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Lightweightladylefty
1263 posts
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in over 10 years
in over 10 years
Would someone make a positive ID on this wood for me?
Our neighbors contributed to our firewood this year. (They aren't available to ask.) We only cut oak for firewood, but I found this and was wondering if it is maple, but the bark doesn't look like the maple trees here. About the only hardwoods our forests here have are oak, cherry, and maple. There is also poplar/aspen, but I know it's not that.
What do you experts think?
L/W
L/W
“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Benjamin Franklin
18 Replies
I'd guess cherry.
http://hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/
woodworking classes, custom furniture maker
Splint, thanks for your guess. The bark doesn't look like our cherry trees, but the color is closer. Also there were some larger diameter pieces (12") and our cherry trees don't usually get very large here.
Jim, thanks for your link, but I have no idea where to even start on that website. It only shows lumber and not the bark. I looked at misc. maple but didn't really see anything all that similar to this sample, but maybe that's just because this grain is so tight.
L/W
Jim, thanks for your link, but I have no idea where to even start on that website. It only shows lumber and not the bark. I looked at misc. maple but didn't really see anything all that similar to this sample, but maybe that's just because this grain is so tight.
L/W
“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Benjamin Franklin
Could it be hickory? I'm just looking at the color.
I would guess cherry based on the color, but what do I know?
Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".
I see the cherry over hickory, but if not cherry...??
Looks like alder to me, but I have no idea looking at the bark.
Figuring out how to do something you have never done is what makes a good challenge.
Can you shove a thumbnail into it? IE: soft or hard.
Just looking, I see Cedar. 17 different varieties so the bark, and face grain will vary a lot, but my first "gut" feeling was Cedar. If it is Cedar it shouldn't be too hard. Plus it won't be very good firewood, but could be slabbed to make some nice grilling planks. :-)
Just looking, I see Cedar. 17 different varieties so the bark, and face grain will vary a lot, but my first "gut" feeling was Cedar. If it is Cedar it shouldn't be too hard. Plus it won't be very good firewood, but could be slabbed to make some nice grilling planks. :-)
I'm not aware of any hickory, alder, or cedar growing around here. The wood is very hard so my guess tends towards sugar maple, but the color definitely looks more like cherry. Our cherry trees here are mostly black and choke and generally don't grow very large because of the tent caterpillars that usually kill them when they're young.
L/W
L/W
“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Benjamin Franklin
Was it from a bush or a tree? The bark is rough like lilac..and they can get pretty big. The bark does not look like cherry, oak or maple.
Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day
Trees of Wisconsin
Eastern Red Cedars are in all 50 states.
Still wondering if it's hard, or soft, related to pushing it with something in your hand. Maybe a screwdriver. If you can make a dent with light pressure, I'm calling it Cedar.
Eastern Red Cedars are in all 50 states.
Still wondering if it's hard, or soft, related to pushing it with something in your hand. Maybe a screwdriver. If you can make a dent with light pressure, I'm calling it Cedar.
George,
I checked it when you asked:
I checked it when you asked:
The wood is very hard so my guess tends towards sugar maple,
Jim J, I really don't know because I didn't see the tree/bush or I might have a better idea what it is. The neighbor (not available to ask) just brought it over and ricked it for us here. Some pieces which I think might be from the same tree (bark looks the same and they were ricked together) are quite large (12" diameter). The bark looks the same as the smaller pieces (like in the photos above).
L/W
L/W
“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Benjamin Franklin
I think the actual color is not quite as reddish--a little grayer. I'm wondering now if it could be ash. There isn't much of that around here but it does look pretty similar to some other ash I have from further north of here and from photos on the internet, the bark looks more similar. What do you all think? a possibility?
L/W
L/W
“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Benjamin Franklin
Looks like Black Cherry to me.
My vote is apple. There are so many variety of apple, the bark is of little help. But the color and patterns look like apple
Thanks for all your input, but since I didn't get a consensus from the expert community here, I stopped at the DNR office in town and asked the forester who gave me a positive ID. I'm sorry to say there were no winning votes on here.
It is WHITE OAK!
L/W
It is WHITE OAK!
L/W
“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Benjamin Franklin
What? You are taking the word of an expert over us????? Shame! 🤠
Interesting. White Oaks I've dealt with don't have bark as "shaggy" as that but I did a google search and it shows some the looks the same. Good to know, thanks for the resolution! We don't usually get a definitive answer on "what wood is it?" threads so this is a treat 😉
