Best thing about silver maple is it dries QUICK. I got a load from my tree guy earlier this year, and it's already pretty much dry
Split it small and keep it dry. If you can store it somewhere semi-heated, the bone dry winter air could go a long way toward seasoning it by Feb. Cold air can't hold much moisture as warm air can, so what ends up inside heated areas is crispy dry.
Like Shawn said, small splits. It may be okay by then, but you'll have to see. Mine has been split for around 6 months, maybe a bit longer and it's good to go
I have tarps on top of the wood that is on racks, and all my racks are in well circulated areas. And as for the splits I made most of them somewhat small I left the smaller branches unsplit because they weren't worth splitting
Looks like black cherry in the lower left. Is that what you meant? Black locust is sort of yellow-ish.
Nice, I really like Silver Maple, especially when delivered. Probably my top 3 favorite wood I have scored here. What is lacks in BTUs it makes up in so many other ways as other folks have stated.
@Shawn Curry it had rained before I took this picture so it looks a little darker. It's definitely black locust, if the bark was shown in this picture it would be clearer
@Jutt yeah I've been pleased with it so far considering it's a "hardwood" it splits very easily and doesn't weigh a ton lol
@bigbarf48 there's another rack with nothing but splits that was split and stacked before the wood on this rack. I was planning to use that by February or so. But I'll take your advice and split those smaller rounds as well!
If you dont need them soon, you dont have to. I just like to split everything I can hit in the middle with the axe just because those rounds are often stingy with giving up moisture
Your right, it would help them dry out faster, but I like having smaller rounds like that to throw in the fireplace every now and then. I might split em, we'll see
That"s a real nice catch of maple and brought right to ya, no less. You are a go-getter Donny, to have tackled the splitting so quickly! Good job!
Gark why thank you, sir! The majority of it is split, going to try and finish it tomorrow to get it off the ground. I don't like letting the wood sit on the ground for too long. I know it won't rot right away but there's no sense on waiting for it to start to rot to finish splitting. I will post pictures of whats left and of all the stacks once I'm finished tomorrow
bigbarf48 it's nice to see other people on here who are my age. It helps to know I'm not the only young wood hoarder around here!
Free is good. Delivered in your yard is outstanding. What I don't understand is why anyone would plant a silver maple as an ornamental tree. So messy, short lived, and brakes off easily with the weight of snow and ice. Our ice storms take a huge toll on the trees around here. Silver maples may grow quickly, but the are not likly to mature and have a desirable shape.
I couldn't tell ya. Guess it looked "pretty" to whoever was in charge of designing the neighborhood. Oh well, works for me. I got some nice firewood out of it
Late February 2014,a few days after it was finished.Fence is 6 feet tall. It don't look so pretty & white now,but that's OK.Will burn great in a month or so if I need it.
