Another Wood ID Exercise

[TX-L]

All,
I cut up this log from a logpile, so I have no leaves to evaluate. The very light color with the darker heart had me thinking it was white ash at first glance, but the bark didn't seem right for ash. It wasn't easy to split by hand, and was fairly stringy, causing me to rule out white ash. It's also quite dense/heavy. I hope the photos are sufficient for a positive ID. Let me know what you think.
Thanks,
Scott

 

[Shawn Curry]

The wood sure looks like white ash to me as well, and the ratio of sapwood to heartwood seems about right. For what it's worth, I cut up a very mature ash this weekend, but most of the bark didn't have the usual "diamond" pattern - looked more like silver maple.

 

[fireview2788]

Bark looks like hackberry to me.


fv

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I'm thinking it's just good old Silver Maple.....

 

[Enzo's Dad]

i cut alot of ash this year...certainly looks like it to me..

 

[Hickorynut]

I vote hackberry, based more on bark than anything.

 

[Woody Stover]

Bark doesn't look like White Ash but the wood does...

 

[Soundchasm]

The bark sure reminds me of Hackberry in pic #1 on the horizontal split. Stringy sure sounds like it. Hackberry sure seemed heavy to me right after cutting, and the big rounds stayed wet for a long time. But the splits dried to almost Balsa-like weight. Burned just fine.

 

[nrford]

Hackberry without a doubt.

 

[Paulywalnut]

Zoomed up I do see the telltale BB size hole on the center of the round. Ash.

 

[nrford]

Zoomed up I do see the telltale BB size hole on the center of the round. Ash.

Go look at the logs in the various piles of sorted species and let us know how this "rule" holds up. That is called the Pith center and every tree has one. Some are tight and some are closed, this is a flawed "rule" of thumb.

 

[Paulywalnut]

Go look at the logs in the various piles of sorted species and let us know how this "rule" holds up. That is called the Pith center and every tree has one. Some are tight and some are closed, this is a flawed "rule" of thumb.

Wow. Not a rule of thumb. Just every ash I have ever seen green or dry has the BB hole in the dead center. It's not in beech,cherry, Osage or locust. I do agree completely that the pith center is in every piece of wood in some part of its demise but not that size and right in the middle. That's all, just an opinion.

 

[nrford]

Let me see, I've seen it in ash, beech, cherry, hickory, basswood, elm, etc. etc etc. And I have been around sawmills for all 31 years of my ADULT life plus all 17 years of my childhood.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I see the pinhole in Ash more than any other wood and used to think that it was only inherent in Ash, but not long ago saw it in Hickory and got me wondering about my "theory" too. But I notice it mostly in Ash, but I'm going to start looking at other species too to see if I can find it.

 

[TX-L]

I have cut firewood for some decades now, and this just doesn't have the characteristics of white ash. This log was the base of the tree, it had no branches coming off it and few knots in it, but it still split way too hard to be ash, along with being somewhat stringy, and the bark is a little different than any ash I am familiar with. I am not familiar with hackberry, but will certainly defer to others that have experience with it. I researched hackberry online, this statement sums it up for me, from (broken link removed to http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/hackberry/) : "In terms of outward appearance, Hackberry bears a close resemblance to ash; anatomically, however, it’s closest to elm (Ulmus spp.), with the pores arranged in wavy tangential bands (ulmiform arrangement), which is characteristic of the elms. Hackberry is reputed to among the very best woods for steam bending among hardwoods native to the United States and Canada."

I'm going with hackberry. Thanks for the responses, and when it comes down to it two winters from now, the Blaze King will not care WHAT it actually is!

 

[Paulywalnut]

Let me see, I've seen it in ash, beech, cherry, hickory, basswood, elm, etc. etc etc. And I have been around sawmills for all 31 years of my life plus all 17 years of my childhood.

Point taken.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Let me see, I've seen it in ash, beech, cherry, hickory, basswood, elm, etc. etc etc. And I have been around sawmills for all 31 years of my life plus all 17 years of my childhood.

Help me out here, now I'm confused, are you 31 or 48?

 

[nrford]

^^corrected^^ remember I'm a sawmiller not an English major.

 

[Wood Duck]

I don't know how old nrford is, but I think it looks like a Hackberry round.

 

[TX-L]

I sent these pictures to four forester friends of mine, they all replied with hackberry.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

^^corrected^^ remember I'm a sawmiller not an English major.

Even Superman had some flaws.......

 

[Rebelduckman]

Sure is pretty wood. I've got a bunch of hack on the property too. I've never cut, split or burned any but I'm about to add it to the list.