Need a wood ID

[Matt82]

I picked up this free wood last spring from craigslist. It had been sitting in rounds for several years. The lady thought it was black locusts and at the time I was inclined to agree with her. After splitting it didn't look like anything I'd seen before. Heartwood has I pinkish reddish look, kinda like black cherry. This stuff is hard to split and stringy, it burns hot and long like black locust. It just dosnt look like it to me. Anybody seen this before?

 

[TedyOH]

Pin Oak would be my guess - they are pretty fast growing and that would explain the wide growth rings

 

[JimBear]

Looks like Honey Locust to me.

 

[Mutineer]

Looks like Honey Locust to me.

99% sure it's red oak.

 

[Matt82]

Thanks for the replies. I can see why from the picture it might look like a red oak. But I can say for certain it's not of the oak variety. The sapwood isn't consistent with oak at all.

 

[weatherguy]

Could be locust, honey or black, hard to tell in that state with pictures. If it burns nice, enjoy the heat.

 

[JimBear]

Honey Locust is salmon colored , I will split a piece when I get home & post a pic.

 

[JimBear]

Pic #1 is off a 1 year old round of Cherry

Pic #2 is from a 2 year old large split of Honey Locust

 

[Woody Stover]

Red Oak I think. Have you got a pic of some clean-cut end grain? Medullary rays should be visible, light-colored lines radiating from the center. Probably won't be a pronounced as what you see in this pic but you get the idea.

 

[weatherguy]

Now that I take another look I'm thinking red oak too.

 

[CincyBurner]

In two middle pics looks like red oak, but . . .
Pink/ salmon heartwood, and in last pic of OP's post (bottom left) you can see a bit of bark. Looks consistent with HONEY locust (Gleditsia triacanthos). And end grain from last pic looks more like HL . Also wood with sloughed off bark looks like old honeylocust I've scrounged.
If honey locust, a dense good burning wood.

Better pics of bark ? Any bark left ?

 

[Simonkenton]

Red oak.

 

[Woody Stover]

Now that I take another look I'm thinking red oak too.

Now that I take another look, I'm thinking maybe not. Cincy makes a good point about the missing bark..never seen Red Oak sapwood look like that. Another astute observation about the end grain in the last pic, which I missed.

 

[Matt82]

I managed to find a peice with a shred of bark left. Comparing it to other pics it looks like it could be honey locust. Btw. I burn probably 80% red oak. This is no Oak. Even the straight peices with no knots are hard to split.

 

[Matt82]

Here is the picture

 

[Simonkenton]

Locust is easy to split. You have The Mystery Firewood.
Need to get a DNA analysis.

 

[hickoryhoarder]

99% sure it's red oak.

I am not nearly as sure, but that was also my guess.

 

[hickoryhoarder]

It is not black cherry. Especially when you say it's stringy to split. Few things split as easily or cleanly as black cherry.

My hunch is red oak, but I'd do much better to see it in person.

 

[baseroom]

I burn a lot of Honey Locust. That is Honey Locust. It heavy dense and burns a long time. If it’s been sitting a while. You will see sawdust around it where bugs get it.