Maple Score Today and a Possible Bonus! Tree ID Needed

[babzog]

Called my wood cutter buddy today to see what we were cutting and, while he had to head off to other business, he did say I could load up with the fruits of a job he was working this week. All maple! Sweet! Brought home three 4x8 trailers (well loaded!) today and will head back for another couple tomorrow. He's already hauled off 10 he says and the main trunks are still to be levelled - they're over 4' across and still 7-8' high!

Anyway, I had just finished loading my second load this aft and an older gentleman stopped and asked me if I wanted another tree. Said he had one blow dow nlast summer. Some kind of maple, he says. I go and have a look and am not sure if it's Manitoba Maple or White Ash. Took some pics and even found a (intact) leaf at the base of the tree (though it could have blown in from nearby trees). I'm always confused by these two and hope you can help school me on what this is.

The leaf is kinda hard to see, but it has little jaggies on the sides.

 

[blujacket]

Mulberry

 

[bogydave]

Hard to ID but it looks to be a twisted grain, splitting may be a challenge.
Try to pull it all the way down before you jump in there & start cutting
Looks like something may be grown into the tree near the base (1st pic, some horizontal bark cracks makes me think wire fence) be careful there.
Any questionable cuts, use an old chain to go fishing, I've seen concrete poured in to repair crotches, tree has seen "man & saw" before
Maybe elm, but not sure.
Good luck, be safe.

 

[nrford]

Looks to be Norway Maple to me!

 

[Beer Belly]

4 feet across !....how the heck ya gonna move that ???....bet you'll get-r-done somehow. As of late, not much scrounging to be had in my area, thats okay, gotta CSS what I got to make room for more.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Not ash for sure nor does it look like a maple.

 

[Wood Duck]

The tree looks like Box Elder/Manitoba Maple. I am not sure about the leaf but could it be part of a compound leaf?

 

[aansorge]

I too vote Box Elder.

 

[CTYank]

Looks to be Norway Maple to me!

Another vote here for norway maple. From the bark. (Show us the end-grain, eh.)

I assume OP would've mentioned the strange wood coloration and low density of box-elder.

 

[ScotO]

Looks to be Norway Maple to me!

Another vote here for norway maple. From the bark. (Show us the end-grain, eh.)

I assume OP would've mentioned the strange wood coloration and low density of box-elder.

I agree. plus the way the cutoff brances are grown over, that is a Norway Maple. And the leaf you show there is NOT from a norway maple, that looks alot like an ash leaf. Either way, norway maple burns nice when dried out! Good score.

 

[Wood Duck]

Looks to be Norway Maple to me!

Another vote here for norway maple. From the bark. (Show us the end-grain, eh.)

I assume OP would've mentioned the strange wood coloration and low density of box-elder.

The tree is still standing, or at least still intact but toppled over. Maybe the wood hasn't been seen yet.

 

[babzog]

I've seen the tree. I'm pretty sure it's a Manitoba Maple, but like I said, I always have a hard time telling Ash from MM. What is the defining characteristic of white Ash?

I haven't cut this tree yet... not sure if I want to. Around here, MM is a weed tree, softwood, good for October (to save the good wood) but, worth driving a half hour (one way) for?

Beer Belly: I'm not cutting those trunks. They're pretty impressive though! Buddy is thinking he'll be spending a few hours chipping off pieces just to get into a position to make a cut. Gonna be some good wood in those! I think this weekend, I scored anywhere from 8-10 face cords of good sugar maple.

 

[gyrfalcon]

Looks to be Norway Maple to me!

Another vote here for norway maple. From the bark. (Show us the end-grain, eh.)

I assume OP would've mentioned the strange wood coloration and low density of box-elder.

Definitely not a Norway maple leaf, though.

 

[gyrfalcon]

I've seen the tree. I'm pretty sure it's a Manitoba Maple, but like I said, I always have a hard time telling Ash from MM. What is the defining characteristic of white Ash?

I haven't cut this tree yet... not sure if I want to. Around here, MM is a weed tree, softwood, good for October (to save the good wood) but, worth driving a half hour (one way) for?

Beer Belly: I'm not cutting those trunks. They're pretty impressive though! Buddy is thinking he'll be spending a few hours chipping off pieces just to get into a position to make a cut. Gonna be some good wood in those! I think this weekend, I scored anywhere from 8-10 face cords of good sugar maple.

White ash is a comparatively light-weight, very straight-grained wood. The wood itself looks a lot like a white version of red oak (never seen white oak, but maybe it's similar).

Box elder is eminently burnable and seems to season fast, and easy to split. But personally I wouldn't bother with it for anything other than shoulder season. If you need shoulder wood to save the good stuff for colder weather, it's worth doing. Otherwise maybe not so much.

 

[midwestcoast]

I've seen the tree. I'm pretty sure it's a Manitoba Maple, but like I said, I always have a hard time telling Ash from MM. What is the defining characteristic of white Ash?

I haven't cut this tree yet... not sure if I want to. Around here, MM is a weed tree, softwood, good for October (to save the good wood) but, worth driving a half hour (one way) for?

Beer Belly: I'm not cutting those trunks. They're pretty impressive though! Buddy is thinking he'll be spending a few hours chipping off pieces just to get into a position to make a cut. Gonna be some good wood in those! I think this weekend, I scored anywhere from 8-10 face cords of good sugar maple.

I would guess Manatoba Maple (Boxelder) as well based on 1) Owner says it's a Maple, likely because of all the keys it drops. 2) Trunk is twisty like a MM tends to be. 3) Bark looks more like MM to me. They are very similar of course, but I tend to see Ash having more of a diamond pattern & MM a more furrowed pattern. On bark alone it's a tough call between the 2.

Norway Maple are just way less common in your area as you know.

Looks like a good one to walk away from if you can afford to be choosy. 1 hr drive & I see real tough splitting for mediocre (at best) wood there.