Wood ID - Ash?

[ewlsey]

I have a whole tree of this wood. The bark looks like Ash, but the heart wood is very dark. That's different than any other Ash I have cut.

It splits really easily. It's seems pretty dry. It does not smell very good.

 

[2PistolPacker]

The first three and fifth pics look like walnut, dark core with the light band at the edge.

 

[ewlsey]

All the pictures are from the same tree. The 4th picture is a smaller branch from higher up.

Now that I think about it, it very well could be Walnut.

 

[nrford]

Hickory

 

[claydogg84]

Picture 4 looks like Hickory to me as well, so I agree with nrford.

 

[ewlsey]

Hickory

Really? The bark is not shaggy.

 

[Corey]

Possibly bitternut hickory. Definitely not shagbark hickory.

 

[claydogg84]

Really? The bark is not shaggy.

Pignut Hickory doesn't have the shaggy bark. I would describe the bark as a mix between Ash and Black Walnut.

 

[ewlsey]

Looks like Bitternut Hickory is a good guess.

I don't think it's Pignut. I've seen a Pignut, and they are very distinct looking (and must be rare). The bark on a Pignut is almost shiny and silver. I think it would be a fabulous tree to have in my yard.

 

[Stinkpickle]

Another vote for bitternut.

 

[shoot-straight]

Bitternut or mockernut. I am not a fan of it. Hard to split, and don't like the way it burns. Even after 3 years of drying and I'm unimpressed.

 

[Applesister]

For argument sake I'm putting in for Red Elm or Slippery elm. Ulmus rubra

 

[Applesister]

Uh...maybe hickory

 

[ewlsey]

Hard to split

This stuff is really easy to split.

 

[blades]

another vote -Hickory family

 

[Applesister]

One person's easy can be another persons hard. That is an open variable.
Red elm is like Balsa wood compared to hickory. To carry and lift and split.
That wood looks partially decomposed. Fractured breaks in the wood grain. Which could easily explain why it splits easy.

 

[Applesister]

0400 looks like hickory, the top pic and bottom look like Red elm.
Bark is really hard for me it is SO variable that I constantly second guess.

 

[Woody Stover]

Bark is really hard for me it is SO variable that I constantly second guess.

No kidding, they'll fool ya for sure. This ID stuff ain't too easy, especially on the 'net. However, I don't see anything that looks like Red (Slippery) Elm bark there, and I don't think you will find a lot of them that get very big before Dutch Elm gets 'em. I did find a dead 19" Red Elm recently, though, the biggest I've seen here.

 

[ewlsey]

It's definitely not Elm. I know that much.

 

[Applesister]

I just looked at the pics again, at the wood grain and it looks like tight grain so there may be 12-15 years of sapwood in that white band. Red elm is exactly like black locust and a few others that only have 2-3 year growth of sapwood rings. 98% heartwood 2% sapwood.
Easy splitting may be a tree that died a few years ago. 5-6 maybe.

 

[ewlsey]

Every Elm I have ever split was really heavy and wet. It also feels almost slimy under the bark on a dead elm. This stuff is dry and about the density of Ash.

 

[Rebelduckman]

Really? The bark is not shaggy.

Doesn't have to be to be hickory

 

[weatherguy]

Not all hickory is shaggy, but all shagbark is hickory.

 

[Soundchasm]

If Nrford says it's hickory, then it's hickory! Bitternut and Pignut have the "x" thing going on with the bark, and the cut faces have the kind of checking I've seen on the hickory I've got here. But definitely not Shagbark.

 

[Flame On]

I agree with walnut. I had a whole buncha this stuff a few years ago. It split like a dream. Just pops right apart with a tap. The way you will really know is when you get it in the firebox. It leaves a ton of fluffy ash. I read on here that it would do that and I was skeptical, but man the ash was spilling out the door on reloads. That heartwood will likely get darker when seasoned.