Help with wood ID, please!

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J

jharris70

New Member
Dec 26, 2017
11
Baltimore, MD
Several down trees in my old neighborhood since Friday. I picked up several logs of this today. What do you think it is? There is more to get if it is a good hardwood. Thanks!
[Hearth.com] Help with wood ID, please!
 
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allan5oh said:
Possibly oak? Is it heavy? Where do you live?
Click to expand...

It actually felt a little lighter than I thought it would when I picked it up. I am in Baltimore, MD.

I just picked up some pieces of this wood below as well.
[Hearth.com] Help with wood ID, please!


Maple?

Thanks for the replies. Cottonwood would be fine for our fire pit. Oak would be much better!


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The wood in the vehicle looks like red maple.
 
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Wood in car is oak. The bark is too heavy for Soft Maple
 
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1st picture: Cottonwood
2nd picture: Red (soft) Maple
 
There's no Cottonwood in Maryland. Not a native species here. Bark looks like Black Walnut in #1. The center is usually darker though. #2 does look like Red Maple.

Kevin
 
maryland guy here. and i love and pride myself on my wood ID skills. so much fun!

pic one- chestnut oak

pic two- (the car pic) oak, looks to be pin or willow

1000% sure on these.
 
Kingsville, MD here and only thing around me is cedar. Lots of cedar and pine. The big ones hat came down were mostly taken away by the crews. Still looking but just got power back tonight so I have been busy.

Did grab a truck load of cedar to mix in and may get more.


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What you have is firewood. I don't think either is oak. Pic one I agree with poplar/cottonwood and pic two in car looks like tree of heaven to me. It's all free BTUs.
 
Eureka said:
Holy crap does anybody know what oak is?! Hilarious
Click to expand...

Yep and that's what it is. Never, ever seen cottonwood here. Natural or landscape planting. Def not maple in car.

I've cut enough chestnut oak to know what it looks like.
 
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I was just judging by the punky, crappy looking wood on the busted off limb in the first picture that resembles any piece of Eastern Cottonwood I’ve ever encountered. And since I’ve never in my life seen oak with a greenish brown center with white sapwood I thought it was the soft maple that it looks exactly like to me. The regional differences of opinion are interesting.
 
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It’d actually be cool to see some of the splits after the OP gets around to processing it
 
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I agree with all who have said pic one is chestnut oak, 100%. I’m having a hard time with two but I’ve never seen maple bark as thick as what’s in that picture.


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It is interesting to note the regional differences of opinion. I posted a picture similar to the first last year and got a lot of cottonwood and sassafras suggestions until I mentioned that it was much heavier than the red oak I was splitting the same day. Then the consensus changed to chestnut oak. When I saw the first picture, I thought of chestnut oak immediately but then the OP said it was much lighter than he expected.

At the time of my post I had never knowingly seen a cottonwood. Only a few weeks later my daughter showed me some growing in a park we had frequented for years. The bark was similar.

Tulip poplar is a type of magnolia, not the same as poplar/cottonwood. The wood looks very different inside.
 
Alright Jharris, we are going to need pics of the split grain and a pic of a fresh cut end grain would be good too.
Pic 1 looks like a lengthy piece. Did you cut it again to burning length? Was it greenish/olive colored heartwood when fresh cut and oxidize to redish brown? Smell like piss?
 
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