is. But I'm pretty darn sure what it isn't and that's Locust.
Also known as chestnut oak. Man ya learn something every day on this site,must have turned down a chit load of that stuff thinking it was cottonwood.If it is what it is great score,should be quite heavy whereas cottonwood is light,bark on both scary identical.
 
Rock oak, chestnut oak, same tree. Either way, if that's what it is, great score. I think that's what it is based on the end grain and the bark.
 
The rounds are checked in a pattern that looks like the medullary rays in oak. I think the wood is Bur Oak. I know I don't see many Bur Oaks here in PA, so I don't recognize the bark, but the photos posted here resemble pictures of Bur Oak I found online.
 
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