silver maple

[FishKiller]

after an incredibly mild winter where i didn't touch my 2 year old oak (makes it better for next year), i got a hold of some of what the tree service guy called, "silver maple". and by some i mean about 2.5-3 cords when its processed, maybe more. it's massive, most of it being more then 30" in diameter and up to 40"+. i took a shot at it today with the maul and even the limbs laughed at me... the maul literally bounced off. i'll tackle it with the splitter this week, but i'm expecting a fight from every split. so my question is, anyone ever dealt with this stuff, how does it burn? is it worth the work?

 

[tigeroak]

The silver maple I get around here splits like butter. We burn a lot of it every year about 80% of what we use. I save my hard woods for over night and when it is real cold- like around 0 and below. Wife loves it keeps the house very warm. 1 year split and stacked then ready but we go every 2 years.

 

[FishKiller]

i don't think i'm a wiener when it comes to hand spitting, its usually faster... i put a fresh edge on the fiskars 9 pounder and let er have it. it literally bounced back. doesn't help that its still dripping wet i suppose. either way i suspect it's decent to burn, and at ayear to burn. i want to get to it asap

 

[tigeroak]

I use a 6 lb maul and you darn near drop it on and it splits. The most I split one day was right at 2 cord split and stacked by hand. I get it just as soon as it hits the ground wet and green. Nobody around here will mess with it and I get all for the taking. Yours may have a twist to it , which will make it harder to split. Here is a picture of 2 days split and stacked - first 4 rows are 2 cord of walnut then 2 cord of soft maple

 

[Diabel]

I have processed quite a bit of silver maple, some will split like butter and some like elm!!
Good day or shoulder season wood.

 

[dailygrind]

I just picked up some silver maple that had a pretty decent twist to it that even in small ten inch rounds and with a ten pond maul was putting up quite a fight, with the maul bouncing off the first few strikes before finally splitting. And I only split by hand. So I know how you feel.

 

[Diabel]

Yeah, the knotty and twisted stuff is almost not worth the effort.

 

[Fred Wright]

Nice score.

Twisty maple can give ya a good workout with the axe. You may wish to consider noodling and renting or borrowing a hydro splitter for this.

I like soft maple for those not-so-cold days. Will season in less than a year under good drying conditions.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I really like Silver Maple, ignites easy, burns lively, usually splits easy but you can get some "angry" pieces as these other fellas have said. I love it for kindling too as it splits (with the splitter) real thin and usually splits easy. Good stuff!

 

[Flame On]

Based on the size of those rounds, you have a pretty old silver. The twisty stuff from the trunk can be a bear. I split the big rounds with the spiral method, where I worked the edges and slowly moved into the middle. It makes for a lot of brick shaped splits though...
As for burn quality, it is pretty good. I burned mostly silver and ash this past winter. I agree with Diabel that it is a daytime wood that requires more frequent reloads. I used my ash for the long burns and overnights. It is great for getting things heated back up in the morning though.

 

[Bootstrap]

I have split more than my share of silver maple with an 8lb maul. And now I use a log splitter 99% of the time. Moving, stacking, unstacking and carrying it in the house is plenty of work. I hated how often the maul would just bounce off that stuff. I find splitting wood much more pleasant now with a splitter.

 

[Dobish]

very similar to box-elder (they are the same family ). it dries easy, burns fast.... a pain to split... and its all i have

http://forestry.about.com/od/treeplanting/p/bad_silmaple.htm