What did I get at the dump? Mystery wood

I went to the dump this weekend to get rid of some yard waste, etc. and there was a nice pile of wood that someone had dumped. It had no bark on most of it and looked like it may have been standing dead, so I figured I would scoop it up because all I would need to do is split it; and with some luck maybe it would be dry enough to burn this winter (I already got a black cherry and an apple in that condition that kept my house warm the last 2-3 weeks!)

When I split the 16-18” rounds they measured at 35% mc, so I wasn’t going to be able to burn it now. Based on the fact that there was nearly no bark, the high moisture content for what looked to be a very dead tree, and the strong, pungent smell when split, I thought maybe it could be some sort of oak that I am unfamiliar with. A few of the smaller pieces had some bark on them still, but it seems to be a fairly thick bark. It looks similar to a locust bark maybe? But I’ve never split anything with this particular grain before. Thoughts? Thanks in advance.



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I think you're right on the black locust.

 

Thanks for the response. I don’t believe I’ve ever dealt with black locust before. Hopefully a few others will chime in as well and we will see if there is a consensus.


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+1 on Locust.

 

Any ideas for drying time for locust as compared to other hardwoods? I stacked with a load of oak, figuring that whatever wood it was it would definitely be seasoned by the time the oak is.


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I’ll see if I can find a split from a larger round.


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No way that's black locust. BL is yellow inside, and the bark is wrong. I agree with Scotty Overkill that it's some kind of elm.

 

Got a picture of the inside of the bark?

 

Here’s a few bigger pieces. I know elm can be smelly. Is that also true of locust? Also, the elm I tend to split appears a lot less stringy because I have a kinetic splitter. When I used to use a hydraulic the elm would appear very stringy.



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My thought would be bur oak

 

Butternut?

Gary

 

Oh man! We went from 1 to 4 possibilities


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15......................Red oak

 

Looks like what We called Rock Oak splits relatively easy good heat.

 

The first couple pics show some bark, but they are smaller diameter branches. The larger rounds had no bark left on them.


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I thought it looked a little “oakish” when I first split it open. But certainly not the same as the standard red and white oak I have dealt with before.


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Nice cache, nonetheless ! Ill be curious to know when you get a positive ID. I was thinking a type of oak. Apple and Black cherry on your last find- you've got a great dump resource!

 

+1 for red oak.

 

I agree, I just split a bunch of black Locust 3 days ago. There is no mistaking the yellow greenish wood. I'm not seeing that at all. The end grain does like like Oak, but not any I know.