Some interesting things with 3 year old Oak rounds

[PA. Woodsman]

Yesterday I split some rounds of Oak that I have had for about 3 years and I was surprised that some of them were starting to get a bit pithy but the bark on some did have white fungus and other stuff on it, they were just in a pile uncovered but some of the ones on top developed the above issue, the ones below were fine. And the outside of the cutside is all black, the bark is falling off which means dryness but sure enough when I split them you still could smell a faint "wine" smell inside which means there is still some moisture in there but I'm hoping the garage which gets as dry as a kiln in the Summer will cook that out. People aren't kidding when they say Oak holds in moisture and takes years to dry!

Interesting....

 

[Slocum]

When it comes to oak I split every piece. Even a 3-4" round. I've seen them rot b4 they dry. I do the same with honey locust, the dense woods don't want to let the moisture go, you need to help it along in my opinion


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[maple1]

Was there a reason for not splitting when it was cut?

 

[gzecc]

Yesterday I split some rounds of Oak that I have had for about 3 years and I was surprised that some of them were starting to get a bit pithy but the bark on some did have white fungus and other stuff on it, they were just in a pile uncovered but some of the ones on top developed the above issue, the ones below were fine. And the outside of the cutside is all black, the bark is falling off which means dryness but sure enough when I split them you still could smell a faint "wine" smell inside which means there is still some moisture in there but I'm hoping the garage which gets as dry as a kiln in the Summer will cook that out. People aren't kidding when they say Oak holds in moisture and takes years to dry!

Interesting....

Oak rounds don't take years to dry. They take forever!

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Was there a reason for not splitting when it was cut?

It was excess wood that I just stockpiled, and since Oak takes a long time to dry out I figured it would stay okay in round form which most of it did. I had so much I wasn't going to need it anytime soon. And it was only on the outside of some of the rounds, the heartwood was fine.

 

[xman23]

I was given few trailer loads of Oak that was bucked up. It layed on the ground for two years. It was getting a little punkey about a 1/2". The rest was solid. My piles are tarped and i'm about 3 years ahead. I don't like to put any punk in the piles, but I did this time.

 

[deernutz]

I am curious what they black on the outside it too. I have some round that were cut from a standing dead oak that laid piled in the woods over the fall and winter. They have what sounds like the same black stuff on the outside with the stuff at the bottom of the pile with none on it. It is red oak rounds I have. Split some the other day and the outer seemed to have less moisture

 

[mountain man 2]

I have about 7 cords of red oak plus 5 cords of ash,hickory,black locust,etc.
All the red oak was standing dead....any punk gets trimmed off while splitting...labor intensive however I think its worth it. I feel it helps keep the mess down when taking into the house and more space for solid wood in my stacks...

 

[maple1]

I have about 7 cords of red oak plus 5 cords of ash,hickory,black locust,etc.
All the red oak was standing dead....any punk gets trimmed off while splitting...labor intensive however I think its worth it. I feel it helps keep the mess down when taking into the house and more space for solid wood in my stacks...

I get into some old windfall hard maples some times, that has some punk developing here & there. When splitting I give the semi-punky splits a couple whacks against the splitter foot. What doesn't come off from that makes it all the way to my boiler.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I get into some old windfall hard maples some times, that has some punk developing here & there. When splitting I give the semi-punky splits a couple whacks against the splitter foot. What doesn't come off from that makes it all the way to my boiler.

I did basically the same thing with these Oak rounds which were White and Red but it seemed the Red got the fungus/softness on the outside and a bit inside more. I just used the splitter as a deli slicer and sliced off the punk and whatever was solid I put on the pile even if it had some soft pith on the outside, it'll dry. I was just a bit surprised because the bark was so thick and rugged looking I didn't think anything bad would happen to it!

 

[BenTN]

I am curious what they black on the outside it too. I have some round that were cut from a standing dead oak that laid piled in the woods over the fall and winter. They have what sounds like the same black stuff on the outside with the stuff at the bottom of the pile with none on it. It is red oak rounds I have. Split some the other day and the outer seemed to have less moisture

Hardwoods high in tannins like oak will darken/discolor when exposed to the elements. Other hardwoods like ash are low in tannins and discolor less with the same exposure.