Mystery Wood Pile - ID thread

[Turbo89]

Trying not to muck up the “what’s in your stove thread”, and there’s been some interest in the multiple cords of mystery wood I picked up on market place.

Here’s a few pictures of wood that I keep running into, that burns extremely well and are real hefty for their size.

The one on the left I would have thought is ash… but it’s way more dense than the ash trees that I bucked up and split over the last few years.

These are probably going on the fire tonight.

 

[River]

The center two are black cherry. I am not sure of the outside ones.

 

[Turbo89]

The center two are black cherry. I am not sure of the outside ones.

Thanks! The mangled up one on the top right is ash, it’s part of a knotted up piece I ran through the splitter.

 

[stoveliker]

Middle two are cherry indeed.
Top left looks like red oak to me from the bark, but too much mold on the cut end to see rays.

 

[Turbo89]

Middle two are cherry indeed.
Top left looks like red oak to me from the bark, but too much mold on the cut end to see rays.

Here’s one more picture of the left piece:

 

[stoveliker]

Wel that bark looks like ash,.the diamonds

 

[Turbo89]

Wel that bark looks like ash,.the diamonds

Yea, that’s what I would have guessed if it weren’t so heavy!

 

[stoveliker]

Is it dry enough?

 

[Turbo89]

Is it dry enough?

It’s been seasoning here, covered for almost a year and it was bone dry when I got it. The ash tree I cut down and stacked beside it is 18% and notably lighter, so I’d say so.

I’m wondering if it’s elm?

 

[stoveliker]

Then I'm stumped and will have to wait for more knowledgeable folks

 

[Dieselhead]

If it’s very heavy I’d hazard a guess at black locust. It has thick diamond shaped bark. If you get fireworks coming from the coals when stirring them it’s for sure BL.

 

[stoveliker]

Yes the rings on the cut end are not inconsistent with BL.
Maybe the split is larger than it looked to me (I thought the bark was thinner than I'm used to for BL.)

 

[Turbo89]

Yes the rings on the cut end are not inconsistent with BL.
Maybe the split is larger than it looked to me (I thought the bark was thinner than I'm used to for BL.)

Good call, yes the bark is thicker than I’m used to with ash. It’s an average size split, ~16” long, with the thicker part about 3-4”.

 

[Burnin Since 1991]

Good call, yes the bark is thicker than I’m used to with ash. It’s an average size split, ~16” long, with the thicker part about 3-4”.

How'd it burn?

 

[Turbo89]

How'd it burn?

Not spectacular, like say an oak or hickory. I never got a chance to rattle it around and check for sparks. I have some more, I’ll make a note to try it after the holiday. I’m itching to finish up some projects in the shop, but between work and the holidays it’s gonna be a few days.

I’ll dig out some other odd balls from the stack and post them up here too.

 

[bigealta]

If you re split one it should be obvious if it is locust.

 

[Turbo89]

Alright - a few more, I’m guessing the right one is cherry again. It’s about the same weight as the left piece, but probably half the size:

 

[stoveliker]

Yes , cherry (or black birch, but unlikely imo) and idk

 

[bigealta]

Agree Right good chance to be cherry.
Left No idea.

 

[River]

I concur in re: black cherry on the right. The left looks like well-aged elm, to me, but it should not be lighter than the cherry. How about box elder?

 

[Turbo89]

I concur in re: black cherry on the right. The left looks like well-aged elm, to me, but it should not be lighter than the cherry. How about box elder?

Yea, that’s what’s throwing me for a loop (that and the really light gray color). They were split into big chunks, and there’s a fair bit of them mixed in the pile.

The recent pieces aren’t burning very good, so possible it’s box elder, poplar or some other marginal wood.

 

[Turbo89]

I found a few more pieces of that mystery wood on the left, here’s some better pictures, maybe someone can ID it.

 

[bigealta]

iDK but i have had similar looking splits with the shotgun holes and the insect eaten channels in the sapwood just like in the pics.

 

[Turbo89]

If it’s very heavy I’d hazard a guess at black locust. It has thick diamond shaped bark. If you get fireworks coming from the coals when stirring them it’s for sure BL.

Sure enough, tonight’s fire has a bunch of coals shooting off fireworks when I raked them to the back:

 

[Turbo89]

iDK but i have had similar looking splits with the shotgun holes and the insect eaten channels in the sapwood just like in the pics.

I figured those grooves would help someone, lol. Too stringy to be ash, maybe really aged elm?