Arborvitae or eastern cedar??

[XJma]

Took down a standing dead tree on my property this afternoon, just a little guy. About 15 minutes after it hit the ground I had a split of it in the stove and it was blazing, stuff is bone dry!! Takes a little effort (not 20" oak rounds efforts) to split but comes apart real nice.

I posted a few pics of some much larger, but similar looking trees a while back and was told they're 40' arborvitae. This one was 20' or so at best, and no greenery at all on the whole thing. Wood was purple on the inside. Have some in the stove right now, pumping out 450 stove top temps, fully choked back...this stuff definitely doesn't suck. My semi-dry sugar maple and oak don't burn this well by a long shot!! Here are some pics. I assume it died when the pines all around it blocked out all the sunlight??

 

[JOHN BOY]

Wow ..thats some cool looking wood ! on the inside. Does it smell anything like cedar ? I'am no arborvatie expert. Doesnt quite look like the cedar ive split

 

[XJma]

It has a slight cedar smell when you put your nose up to it but it is dry-dry, like drier than my small stash of 6 year seasoned oak dry. I don't have a moisture meter but comparatively I'd guess low single digits?? I've cut other similar trees that had more of an odor as they were greener. I can't smell anything inside here but when I went outside a while ago I could smell some of that cedar smell.

I dunno exactly what it is, but I'm glad there is more of the same on my property!!

 

[Butcher]

Red Cedar.

 

[Thistle]

Did someone mention Eastern Red Cedar? 1 of the last 3 big rounds I brought home in March 2011,still a faint smell.Not very much though.Skip chain throwing shavings 10+ft over my shoulder!! Over the past few months I filed the rakers a bit lower when cutting that super hard huge Honey Locust,really was aggressive when the chain hit that softer Cedar....

 

[Wood Duck]

That red wood is Eastern Red Cedar. Arbor vitae does not have reddish wood and does not have the red cedar aroma, although it does have a piney sort of smell to it. Arbor Vitae wood seems lighter than Red Cedar, which is saying somthing because Red cedar is pretty light in weight. There is another similar looking tree called Atlantic White Cedar, which is not normally planted (that is, it only grows wild) and is found along the Atlantic Coast including parts of Massachusetts. Atlantic White Cedar looks pretty similar to Arbor Vitae.

I have burned a lot of Red Cedar. It burns fast and hot, and is worth the effort to process not only because it burns well, but also for the great smell.

 

[XJma]

I'll have to get a few more pics of what may or may not be the 40' tall arborvitaes. I'm probably better than the average person at identifying trees, but far from an expert by any means, but I thought that they were also cedars?? I'll have to take a limb and see. The tall ones I believe are planted because they're in a row along an old road towards the back of my property.

The definite red cedar was random, not sure if natural or planted in the middle of mainly white pine wooded area. I assume it used to be pasture way back when because you can see on aerials my rough property line where my predominant white pine areas stop right at the line and it turns into maple and oak, drastic change. I remember the title search said that prior to the house going up in 1925, the property was part of a huge nursery.

Anyways, I think I hear the saws calling....

 

[ScotO]

That stuff is some pretty wood! That would make some beautiful turnings on the lathe! Wish I had a chunk or two of that to spin on my lathe. I bet it smells neat burning, too.

 

[billb3]

one of the vines growing on it looks like something you might not want to touch with bare hands

 

[Backwoods Savage]

That for sure is pretty wood and one could make good use of it for things other than firewood.

 

[XJma]

one of the vines growing on it looks like something you might not want to touch with bare hands

Oh yeah, not sure exactly what that vine is, but I definitely ain't touching it with my bare hands!! Poison something is my guess!! It has hairs that stick to the wood like glue. Crazy.

Scotty, if you want a piece, let me know what size would work and we can work something out...it is pretty light. If I didn't just get layed off I'd just send you a split . What kind of slice/split/piece would be of use? You gonna make surf casting plugs out of it?? That's what I'M talking about!!

 

[andybaker]

I've never seen wood that color. Sure is pretty.