Found it, split it, what is it???

[jason1238]

Here's another installment of "what kind of wood is this":

Any ideas? Got about 1/4 cord of it out of some huge rounds on Freecycle. Landowner said it's been cut for about a year, so I split some smallish pieces, dried it out with fans in the garage and burned some. It burns pretty good, lots of heat, coals OK. At first I thought it was ash (heavy because it was kinda' wet), but it's not all that straight, and I've never seen ash with that kind of black highlights in the grain.

Thanks,

Jason

 

[struggle]

Far from an expert, but that bark looks like maple to me. Silver maple??

 

[Jake]

wood looks like maple to me

 

[homebrewz]

Its hard to tell from the photos, but could the black lines be some partial fungus/rot starting to set in? I had some elm pieces that kind of looked like that.

 

[Hogwildz]

spalted maple

 

[jason1238]

I've heard that term before- spalted- what does it mean?

 

[restorer]

Definitely soft maple. The woodworker term is Spalted Maple. The dark streaks and lines following the grain are caused by a fungus breaking down the wood. It's probably been cut and sitting on the ground for a few years. Should be ready to fire up.

One note of caution, if you or the family have allergies test burn and see if there is any reactions. If you burn in an airtight all should be OK. Can affect you when cutting and splitting. Not common, but if suddenly you have a sinus attack, think about this as the cause.

 

[Hogwildz]

Uncle has it correct. Spalted wood is staining caused by a fungus. The logs are usally cut early summer, let laying and start spalting, then they are let laying through winter, and really start spalting the next spring. I have read many try to do this with the intentions of the colorful staining on many different woods.
The trick is to catch them before they rot, but not before the spalting has taken effect. Also noted that they recomend protective breathing gear, as breathing in the fungus can have an adverse effect on some folks. I used to see alot of it in maple when I split & delivered firewood. Some beautiful stuff. Almost like a marble effect in the wood.

 

[wg_bent]

The bark looks like some Pine I got, but the wood doesn't. I give up .

 

[ourhouse]

I have to say some kind of maple

 

[Rick]

I have some silver maple that looks just like that. It's about 2 years old. I don't know if the bark is the same as mine, most of the bark fell off as I was splitting it last year.

 

[Corey]

I'd have to go with silver maple as well...especially if you would say the bark tends to be sort of rectangular or elongated strips that chip off easily. Have a couple of these in the yard. They are pretty common in this area because they are fast growing and give great shade from the summer sun. Easy to split, OK to burn.

Corey

 

[Todd]

I have to agree with the others, that bark looks like the silver maple I have.

 

[jason1238]

Thanks guys...
I didn't think of silver maple, but I bet that's what it is. I've got four small ones each about 8" in dia that I need to take down in the backyard, and the grain looks similar (from what I can tell from broken branches). The bark on my little ones is much smoother, though. I assume it's because they're young trees. They're just too close to the deck, and I've developed a crack in the basement wall that I'm blaming them for >:-(
I also have a friend that has two larger ones he wants taken down, so it looks like next year will be a lot of silver maple on the pile!

Jason

 

[Bob512]

Looks like hickory to me. Quick

 

[TreeCo]

Silver maple for sure.

 

[restorer]

Silver maple for sure.

TreeCo, anyone welcome you to the forums? If not, welcome. Many refer to this as Silver leaf, us Westerners more often call it soft maple, any difference, or is this a regional name only?

Still think when it is that Spalted, be careful about reaction for ashma or allergies.

 

[Bob512]

Uncle Rich, no one welcomed me :coolmad: Ha , Saw the brown stripes, like hickory :red: Quick

 

[restorer]

Uncle Rich, no one welcomed me :coolmad: Ha , Saw the brown stripes, like hickory :red: Quick

Well, it's official we gotta' piss you off, before we accept you. At least that's what happened to me. Don't be afraid, jump right in.

 

[Bob512]

Thanks, I think? :coolsmile:

 

[JPapiPE]

Maybe silver maple , but hard to tell without a sample and a 30X power lense. See bruce hoadley's book " Identifing Wood"

I did make some exquiste furniture with some spalted pear a few years ago. Air dryed it for 2 years under cover and bandsawed it. It is one of my most exciting pieces of furniture.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Way to resurrect a thread here...

Bruce H is the master. I took a fly tying class from him at UMass. Really nice guy, too.

 

[derecskey]

Please do not electrocute babies. Nice avatar Jpapi.

 

[Hiram Maxim]

So how well does maple burn?

Just split a face cord this morning. Splits really nice!

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Maple of all sorts burns great, hard/sugar maple having the highest heat content.