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Tree service left a load of this for me - very exciting. I'm pretty sure it's norway maple, but I've never seen that type of heartwood in norway maple before. Any other thoughts? Splits easy. Smells sweet.
I'm pretty sure that is hickory. Check for those horizontal lines perpendicular to the grain for maple. Norway has very light sapwood, dark heartwood. They are pretty similar in appearance, but smell very different.
First pic below is a shagbark round, second pic is a fresh Norway maple split
I'm pretty sure that is hickory. Check for those horizontal lines perpendicular to the grain for maple. Norway has very light sapwood, dark heartwood. They are pretty similar, also smell very different.
First pic is shagbark round, second pic is a fresh Norway maple split
Interesting. I have to admit, the splits weren't super maple-y. I was wondering if they might be something else. I'll investigate the hickory angle, but the bark was pretty tight so I didn't think it could be shagbark. Maybe it's pignut or something else.
The smells are very distinct but hard to describe. Norway maple smells like fruity sugar cane, hickory is a little bit nutty, slightly sweet with a hint of manure. At least for shagbark; no experience with pignut, bitternut, etc.
And I noticed N Maple splits are a bit flakey, hickory is more stringy. Not sure if that helps either...
I’m calling pignut hickory. I just scrounged a small load of it last week and just added to my post tonight. ValleyCottage gave some very good descriptions about the smell that I agree with, and also about the small perpendicular lines that the maples have, which this wood doesn’t.
Here are a few pics of what I came home with. Unfortunately mine wasn’t already bucked. Pics are now in the post below.
The smells are very distinct but hard to describe. Norway maple smells like fruity sugar cane, hickory is a little bit nutty, slightly sweet with a hint of manure. At least for shagbark; no experience with pignut, bitternut, etc.
And I noticed N Maple splits are a bit flakey, hickory is more stringy. Not sure if that helps either...
May need to change my vote. Just read back through the thread, and Valley mentioned the Norway to be “flaky”, which what found to be the case. But I’m thinking Red Maple based on some of the different posts currently circulating.