Really stumped - Wood ID

[Razo]

Hi everyone, I'm so glad I found this forum, its really an awesome resource.

I just purchased my first home in October and it has electric heat. It does have an open fireplace so I have been using that while I am home to help offset the cost of heating. Since I was caught off-guard, I have had to buy some wood for this winter, some well seasoned red oak. My plan is to install a wood stove over the summer that used to belong to my dad and keep busy all summer bucking and splitting wood. I can't wait because I actually enjoy it. I always used to do it just to have firewood for camping. I have a husqvarna 445 and 2 mauls and plan on buying an old pickup truck (my Jeep Cherokee can't hold that much wood haha)

My brother-in-law does own some land with tons of downed trees that have been down for a few years. It was being selectively logged but the loggers ran out of money and the workers walked off the job. A ton of downed trees have been left behind and I have been told I am more than welcome to all of them so that is a huge score.

I'm really into ID'ing the species and learning about each of them. Leaves are out of the question since they have been down for a few years so I am mostly going by bark. So far I cut up 3 trees. One I believe to be a sweet cherry, one I know is a sassafras (might keep that for camping wood or until I get the stove, it pops like crazy in my open hearth! I can put the screen up but I don't get as much heat when its in place. I like to move it while I am on the couch right there watching it.

Anywayyyyyy, I am having one heck of a time identifying the 3rd tree. Every time I think I know what it is I see another picture that makes me doubt it. It was very hard to split, sometimes the maul would bounce right off it and its super heavy. Its not a conifer. I was thinking white poplar maybe? But then when I look at pictures it just doesn't seem right. Nothing I've seen so far has been a match in my eyes. Can anyone identify this? Underneath the bark it is a sort of nutmeg orange brown and the wood is very white with silver streaks going through it.

 

[Razo]

On a side note, I know a good indication of seasoned wood is the checks that will form radiating out from the center of the end grain. Most of the cherry that I cut and split back in early December is already cracked and checked. I know these strong winds we have been having is certainly helping dry my wood and I have begun to burn some of it and its burning fine.

This leads me to my question. I know the general rule is at least 6 months to a year for wood to fully season but what about all of these downed trees that have been felled for 3 years or more? There are quite a few that are elevated off the ground so they are nice and dry. Is it out of the question that such wood could be showing signs of seasoning only after a month or two?

 

[Applesister]

Im guessing Big toothed Aspen.
The gray streaks are the beginning stages of decomposition.
You are gonna have your work cut out for you. A cheap moisture meter will help with guessing thelevel of seasoning.

 

[gzecc]

To me it looks like a partially punky oak of some kind.
At least 1 yr to dry most hard woods below a moisture content <25%. 2 yrs for oaks.
Wood in log form season very slowly. Trunks above 6" in diameter are still green after years of laying off the ground.

 

[Applesister]

The trees may be fully seasoned but will generally be still full of water. My uneducated theory is more free water vs bound water which normally takes longer to move out of the wood cells.
The wood will still need to dry.

 

[nrford]

Aspen for sure.

 

[Razo]

Thanks guys, this one was actually laying on the ground so it makes sense that it is more far gone (closer to rot). I'll leave it season for a year or so and try burning it, I don't have a huge amount of it. Next time I go up to the land I want to be better prepared and sort out the best of the wood to take first.

 

[Jon1270]

On a side note, I know a good indication of seasoned wood is the checks that will form radiating out from the center of the end grain.

This is wrong. The cracks happen because the ends of the log are drying faster than the middles. The ends can't stay intact as they shrink because they're attached to the middles, which aren't shrinking yet. So, cracked ends only tell you that the very ends have dried somewhat; the middles of the splits/rounds may still be quite wet.

 

[Wood Duck]

If you need to move wood you might consider a trailer for the jeep rather than a pickup truck. You can probably get the trailer and hitch a lot cheaper.

 

[mark cline]

cottonwood, poplar or willow , I'd go with willow . What does it smell like? like crap? most likely willow.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Hi everyone, I'm so glad I found this forum, its really an awesome resource.

I just purchased my first home in October and it has electric heat. It does have an open fireplace so I have been using that while I am home to help offset the cost of heating. Since I was caught off-guard, I have had to buy some wood for this winter, some well seasoned red oak. My plan is to install a wood stove over the summer that used to belong to my dad and keep busy all summer bucking and splitting wood. I can't wait because I actually enjoy it. I always used to do it just to have firewood for camping. I have a husqvarna 445 and 2 mauls and plan on buying an old pickup truck (my Jeep Cherokee can't hold that much wood haha)

My brother-in-law does own some land with tons of downed trees that have been down for a few years. It was being selectively logged but the loggers ran out of money and the workers walked off the job. A ton of downed trees have been left behind and I have been told I am more than welcome to all of them so that is a huge score.

Anywayyyyyy, I am having one heck of a time identifying the 3rd tree. Every time I think I know what it is I see another picture that makes me doubt it. It was very hard to split, sometimes the maul would bounce right off it and its super heavy. Its not a conifer. I was thinking white poplar maybe? But then when I look at pictures it just doesn't seem right. Nothing I've seen so far has been a match in my eyes. Can anyone identify this? Underneath the bark it is a sort of nutmeg orange brown and the wood is very white with silver streaks going through it.

On a side note, I know a good indication of seasoned wood is the checks that will form radiating out from the center of the end grain. Most of the cherry that I cut and split back in early December is already cracked and checked. I know these strong winds we have been having is certainly helping dry my wood and I have begun to burn some of it and its burning fine.

This leads me to my question. I know the general rule is at least 6 months to a year for wood to fully season but what about all of these downed trees that have been felled for 3 years or more? There are quite a few that are elevated off the ground so they are nice and dry. Is it out of the question that such wood could be showing signs of seasoning only after a month or two?

Welcome to the forum Razo.

You have some popple (aspen) there but what I'd like to home in on is the above that is highlighted in red.

First, what is "well seasoned" oak? We've found that most folks really don't know. For sure oak needs 2 - 3 years and that is after it has been cut and split and stacked outside in the wind. We won't burn it here until it is at least 3 years in the stack.

On the left over logs. Do not count on them being dry because they are in log form and not cut to length nor are they split. I say count them as green fresh cut logs.

Cherry is one of the faster drying woods and we like to burn some most years. But do not be disillusioned with the ends being cracked and checked. All that shows is that the ends are drying. It does not say that the center has dried a bit.

The general rule is not 6 months! For a "general rule it would be closer to a year or more. But different woods take different amounts of time to dry and it is good to know the differences.

For a better rule, get hold of the 3 year plan! That is, get yourself 3 years ahead on your wood piles. The benefits of doing this is tremendous and over and over on this forum we find new folks that got on the 3 year plan and they are all amazed at the difference in how the wood burns. In addition, you will find that it takes less wood to heat your house. Many other benefits to it. Give it a try and good luck.

 

[Ralphie Boy]

This is where I come in and say: "The best device for measuring the moisture content of split firewood is a multi-year calendar!"

As for logs on the forest floor; last season, just for giggles and grins, I cut and split a red oak log that, according to the land owner, had been down nearly 30 years. The sap wood was long ago rotted away leaving an weathered heartwood log unrecognizable as oak. When I cut it the log was solid as a rock and the splits metered 36%. I'll burn those splits mid winter 2016. Nope, gotta be split or it ain't gonna season.

 

[Razo]

Thanks for all the info guys, I really appreciate it! The gentleman I purchased the red oak off of claims it has been split and sitting for 5 years. It seems extremely dry and burns very well but I am new to this after all. I like the idea of the 3 year plan, makes so much sense and alleviates a lot of worries about wood being fully seasoned. I have a fairly small property so the only challenge will be storing all of it.

Now in order to get on this 3 year plan I have to cut a lot of wood this summer. I am going to need some wood for next winter as well so any advice on the fastest drying woods? If I could score any among the downed trees and get it split and stacked very early in the spring I would hope maybe it would be at least usable by next winter.

So it seems that the downed trees are just as rich in moisture content than green wood? I knew wood really wouldn't season unless split but I didn't know that a downed tree that had been dead for 3 years has the same moisture content as one cut down 5 minutes ago. This is good to know. Thanks again for the info guys.

 

[Jon1270]

I am going to need some wood for next winter as well so any advice on the fastest drying woods?

Soft maple is a good bet, if you can get it stacked out in the open, preferably top-covered. I started this winter with about half a cord of silver maple that had been CSS about 8 or 9 months, and I wish I had more of it. I have a lot of other, denser species, but the maple is drier and performs better. In your position, I'd grab a couple of cords of it as soon as I could.

 

[Jon1270]

Here's my enthusiastic thread on the topic.

 

[Razo]

I'll be on the lookout for some soft maple then. Thanks for the tip. I'm reading your thread now. So I guess it goes without saying that most of you guys keep all your wood species in separate stacks? So if you were to get some cherry and maple, and split it on the same day, you wouldn't mix the cherry and maple while stacking it right? Seems to make sense to me and I think I want to keep my wood separate regardless.

 

[red oak]

Thanks for all the info guys, I really appreciate it! The gentleman I purchased the red oak off of claims it has been split and sitting for 5 years. It seems extremely dry and burns very well but I am new to this after all. I like the idea of the 3 year plan, makes so much sense and alleviates a lot of worries about wood being fully seasoned. I have a fairly small property so the only challenge will be storing all of it.

Now in order to get on this 3 year plan I have to cut a lot of wood this summer. I am going to need some wood for next winter as well so any advice on the fastest drying woods? If I could score any among the downed trees and get it split and stacked very early in the spring I would hope maybe it would be at least usable by next winter.

So it seems that the downed trees are just as rich in moisture content than green wood? I knew wood really wouldn't season unless split but I didn't know that a downed tree that had been dead for 3 years has the same moisture content as one cut down 5 minutes ago. This is good to know. Thanks again for the info guys.

I think if you cut split and stacked soft maple, ash, cherry, or pine it would be ready for next year. Not ideal, but certainly better than burning oak. Any oak you cut now would season for multiple years to be really ready. Also if you can find some dead standing trees, even oak, the branches and top can be ready to burn.

Also, if you want it to dry faster, stack it in single rows where it can get a lot of wind and sun. Find something to cover the top only, and keep the wood off the ground. Good luck!

 

[Razo]

finding one if not a few of those species should not be a problem. I have a fun summer ahead of me.

 

[Jon1270]

So if you were to get some cherry and maple, and split it on the same day, you wouldn't mix the cherry and maple while stacking it right? Seems to make sense to me and I think I want to keep my wood separate regardless.

I think it's often useful to keep it separate, especially when you're up against the deadline of needing some wood to be ready for next winter. In practice most sections of my wood racks are single-species, but maybe a third of them are mixed. I do try to keep them sorted such that a given section will all finish drying at about the same time, i.e. I would not stack freshly cut maple and oak together.

Find something to cover the top only,

FWIW, my favorite top cover is strips of used rubber roofing. This past summer a roofing company gave me a 10' x 10' piece of it, and I cut it into strips wide enough to cover single rows. Weighed down with a few larger splits, it has worked very well for keeping rain from penetrating deep into the stacks from where it takes longer to evaporate.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Thanks for all the info guys, I really appreciate it! The gentleman I purchased the red oak off of claims it has been split and sitting for 5 years. It seems extremely dry and burns very well but I am new to this after all. I like the idea of the 3 year plan, makes so much sense and alleviates a lot of worries about wood being fully seasoned. I have a fairly small property so the only challenge will be storing all of it.

Now in order to get on this 3 year plan I have to cut a lot of wood this summer. I am going to need some wood for next winter as well so any advice on the fastest drying woods? If I could score any among the downed trees and get it split and stacked very early in the spring I would hope maybe it would be at least usable by next winter.

So it seems that the downed trees are just as rich in moisture content than green wood? I knew wood really wouldn't season unless split but I didn't know that a downed tree that had been dead for 3 years has the same moisture content as one cut down 5 minutes ago. This is good to know. Thanks again for the info guys.

Advice on the fastest drying woods would be better to advise if we knew what is available to you. But I will second the soft maple (red or silver). We have burned soft maple in as little as 6 months but a year is better. Just know it is not the best for holding long fires. It will burn hot and give coals but will burn up long before hard maple. We've burned a lot of it and have some in the stove right now. It is also 34 degrees outside so we don't have much in the stove.

 

[Razo]

I haven't been back up the land since last posting. Once I get up there I'll have to evaluate what trees are down and determine the species. From what I remember, there is a pretty nice variety but I wasn't paying too close of attention last time.

 

[jeffesonm]

Keep an eye out for standing dead trees... I just cut down a standing dead locust and it was at 15% and has been burning beautifully in my stove... wish I had a forest full of these.

Also there are no checks in any of the pieces since I just cut them last week, but they are dry as a bone..........