Wood Identification

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yinpin

Burning Hunk
Jul 25, 2016
142
Kingsville, MD
Was just talking to my elderly neighbor who was out trying to cut up a tree. He's admittedly is getting too old for it so I told him that I would help. He does not have any plans for the wood and offered it up. I have a lot of wood that I need to split myself from a tree I took down but didnt know what this was.

What do we have here?

Ritchies 2.jpgRichies 1.jpg
 
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Looks like cherry. Burnt potato chip bark. Very distinctive sweet smell. Good wood. Sapwood looks a little iffy but the heartwood looks good.

You're farther south than me though, so I don't know anything about some of those more southern species (gum, sassafras, etc).
 
Cherry. Great wood
 
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It’s definitely cherry. Should smell delicious. Dries quick. Burns decent. Smells great while burning also if you’re outside to smell it
 
I thought the bark looked like cherry but it is far taller and straighter than any cherry and I dont recall it blooming like a cherry. This section of three trees, split off another section of 2 and they are all really tall. The cherry that I had on my yard and the other cherry he has is short, fat and branchy. I will get a better look at the remaining tree tomorrow. I didnt smell the cherry but I wasnt there when he was cutting it, just went up when he stopped!

Thanks!
 
Bark looks like black cherry. And you don't have the giant rounds I'm about ready to try and split.
 
I find cherry to be ok to split. It's stringy but not like elm etc. The only issue i have with it is that it likes to split irregularly. I always end up with lots of uglies, but those burn too. I chunk some of them up for summer BBQs and use the others for shoulder season. Overall though it's just a great wood.... and as a woodworker, the best grain/ color too. It's my fav wood.
 
Went over there today and got a few more pics and hope to cut on some tomorrow. I just have never seen a black cherry this tall. He will probably lose the rest of it in time.
Ritchies 4.jpg


Ritchies 3.jpg
 
That is a big cherry. If thats what it is.
 
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Big, but not real unusual for an open space cherry.
 
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