Oak ID, has red spots?

[Fred Wright]

Folks,

Scrounged several of these at the sawmill this morning. Pretty sure it's oak but it isn't heavy like the oak I'm used to. Has blood-red streaks and spots and the bark looks like sprocket teeth where it was bucked.

Thoughts?

 

[moondoggie]

Looks a lot like sassafras

 

[maplegrovetom]

It's ash that grew on a less than ideal site, indicated by very tight growth rings. You'll notice it smells nothing like oak, but a lot of people confuse it for oak because of the highly pronounced grain. As you mentioned, it's noticeably lighter than oak, but is still a very good firewood. Get all of it you can !!!!

 

[Oldmaple]

When I saw the bark picture I was thinking Ash too. There are no rays visible in the end grain picture which would be visible if it were Oak. Ash is used in making furniture, had some Ash chairs, hard to tell apart from Oak.

 

[flotek]

Oak has checks . I'm not sold on ash but it appears to not be oak

 

[cuinrearview]

Ash

 

[stumpy75]

Boxelder, with the red streaks? Sassafras would have a smell of root beer, especially in the inner bark.

The bark doesn't quite look like ash to me, but looks more like sassafras. If I was just looking at the bark only, I would have said sassafras.

 

[lone wolf]

It's ash that grew on a less than ideal site, indicated by very tight growth rings. You'll notice it smells nothing like oak, but a lot of people confuse it for oak because of the highly pronounced grain. As you mentioned, it's noticeably lighter than oak, but is still a very good firewood. Get all of it you can !!!!

First thought Ash. The bark looks somewhat like Sassafras. OP does it smell like Sassafras?

 

[cuinrearview]

"red streaks" made my box-elder flag raise too but the fungus that attacks those trees is much more bright red. This is easy enough to solve. OP, peel some bark. Dollars to doughnuts it looks like this underneath:

 

[JHank]

100% ash!

 

[Gugi47]

Yep, that is ash. Here:

 

[stumpy75]

"red streaks" made my box-elder flag raise too but the fungus that attacks those trees is much more bright red. This is easy enough to solve. OP, peel some bark. Dollars to doughnuts it looks like this underneath.

I agree 100% that if it looks like your pic, then it's obviously ash. The bark just looks a little too thick for ash to me. And I'm not seeing the typical diamond pattern of ash bark...

OP, please peel some bark and let us know if it looks like the above pic, or if it smells like root beer (or neither!).

 

[moondoggie]

that my friends is sassafras ↑

 

[lone wolf]

Second pic in post 13 the log on the left really looks like Locust.

 

[moondoggie]

Second pic in post 13 the log on the left really looks like Locust.

It does but it's not.

Edit:: I was wrong @lone wolf is correct

 

[lone wolf]

It does but it's not.

Can you split a piece and post pics of that one I think is Locust and do the same with a piece of Sass on the right cause it really looks like locust to me.

 

[moondoggie]

Can you split a piece and post pics of that one I think is Locust and do the same with a piece of Sass on the right cause it really looks like locust to me.

Sir the one on the left is black locust. You were correct! you get some rep

 

[Fred Wright]

It has no smell that I can detect. Could shave some bark off but it's unlikely that the wood will look like the image in post 9. It's freshly cut green from the sawmill.

 

[Iska3]

I think you have some white ash... I have had several logs like that in the past and have about 2 cords of that in the piles right now. We have mostly Green, Black and Yellow Ash and I never saw anything like it in my areas so I asked and the supplier said it is the White Ash. The bark looks just like yours, once the log starts to dry it cracks up like in your picture. They call it a primo type wood for a indoor stove and I can see why; it dries fast, easy to buck up but a bit on the nasty side to split by hand. I saved a bunch of my longer splits and will use that wood for hammer handles. The funny thing is the White Ash does not seem to die by the EAB like the other ash. This seems to die in the heart of the wood and then rot from the outside in... Edit: It looks as if your log/wood was under water and over time the red from the bark soaked in to the wood...

 

[stumpy75]

It has no smell that I can detect. Could shave some bark off but it's unlikely that the wood will look like the image in post 9. It's freshly cut green from the sawmill.

Ok, thanks for the effort. Perhaps the EAB has not arrived in Delaware yet? (Edit: according to http://www.emeraldashborer.info/state/delaware.php , it has not) That's what causes the tunneling, and girdles the tree.

Looks like I need some eye adjustment on bark pics... I was wrong.

It's ash...