Son of a Beech

[daveswoodhauler]

Well, I thought I was going to be all set this winter....been checking some splits of my maple and birch, and most are in the 18-20% content range. (This is after resplitting and taking 2-3 readings from the middle of the grain)
Just took some same readings of the beech, and its reading like 28-33%...ouch....cut/split and stacked the same time.
I'm guessing that beech requires a similar time period to season such as oak?

 

[Duetech]

I'm guessing that beech requires a similar time period to season such as oak?

From what I have gathered from the forum beech is similar to red oak in drying time. I think hickory has a better drying time.

 

[daveswoodhauler]

Would make sense....beech has a pretty high BTU count....similar to oak.
Not sure of which beech I have....the outer bark is a little greyish blue....I'll try to post a pic later.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Yes, beech can be a slow drying wood but is worth the wait.

 

[Cluttermagnet]

Would make sense....beech has a pretty high BTU count....similar to oak.
Not sure of which beech I have....the outer bark is a little greyish blue....I'll try to post a pic later.

Sounds like Blue Beech maybe? Check this site:
(broken link removed to http://www.forestry.umn.edu/extension/forest/firewoodID.html#Poplar)
Scroll down to Blue Beech.

Does it have

Bluish- gray smooth bark; wavy sinuous ridges?

I think we have a few small specimens of this on our ~1ac lot. It stays small in diameter and has a lower mature height when growing in competion with Oak, Maple, Poplar, etc. Similar to Dogwood in the height it reaches.

All ours are healthy trees. Like BB, I wouldn't have the heart to cut any of them.