Wood ID

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Jan Pijpelink

Minister of Fire
Jan 2, 2015
1,990
South Jersey
Picked up some of this wood today. Very light and very white. What is it?
 

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My guess is some half-way gone soft maple.
 
Sniffed. Don't recall the smell. My nose is trained to smell (petro) chemicals for the last 39 years. Not good with anything else. Specially natural products ;);), unless it is Natural Gas. Was a tree dead standing for years. Super bone dry. Burns like crazy. It has the look of something Pine.
 
Lets see a fresh split with end grain .
 
Looks like a bit punky sugar maple. Ask you wife if she wants pancakes while it's in the stove. You might not be able to smell it, but she might.
 
Dry rotted maple. Not worth much for heating.

I used to do a lot of environmental work in a pulp mill. I could detect methylmercaptains, H2S and turpentines pretty well with a hint of vanillin on top. I would not notice the odor on day to day basis but when I went on vacation I could smell the mill when I was driving back home.
 
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My hunch is red maple or sugar maple. My limited experience with past-its-prime maple is not good.
 
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