Wood ID and bench project

[jacobk]

Need help identifying this tree. Not sure what it is. It blew over in a storm last week. Sorry no pictures of the leaves but had smaller oval shaped leaves with groups of small berries/nuts. hauled the main trunk home in a 10 foot piece to make a bench for around the fire pit. After cutting in half found out the ants had made a nice home in the end so its down to about 7 feet now.

 

[Woody Stover]

Looks like Maple....maybe Sugar?

EDIT: Oops, didn't see about the berries/nuts and oval leaves... back to the drawing board.

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

I don't think maple, but lets see, cause I don't know.... If I was gonna take a wild guess, I would say elm because I never saw elm before and I never saw this before, so.......

 

[jacobk]

The leaves where smaller and kind of saw-toothed. The nuts/berries where round without the wing part like a maple

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

I love how you splt that in half just like you were processing a steer, the dark insides that follow the tree should give the answer that we are all looking for from some one that really knows.....

 

[jacobk]

I think it will turn out really nice after sanding and finishing. The heartwood on the rounds was a dark purple almost black when fresh cut. After sitting 2 days it is a lot lighter and has cracks going all the way across some of the rounds.

 

[Big Donnie Brasco]

Hackberry !

 

[jacobk]

Big Donnie I think you may have it. After looking at some pictures the leaves and berries look right. Has anyone burned hackberry. Is it a good wood for cold months or better for fall/spring.

 

[Woody Stover]

Has anyone burned hackberry. Is it a good wood for cold months or better for fall/spring.

I haven't burned any yet, although there's a good bit of it in the woods here. Those who have say it burns well and puts out medium heat. I used a lot of medium-heat wood during the day last winter, and mixed in a few splits of some longer-burning stuff for overnight burns.

 

[Soundchasm]

My hackberry was troublesome to split. Mine was so stringy that every piece had to be pulled apart (when green). But, it cured very quickly (6-12 months). I had to burn it last winter at the end before it was really ready, but I'd rank it near cherry for heat and burn time. Easy to start a dry piece, though. I had to wait over a year to split the last round from the bottom of the tree. Had to be 2.5-3' across, and it stalled out a 27 ton splitter right after it was cut.

I've got two cords of it ready to go this season. It's very light and a whole lot easier to split when it's dry. Some of the low rounds had a really neat looking spalting, but my gifts lie in destruction, and not construction.

 

[lukem]

Big Donnie I think you may have it. After looking at some pictures the leaves and berries look right. Has anyone burned hackberry. Is it a good wood for cold months or better for fall/spring.

It's a "medium" wood. About like silver maple or maybe even as good as cherry. That is indeed hackberry in the pictures.

 

[Paulywalnut]

Hackberry burns like cherry. Doesn't have the aroma of cherry though.

 

[ScotO]

I agree, looks like hackberry to me too. That'll be a really cool bench! Whatcha gonna use for legs?

Oh, and now that we're on the hook, you GOTTA post pictures of the bench when it's done....thems the rules....

 

[smokinj]

Looks like pignut to me.

 

[ScotO]

Looks like pignut to me.

The more I look at it, I don't see any warts on the bark like Hackberry should have.....I'm thinking you may be right, SmokinJ!

Jacob, any chance we could see a cluster of leaves and those nuts/berries that were on this tree?

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Looks like pignut to me.

I was thinking along the lines of a Hickory too when I read the little description and saw the grain when I read this the other day, but so many seemed to think it was Hackberry so I thought I'd see where this thread led. We shall see if we get some more clues....

 

[jacobk]

Sorry no pictures of the branches available. They have all been burned by the homeowner where the tree came from. If it helps any nuts/berries where clustered together. I split some by hand on friday and it was not too bad for the most part. I will make sure to post pictures of the progress of the bench.

 

[bogydave]

Looks like pignut to me.

+1
My thought too.
Fairly wide white wood with a dark colored core.

 

[jacobk]

Update of the bench project. Got it done a couple weeks ago just to busy to post.

 

[Applesister]

Its nice that the tree in its own way, regardless of species, persuaded you to make something of it that has a longer lifespan than firewood. It inspired you.

 

[Woody Stover]

I don't know what it is but I don't think it's Pignut.