Hey folks, anyone know what this wood is?

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TrippRick

New Member
Mar 22, 2022
19
Central Mass / Poland ME
Trees seem to grow "crooked"..bent a foot or so from the trunk. Really stringy and tough to split, although some straight sections are easier. Cross-section of rounds are up to 8" dia. Bark one 1 side is rough while the other side is smoother.

Any idea what this wood is? Have a few more I can cut if it's ok for firewood (Regency insert)
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Thanks! 20220223_115950_HDR - Copy - Copy.jpg 20220223_120007 - Copy (2).jpg 20220307_113048 - Copy.jpg
 
Seems like a type of cherry or birch. Should be at least decent firewood.
 
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I vote for cherry over black birch.
How does it smell?
 
Trees seem to grow "crooked"..bent a foot or so from the trunk. Really stringy and tough to split, although some straight sections are easier. Cross-section of rounds are up to 8" dia. Bark one 1 side is rough while the other side is smoother.

Any idea what this wood is? Have a few more I can cut if it's ok for firewood (Regency insert)View attachment 293888

Thanks! View attachment 293890 View attachment 293891 View attachment 293892
It looks like a small cherry.
 
X3 that's a cherry tree IMO. It's good wood, the trees often have their fair share of problems, often they end up tipping out of the ground in my bush.
 
Thanks all!

No particular overwhelming smell other than...wet..which doesn't help. Maybe slightly sweet. Cut it Dec 2021, split it yesterday. Rounds are still really heavy for their size. Ends checked up nicely but still very damp inside, which is understandable. I assume it'll be ok by next Fall but I'll check with my meter.

Here's a pic showing how they grow. Takes a distinct left! That adds to it being stringy? I'll probably cut this 1 too since it sounds like it's cherry and will be decent for the stove.

20220323_092423.jpg
 
Nice cherry, I try to not split those size rounds and just let them dry for 3 years, makes for some nice long burns.
 
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Cherry for sure.
 
Nice cherry, I try to not split those size rounds and just let them dry for 3 years, makes for some nice long burns.
I was gonna just let them season w/o splitting. Since I cut it last December I thought it would be "less wet". I picked up a medium round the other day and it was still pretty heavy. I split it and it was really damp. As I had my manual hydraulic splitter all set up next to the stack I decided to split the cherry rounds. Was perfect weather for it! Hopefully that'll speed up drying so I can use it next season. There were some rounds that split ok with the maul but a lot needed the splitter. No way to use the maul or wedges on the real stringy ones.
 
I was gonna just let them season w/o splitting. Since I cut it last December I thought it would be "less wet". I picked up a medium round the other day and it was still pretty heavy. I split it and it was really damp. As I had my manual hydraulic splitter all set up next to the stack I decided to split the cherry rounds. Was perfect weather for it! Hopefully that'll speed up drying so I can use it next season. There were some rounds that split ok with the maul but a lot needed the splitter. No way to use the maul or wedges on the real stringy ones.

Good idea to split it, Cherry can easily rot out quickly when the bark stays on, which is always, unless it's split. Maybe it's ok in a shed but not outside without excellent moisture protection.
 
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No particular overwhelming smell other than...wet..which doesn't help. Maybe slightly sweet. Cherry is supposed to be easy to split...but this was not. Maybe it was stringy due to the bend it took.
I would not call cherry easy to split. Not to hard but usually they are somewhat twisted and can be a bit stringy. Some can split easy, some not.
 
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