Wood ID please

[CTFIRE]

So I was in the woods behind my house and found a couple logs long dead on the ground. To my surprise they were rock solid and not rotting. Very heavy. I decided to cut them up and put in the wood gun the other night. They burned for a very long time. Want to find more. What type of wood is this?

 

[gzecc]

If you were in the northeast US, I would guess, maple. How ever I don't know where your located. Tree species are very different thoughout the country/world.

 

[Woody Stover]

A split pic would help on this one...

 

[HDRock]

fresh cut n split

 

[Gasifier]

CT. When you give us a picture of that fresh split give us a moisture content too. I am curious what it would be lying in log form like that. High?

 

[TimJ]

looks like a couple rounds of elm

 

[CTFIRE]

I am in Connecticut. I did not split them, just put them in as is. Both Elm and Maple would be possibilities I guess. Very dense and heavy. . Thanks

 

[Jack Straw]

Do you think it's heavy and burned long cause its wet or is it dry and a dense hardwood? I am guessing elm.

 

[CTFIRE]

The moisture meter said 24%. I know it has been on the ground for at least three years.

 

[Woody Stover]

The moisture meter said 24%. I know it has been on the ground for at least three years.

If you didn't split them to get a moisture reading, they might have been 40% on the inside. I'm not surprised that it was long-burning wood.

 

[Applesister]

It has the correct ratio of heartwood to sapwood to be ironwood. If thats the case it could be 10 years on the ground.
Dead elm usually has gypsy moth larval markings all thru it. If somewhat fresh. elm and maple gets punky. Sapwood is usually rotting off. Mushrooms usually grow on maple.

 

[Nudge]

CT, I've had some wood that looked like that. A pic of the split side would be VERY helpful in confirming, as would a comment about how heavy it is. For if it has (a) some short curvy grains on the split side, and (b) it's particularly heavy, even if seasoned, my guess is you've got what old-timers here in southern NY refer to as "Pignut."

It's a variation of the hickory family that when real mature produces a bitter 'nut' that people won't eat, but which farmers used to feed to their pigs (particularly during the harder times of the 1930's Depression era). Some people also call this tree Brown Hickory, Pignut Hickory, or Hognut. But most just call it a Pignut tree.

The stuff is heavy even when seasoned, and it is a MOTHER-BLEEPING pain to split by hand. Even a hydraulic splitter will bear down a bit more than for other woods when splitting. Someone above mentioned ironwood, and this wood is about as difficult to split manually. Because the grains tend to be a but curvy (even curly in some), the stuff makes a fool of a man with only a maul.

Seeing as you're close, being just over in CT, and this type of tree is reasonably abundant here, my guess is that's what you've got...presuming A & B comments above apply.

If it is, you're in luck, cuz the stuff burns LONG.

- Nudge

 

[billb3]

that slightly darker heartwood center on the first pic looks like maple.

older wood sure is harder to ID - add in differing computer monitor color calibrations and a camera affected by light different and it isn't any easier.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Difficult to tell with just those pictures but does look like it could be elm.