Scrounge day and an ID please?

[D8Chumley]

Scored 3 trailer loads of scrounge in the field hedgerow about 3/4 mi from the house. Mostly downed ash



But I got a half load of this

ID please? Is it ash also? The bark is more coarse but I see a pinhole in the center. Maybe walnut? It was all downed stuff and a lot had the bark off. Good, in case I run short on my "this year" pile. I'm pleased with my day! More to get, but tricky, some of it and I was by myself so I didn't want to mess with it

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Looks like Ash to me....nice score! If it was Walnut the cutsides would be brown, not blond like that.

 

[D8Chumley]

Thanks PA! It'll burn haha. Might go back and try to scrounge some more tomorrow, we will see what the boss has planned for me

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Might go back and try to scrounge some more tomorrow, we will see what the boss has planned for me

Good luck with that

 

[D8Chumley]

Well, she is sick and I don't want to be around her and then I'm sick. Nothing like some fresh air with some 2 stroke exhaust to keep the sinuses clear

 

[bigbarf48]

I think that might be cottonwood

 

[D8Chumley]

Hmmm do we even have cottonwood in this area? How about ya PA Woodsman?

 

[bigbarf48]

According to google images distribution maps yes, but I don't know about your specific area. Do you have any more pictures of the end grain or a split? Is there an orange-ish ring of sapwood inside the bark?

 

[D8Chumley]

I'll have to get one tomorrow. Not sure, one of the trees I cut up today had a citrus type of aroma to it. Can't remember if it was that piece or another I cut. Is cottonwood decent to burn? Still a noob with which wood is what. Basically until I found this forum I kinda knew oak and ash, and it was all just firewood to me lol

 

[bigbarf48]

It's not the best but its not a bad wood to burn. The best thing it's got going for it is it seasons fast and splits pretty easy when green. I wouldn't leave it in the woods! One way I use to id cottonwood is it tends grows very curvy and just generally not straight up, at least around here

 

[D8Chumley]

Right, it all makes heat. It was a pretty straight piece (about 20ish ft long), although it was laying on the ground- not that it matters. Free wood is awesome

 

[D8Chumley]

Thanks for the reply. I will split a piece tomorrow and post a pic

 

[bigbarf48]

Absolutely. If its laying on the ground and I can pull up to it it's coming home and getting split and stacked

 

[D8Chumley]

Ok so I couldn't wait. It is the citrusy almost like a pine smell to it. I split a piece, its pretty dry- bark falling off it. I threw a split in the stove, pops and crackles. Heres a few pics with my iphone in the dark, don't know if it helps. Heres the end

 

[bigbarf48]

Hmmm now I'm not sure. It looks a bit yellow in the pics, is that just the lighting or is it actually that color?

 

[D8Chumley]

 

[D8Chumley]

More white than yellow but a yellow hue to it
EDIT: and its pretty light, maybe just because its been laying for a while?

 

[D8Chumley]

Father in law had his own millworking business he got from his dad. I just asked him, he thinks cypress maybe pine? But there weren't any branches and no other like it I saw

 

[bigbarf48]

He may very well be right. I'm not seeing the telltale orange ring of cottonwood in those pics and it looks a bit too yellow

 

[D8Chumley]

He said he could tell better if it were planed down into a board. He has a hard time telling firewood and by the bark. Understandable. The man has worked with wood for almost 50 yrs just not firewood. It's funny sometimes if I'm splitting or unloading a score from my truck he asks me what kind of wood it is. I always smile and say "firewood" lol

 

[bigbarf48]

Well at least that's one id answer that's always right

 

[nrford]

Sassafras

 

[bigbarf48]

^^^Ill betcha he's right

 

[D8Chumley]

Sassafras

Ya know that was one of the ones my father-in-law said. How is it to burn? Thanks nrford

 

[nrford]

I would consider it "gopher wood" throw some in and go for more! never have really burned any myself, doesn't grow well this far north. Folks here at Hearth will let you know.