Beech?

[oilstinks]

Scored three truck loads of beech for free. I have heard it is great wood but thought i would hit you all up for your opinion. This stuff is tough to split. You gotta start on the out side and work your way in.

 

[Vic99]

Beech has the BTU content of white oak . . . . excellent. As such, you probably won't be able to have it dried for this season unless you spilt it small and are looking at late season, like Feb. Splitting small can really make a difference, worked for me last year when I scored 1/3 of a cord of free hickory.

Nice score.

 

[BrotherBart]

If my whole woodpile was Beech I would be a happy guy. But the Oaks around here die or blow down. The Beech trees just keep growing bigger and bigger. And prettier and prettier.

Love'em live and standing or on the woodpile. You made a great score.

 

[savageactor7]

Never burned it but those that do say it's a great wood.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

You are 100% correct. If you split beech from the sides and NOT though the heart, it can split very easy. I've not found that many beech that are tough to split except in the knots, but then, all wood that is knotty splits hard. That is just another reason that a hydraulic splitter is so good.

 

[Rich M]

Beech is a fast drying wood, split and stacked it takes less time then most other hardwoods. Whittle those rounds from the edges like you're doing is the only way, the heartwood is very difficult by hand. Split it green or it will be even tougher (and remember it dries fast). My chopping blocks are all very old beech rounds.

 

[oilstinks]

Yea tree has been down for a year now. Letting it set out in the sun split side up for a few days before i stack it to help it dry.

 

[doug60]

I got 4 cords of beech about 20 years ago.
Hard to split is an under statement.
I had a mtd splitter from home depot & it wouldn't do the job.
I sold it and bought a real splitter.
Great burning wood though.

 

[Marty]

I'm trying to determine if the standing dead bark-less trunk I've been working on is a Beech. It comes from an area with a lot of Maples and a few Beech around, and it has been very difficult to split. It gave off reddish chips to the saw. Dose red saw dust sound like Beech?

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Quite possibly you do have beech. You should also be able to determine by the shape of the tree. Most beech in this area anyway don't have straight limbs. They are crooked devils.

 

[Marty]

It wasn't as crooked as some of the other Beech in the area, Pretty straight actually. I'll try to get some picks of the rounds, and maybe even the stump over the next week to post up.

 

[JustWood]

I burn about 90% beech . Have for about 8 years. Long burns and coals up nice. Actually like blue beech better because ut usaully doesn't grow bigger than 6" and doesn't require splitting.

 

[mayhem]

Beech burns great, the stuff I got to burnlast year was 6-7" diameter max so it was cake to split, but beech does tend to be very knotty so i could see some hard work to do a big tree.

Speaking of big beech trees, my Mom's house has what might be among the biggest copper beech trees in county. I'll see if I can dig up a photo somewhere...the base is a solid 6' diameter and the tree has to be a good 60' tall. Great climbing tree.

 

[DiscoInferno]

Beech is one that is much easier to split green. I split both a recent windfall and a long-standing-dead beach this summer. Even though the center was punky that dry one was harder to split. A lot of my beeches have main trunks with grain that twists around the central axis, and that makes it a little harder to split.

 

[Duetech]

I'm trying to determine if the standing dead bark-less trunk I've been working on is a Beech. It comes from an area with a lot of Maples and a few Beech around, and it has been very difficult to split. It gave off reddish chips to the saw. Dose red saw dust sound like Beech?

We get a lot of Dutch Elm that way, dead no bark, tough to split with reddish chips. The outer edges will be more white. Usually not a pleasant smelling wood but burns well...Cave2k

 

[pdboilermaker]

I say no matter what the circumstances free wood = good wood

 

[Marty]

I'm trying to determine if the standing dead bark-less trunk I've been working on is a Beech. It comes from an area with a lot of Maples and a few Beech around, and it has been very difficult to split. It gave off reddish chips to the saw. Dose red saw dust sound like Beech?

We get a lot of Dutch Elm that way, dead no bark, tough to split with reddish chips. The outer edges will be more white. Usually not a pleasant smelling wood but burns well...Cave2k

Thanks for the tip. I'll be busy this weekend hauling 2 cords of Red Oak I bought from a guy who is moving to Grand Junction CO, got to have them out of there before the new owner takes possession. Maybe next week or weekend, I can get back over to where I got the wood from to dig up some more clues.

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

I got 4 cords of beech about 20 years ago.
Hard to split is an under statement.
I had a mtd splitter from home depot & it wouldn't do the job.
I sold it and bought a real splitter.
Great burning wood though.

I didn't realize HD was around 20 years ago . . .

But as all have said, Beech has a high BTU score . . . but it will NOT stand up to water well at all. Beech only a couple of years old can become total junk if not stored properly. If Beech is over say 12" and not punky in the center, it probably pays to sell the logs and buy another fuel, leaving some coin in yer pocket.