i realized a few months back that I am a fledgling firewood hoarder. I don't heat my home with wood but do enjoy cooking over wood fire and will at some point get a wood burning stove for the house. All that to say, I've started collecting firewood over the last few months and started learning how to identify some of the more common types in my area. Last week a neighbor took down a tree so I went to collect some. At first I thought it was oak but didnt see any of the rays on the cross section and it didnt smell like oak either. then I thought it was sweetgum but from what I have seen and read, it was way to easy to split for it to be sweetgum. So, here I am asking for help in identifying this wood please. Thank you!
Welcome to FHC. You'll like it here. We have a great bunch of knowledgeable folks who are willing to share. We like beer, dogs and pics. Lots of pics. This is some good reading for newbies Primer on Woodburning by Backwoods Savage Check out the resource tab above. The 3 bars. All sorts of good stuff.
I'm currently splitting Red Maple and this looks similar. I'm terrible at id so only a guess on my part.
Welcome Gino!! That sure isn't any gum. I do not see walnut either, not to say it isn't for sure. Walnut has a very distinct aroma. If you could split a piece and give it a good sniff, you may get a clue.
Could it be Poplar or Ash (opposite limbs) ? If you are looking a really good resource for tree id in any part of the country, google Virginia Tech Tree Id app. This will give you a listing of all of the trees in your surrounding area or you can search other areas. When you select a tree that is listed, it will then give you a full description along with pictures. I use this a lot when I train my Forestry teams for FFA. Here is the link also https://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/vtree.htm
Much thanks to all. I wish there were some leaves as this would make it so much easier. Here are a few more pics of the bark. I this wood is decent, then I may go and grab whats left and get splitting that. as far as smell goes, it's hard to describe but I want to say it smells musty.
hold the phone... I tried an app called PictureThis which my wife has been using all year to identify plants in our area. I had tried this app before but it had failed to id the tree about 4 times, I just tried again and its saying its a Slippery Elm. It's probably not obvious from my first pictures but the bark came off pretty easy when I was splitting it, maybe the tree has been dying for a while (hence no leaves) and the bark was sticky underneath; I had just assumed this was normal which is why I didnt mention it before. so would you guys agree with Slippery Elm? or is this app way off? Thanks for the welcome and all the assistance.
Grain looks like the Tulip poplar I’ve had in the past. Bark kinda slides off when it’s split. Also has a bit of a soft maple look to the grain. Super helpful I know!
