As previously posted had to cut 2 large dying maples, one threatening my home, one the hydro line. C/s/s tree by hydro. Tree by house was massive..straight trunk over twenty feet, where forked into two main branches, each 18 in in diameter and long, with MANY 6 inch plus branches off those. Cut tree into 12 to 20 inch lengths depending on diameter, in June split boles over 16 inches in half. NO rain all summer, 90+ weather, lots of wind. Haven't killed myself splitting. Have over one full cord c/s/s/ from this tree, lots to go. Wood is drying nicely as is, cracking, getting to be really easy to split. Hope to finish splitting this coming week. Then, in early autumn it's into the woods to cut into logs the ironwood that has toppled. I have lots of Ironwood, which never lives beyond max 16 inch diameter (that's huge for hophornbeam, which is the species called ironwood here). When the trees die I leave them standing. After a few years the base where actually exposed to earth gradually rots, and eventually the tree topples. At this point the wood is nice and dry. I cut into logs which under 9 inch diameter I don't split. LOVE Ironwood...one of these logs burns overnight, at 16 inch length weighs over 20 pounds, is sufficient to keep house warm overnight except when bitterly cold. Never get bugs in this wood, so it's great to keep long term indoors. I have two36 inch diameter circular cast iron racks, each with a small cast iron bird on center top which are quite attractive. Keep them loaded in the living room with ironwood logs as a reserve for -30 temps, and for severe snowstorms when I don't feel like digging out and trudging out to the woodpile This back up wood would heat the home for several weeks, but I never use it all, and refill each year as I cut my Ironwood. keeping the 6-8 inch nicest logs for this purpose. The ironwood has really long straight trunks with no branches until you get to the top, so makes for easy tight stacking of logs. The few relatively small branches of the crown are great for starting fires and small shoulder season fires to just take the chill off the house. I use every bit of an ironwood.
Two 31 in diamter sugar maples cut in early spring
- Thread starter rideau
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I am splitting some hard maple that has been sitting in my driveway since last winter, dry as hell with huge cracks and it seems to be way harder to split then when it was green, I recall splitting some when I first got it and it was super easy one shot splitting, I have to use a wedge and sledge now, not as fun.
swagler85
Minister of Fire
Maple can be like that for splitting. Anything under 16 inches on the one I just finishes was easy to split, but the main trunk was really hard. Had to noodle it.
bogydave
Minister of Fire
Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
In northern MI there tend to be more ironwood but we have a few. Like rideau says, it is good wood to burn and easy to cut as it does not grow big and tends to grow straight with few limbs.
Realstone
Lord of Fire
I'll plan to post some Friday or Saturday. Pretty busy during the day until then. The bark of all but the very young trees is compsed of quite small overlapping peeling pieces, tightly attached except at the edges. You cannot mistake it for anything else....
onetracker
Minister of Fire
ah...
sounds like hop hornbeam. some call that ironwood. i've always call american hornbeam (smooth wavy bark) ironwood. pictures will surely help.
TimJ
Minister of Fire
I have some small diameter trees in the woods that I call hornbeam and the bark is gray and totally smooth. Never saw a dead one though and I always figured the wood would make great firewood.
Very young smooth bark treecould be hophornbeam. I don't know how small "smalll " is. VERY young hophornbeam is smooth, but healthy older trees all have very distinctive sca;y bark. The fruit is also very distinctive. I'll really try to remember to post some photos of the bark and leaves this weekemd. I'm away from home at the moment..
Yes, that's why I mentioned in my first post that in Southern Ontario Ironwood refers to hophornbeam. It seems many areas all over the globe call their most durable or hardest wood ironwood, so the term frequently refers to a different species depending on your location.
TimJ
Minister of Fire
Rideau, thanks for following through with the pictures. Your ironwood is nothing like mine. I do not have hop hornbeam but american hornbeam in my woods. The trees are mostly all small and the bark is very smooth. I took some leaves and checked it. Thanks
Don't want to use any of what I got for firewood
Don't want to use any of what I got for firewood
Realstone
Lord of Fire
+1 on the thanks for following through with the pics Rideau.
The few Ironwoods I ever saw had the smooth grey bark. I had thought that the shaggy stuff was Shagbark Hickory. Guess I know better now.
The few Ironwoods I ever saw had the smooth grey bark. I had thought that the shaggy stuff was Shagbark Hickory. Guess I know better now.
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