Wood ID...possible scrounge..not much to go with right now....

[Intheswamp]

Here's a couple of pics of a possible scrounge for me... I'll get a picture of some fresh end grain and a split later. The leaf was in the area but so were some water oak looking leaves with three pronounced lobes. There's still one of these trees/trunks standing...definitely white looking from a distance. I'll post more about it later...trying to get away and cut a little wood...

Thanks, Ed

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Ed, I think water oaks have rounded tips rather than the pointed tips like pictured. We don't have them here so I could be wrong. The bark on that tree is not familiar to me either but for sure could be an oak of some type.

 

[NH_Wood]

If it was near here, I'd say pin oak with that leaf. Not sure if pin is common where you are (not very common here either, but I spent a lot of time in Indiana and pin is common there). Cheers!

Edit - I missed that the leaf wasn't definitely from the tree. Bark looks like some type of maple. Cheers!

 

[benjamin]

The leaf looks like a red oak to me, but the bark looks like it could be a white oak. Not like anything I've seen around here though.

 

[Intheswamp]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm hoping to get a couple more pictures this afternoon after I get back from church.

Dennis, the reason I mentioned the water oak was that the leaves I found on the ground looked like water oak but with a much more pronounced lobe than what I've been accustomed to seeing. From looking at the bark I'd definitely say that it's not water oak...I was thinking some type of pointed leafed oak.

Sorry to confuse you with the leaf, NH_Wood. I looked around and that leaf looked more "associated" with the tree than what else I saw.

This tree was cut when a family setup a new mobile home and had to run power. I've passed it several times and Saturday I turned around and went back to inquire about it. The mobile home is kind of hidden behind a head of trees and when I pulled up a state trooper car was sitting there...a lady and child was outside but went inside when I pulled up...several dogs....I waited and eventually the trooper came out....ended up knowing his whole family. Anyhow, he said he was just going to just pile it up and burn it but told me I could have it. I'm gonna have to clean up the right of way leading to it a little bit....cut some small stumps a little lower so I can back my trailer to the wood. The trunk is bigger than I've worked on before...I'd say it's probably 24". Limbs and upper trunk are within my range. I guess I can learn to noodle on the trunk maybe. Right now my longest saw is an 18" Rancher 55. I'm hoping to get my Dakita that I had my sister pickup at HD for me...20" and more HP which would make the trunk a bit easier. One thing I'm a little queezy about is the vines on the trunk...a little hairy-looking. I think first thing I'll do is try to pull as much of the vine off the trunk as I can...then let the rain, etc., "rinse" it some for me...I'll work on the rest of the tree first, leaving the trunk for last as I'll have to get it in a few sessions. This one has been down for 7-8 months.

Ed

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Ed, if that vine looks hairy when you pull it off the trunk, it is poison ivy. Don't count on the rain rinsing it as there will still be sap there. It all depends upon how susceptible you are to the stuff whether you will want to work on it or not. I've cut lots of the stuff and sometimes I'll just take the axe and sort of shave it off the tree and other times I'll just say to heck with it and cut it. So far I've never caught anything from it nor do I want to. Anyway, for sure you want to be wearing some leather or rubber gloves when you work with it.

As for the size of the tree, there is no reason your 18" saw won't cut it just fine. I regularly cut 30" trees with my 16" bar. As for noodling, you are talking to the wrong person here as I hate that and refuse to do it myself. I've always found that it takes no more work to split a big log than it does a small one unless it is cut to a really long length like, say, 24" or so. Cut in 16" lengths I have never minded splitting those and have done many with an axe, many with a splitting maul and some with sledge and wedge. I've never noodled. Have I mentioned I hate noodling?

 

[Intheswamp]

Ed, if that vine looks hairy when you pull it off the trunk, it is poison ivy. Don't count on the rain rinsing it as there will still be sap there. It all depends upon how susceptible you are to the stuff whether you will want to work on it or not. I've cut lots of the stuff and sometimes I'll just take the axe and sort of shave it off the tree and other times I'll just say to heck with it and cut it. So far I've never caught anything from it nor do I want to. Anyway, for sure you want to be wearing some leather or rubber gloves when you work with it.

As for the size of the tree, there is no reason your 18" saw won't cut it just fine. I regularly cut 30" trees with my 16" bar. As for noodling, you are talking to the wrong person here as I hate that and refuse to do it myself. I've always found that it takes no more work to split a big log than it does a small one unless it is cut to a really long length like, say, 24" or so. Cut in 16" lengths I have never minded splitting those and have done many with an axe, many with a splitting maul and some with sledge and wedge. I've never noodled. Have I mentioned I hate noodling?

Yeah, I know what that hairy stuff is. Thankfully I'm not that allergic to it (or actually don't have much immunity to it...funny how that works). Worst (maybe the only) rash I ever had was on top of a healing burn scar...pink and tender....and I had been pulling up poison oak saplings with my bare hands...only got it on the scar area.<duh> If I decide to tear it off I'll definitely have gloves and be wearing a long sleeved shirt. I'm getting older and some things change... This one has a pretty good mat on it. I may deem it "too big" for me.

I agree with you on cutting the tree with the 18" saw. Man, I'm getting on your bad side....I didn't get a chance to try the dead splitter vertically and now I'm fessin' up that I might try noodling. The problem is that this elbow of mine and this shoulder/pinched nerve thing going on right now gets set off by using the axe (SS 27"). I beat on that piece of wood I'm trying to ID this afternoon and naturally the piece that I have is a crotch....it about killed me and this shoulder is still singing. Anyhow, after chipping off some of the wood I ended up noodling it. It was a small 8" piece and didn't take much time. I've found with the wood that I've been cutting that a 17" long by 15"-16" round is just about at my limits of picking up and loading in the pickup truck. If I can manage to get my little 5x10 trailer in there it will be much easier (lower to the ground) to load so the bigger rounds might come home intact. Up at the clear-cut where I've been cutting there's a nice 24"+ oak log about 12' long that I'd love to get...Jay would like it...long and straight...I don't know whether I can get it out without noodling. I guess what I'm saying is that the jarring on my body from manual splitting really does a number on me...another reason I'm getting a hydraulic splitter...necessity. But hey, where there's a will there's a way

Here's some pictures of the wood I'm wanting to get (if it's good)...the SS bounced off of it this afternoon but it was a crotch. Had a slight smell to it but I couldn't really ID the smell...not pleasant or unpleasant...just a smell...
Here it is after I "chipped" some of one end off of it:

Sawed off one end...shows the crotch:

Here it is after noodlin' it:

Ok, while I got your attention two more id's.

This was a small tree, not a lot of wood, very coarse bark:

End-grain of the coarse bark wood:

This tree was very heavy, it's an oak with short, slender, un-lobed leaf...looks to be too long of a leaf for live oak, too short for willow oak, end grain shows some purple colors:

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Boy, that stuff is starting to go punky but it should be okay.

 

[Intheswamp]

Boy, that stuff is starting to go punky but it should be okay.

For my continuing education I've marked the photo with some red "X's" (please disregard the x in the far upper left corner...operator error!). Are these the areas of punk with the dark lines showing the invading bacteria or whatever???

The main trunk of the tree (with hairy vines) is laying on the ground. Most of the upper trunk along with most limb wood is elevated off the ground by other brush at the edge of the road (springpole warning!). In other words, they haven't been subject to the ground flora and dampness there...might be better, I wont' know till I cut. This particular piece was laying on the ground when found.

Thanks, Ed

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Ed, almost the whole thing is going bad but the worst is the 3 x's on the top. If I cut soft maple and leave it in the woods for a year, this is what it will look like when I cut it. That is why I usually don't leave them if they are touching the ground. If they fall to the ground, I need to cut them up right away. They will still burn but you won't get as much heat from it.

 

[Intheswamp]

Ed, almost the whole thing is going bad but the worst is the 3 x's on the top. If I cut soft maple and leave it in the woods for a year, this is what it will look like when I cut it. That is why I usually don't leave them if they are touching the ground. If they fall to the ground, I need to cut them up right away. They will still burn but you won't get as much heat from it.

Thanks, Dennis. Do you think the limb and upper trunk portion that is off the ground might be in better condition?

With the little F3CB I do want to try and burn as much premium btu stuff as I can to get the optimum output from the Jotul. Naturally there might be times when I don't need a very hot fire but then I'll just load less wood.

The way I'm looking at it, I think I'll be able to scrounge some decent wood from here and there and in my climate I won't be burning cord after cord of wood. Thus, why not use my time to get good stuff, eh? I think I've already got some punky stuff from the clear-cut...lots of that red oak that I cut seems a little punky, not too bad, but not green wood either. The last stuff that I got from the clear cut was cut at a later date...it still has bark on and seems "greener". I've also got some property I need to cruise and see what trees might need to come out of it.

Thanks for all the help,
Ed

 

[gzecc]

Boy, that stuff is starting to go punky but it should be okay.

For my continuing education I've marked the photo with some red "X's" (please disregard the x in the far upper left corner...operator error!). Are these the areas of punk with the dark lines showing the invading bacteria or whatever???

The main trunk of the tree (with hairy vines) is laying on the ground. Most of the upper trunk along with most limb wood is elevated off the ground by other brush at the edge of the road (springpole warning!). In other words, they haven't been subject to the ground flora and dampness there...might be better, I wont' know till I cut. This particular piece was laying on the ground when found.

Thanks, Ed

I would stay away from the wood above. Too much punk. But I am a wood snob!
I'm on my way to pick up some CL free locust.

 

[oldspark]

Well if it is real punky the saw will fall through it, if it cuts normal it will be fine.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Ed, almost the whole thing is going bad but the worst is the 3 x's on the top. If I cut soft maple and leave it in the woods for a year, this is what it will look like when I cut it. That is why I usually don't leave them if they are touching the ground. If they fall to the ground, I need to cut them up right away. They will still burn but you won't get as much heat from it.

Thanks, Dennis. Do you think the limb and upper trunk portion that is off the ground might be in better condition?

With the little F3CB I do want to try and burn as much premium btu stuff as I can to get the optimum output from the Jotul. Naturally there might be times when I don't need a very hot fire but then I'll just load less wood.

The way I'm looking at it, I think I'll be able to scrounge some decent wood from here and there and in my climate I won't be burning cord after cord of wood. Thus, why not use my time to get good stuff, eh? I think I've already got some punky stuff from the clear-cut...lots of that red oak that I cut seems a little punky, not too bad, but not green wood either. The last stuff that I got from the clear cut was cut at a later date...it still has bark on and seems "greener". I've also got some property I need to cruise and see what trees might need to come out of it.

Thanks for all the help,
Ed

I'm sure the upper part will be much better because you state it is up off the ground. I've had this where I've just cut it and ended up leaving 3 or 4 rounds in the woods and the rest was good. Like you, I'd rather get good wood. It takes the same amount of time whether it is good or not-so-good, so you may as well spend your time with the good stuff.

On the red oak, just remember that it is perfectly normal to get an outside layer of punk; usually just an inch or so but that is okay. It is still great wood.

You are doing fine Ed.

 

[Intheswamp]

Hmmm...well punk or country...anybody want to wager an ID guess on any of this wood?

 

[Loco Gringo]

Post 6 looks to be maple with the splatter effect in it, and sourwood.

 

[Wood Duck]

You have two trees there. The larger of the trees is something in the Red Oak group. I think the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th pictures show the same oak. Down south you have several types of red oaks that we don't see up here, so I am not sure what species you have. The other tree - the small one - might be a dogwood, but there are lots of other small trees it could be. I am not sure what the first picture - the 'chipped round - is. It might be the same small tree as the 'dogwood.' Are you sure the leaves in the 5th picture go with the oak? The leaves seem to be on a small branch or seedling. Seedlings often have leaves a little different from a mature tree, so maybe it is a Willow Oak or Live Oak, but the leaves look a little unusual because they're on a small branch or on a seedling.

 

[Intheswamp]

To clarify the images in POST #6 ...

The first three pictures in Post #6...the round that was chipped, the cross-cut of the crotch, and the noodled round are all of the same tree...These are from the same tree mentioned in the first post of the thread that has two pictures in it of the bark and a *possible* the leaf.

Below the 3rd picture are two pictures of rounds from a slender, tall, coarse barked tree....one picture showing the coarse bark and the other picture showing the end grain with an apparent yellow stain. Loco Gringo, are what you're referring to as maple the pictures that include the noodled round. Is the yellow stained wood is what you are referring to possibly as "sour wood"?

The 6th and 7th picture of Post #6 showing the dead, brown leaves and the end grain of the crotch are absolutely from the same tree. The leaves were from the upper limbs of this tree...the butt of the tree that was left was around 24" diameter. This tree doesn't give the reddish color of the water oaks that I've cut before. The chips were also "whiter" than the chips from the water/red oaks that I've cut. This wood also seems like it has a finer, tighter grain than the water oaks...if that makes any sense. The more I looked and worked with this tree the more live oak entered my mind, the texture and heaviness seemed "attractive" to me...with other wood I've been only going for choice, straight grained pieces but on this one I took some crotches and knots....even some cookies and smaller rounds. Laying behind the house beside some water oak rounds there is a stark difference contrast in the color of the end grain. I actually got to this top too late....someone had had a field day cutting out that top...I only got a small pile rounds from it.

Ed