Twisty red maple i was splitting today. Some made me shout words i cannot say on here! Five trees growing within 20' of each other and DBH's from 13-16". One had some twist to it which made splitting a PITA even on the hydro. The others none. One reason i kinda used to cringe when i scored some and hand split it. This one made me think i was splitting elm! The rounds were stacked at random so i didnt know which id get until cracked. You can see the others in this mound of splits were straight grained. So whats your experience been with red maple FHC?
About the same as your example. Some is straight and easy, some is lumpy, wavy and spiraling. I wish I had some in every stack, because it lights up quickly when building a fire.
It’s probably the most commonly planted landscape tree. They grow from seed in my yard by the hundreds. The naturally grown wild ones have a lot of imperfections in the wood. I have a big dead one in my backyard that I’m afraid is going to get punky, before I get to it. I have another giant one that the top broke out of in a storm. It has a monster leaning and spiraling trunk. It probably leans 50-60deg towards my fence, so felling it will be a challenge. Overall I get way more oak than Red Maple. More Oaks dying and falling in storms. With all the Red Maples planted in the last 30yrs there will eventually be a boom in red maple firewood.
Have you split it all Mike? With the ends checked its a lot harder to crack open. When stored with an end touching the ground they pop easily from the wet end. I noticed this with the hydro yesterday too.
I do quite a lot of Red Maple. Twist is relatively common, and it splits great on the hydraulic- rarely as stringy as yours. Be careful storing it unsplit and in contact with the ground as it is one of the faster hardwoods to get punky.
I have a few acres of swamp, so red maple is sorta my go-to. I'll save oak for the coldest weather or for overnight burns. You don't find much dead standing as it rots fairly quick if you don't get it cut and split tout suite. If a tree or log is loaded with shelf mushrooms I'll push it to the side as it's pretty much worthless for firewood. Usually spalted and the BTU are gone. It'll get soft if left in rounds too long, too. I'll get powderpost beetles in a stack of it . Usually cuts and splits rather easy.
All trees go to sunlight. Some I swear get lost on the way and turn around and go another way.. like some drivers I know
Red maple is awesome one of my favorites. Actually got a bunch of crotch and knot pieces today I need to re-cut and then throw on the splitter.
I'm noticing lots of maple going in on the streets around here. It seems okay as a boulevard tree, but not as nice as the old elms. Has anyone here planted the newer Dutch Elm-resistant varieties? I'm going to put a couple new trees on my lot, and I'm leading either toward elm or bur oak.
