I have been cutting alot of wood for my family, and to get to some of the good stuff I have been having to cut alot of other stuff. The wood in question has a gatorback looking bark that is greyish. The wood inside has a very tight grain and is a very light yellow with darker yellow rings. The trees grew almost straight up with the first branches about 2/3 to the top. The trunks are between 14" and 18" and the height is around 30'. Sorry, I have no camera to take pics with. i want to have some ideas on what these are and how they will burn. We have burned some and they seem slow, but they are fresh cut.
What is this wood?(no pic)
- Thread starter MOA
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habanero
ArboristSite Guru
What does the heart look like? I've been cutting some stuff that sounds sort of like what you describe that has a brown heart in it. I haven't burnt any yet, but it splits extremely well (basically wave the maul at it and it falls apart) I had a neighbor tell me it's hackberry, but it isn't like other hackberry I've come across before.
Adkpk
Addicted to ArboristSite
http://www.ohiodnr.com/forestry/trees/osage_orange.htm
Or on that same site check out black locust.
Or on that same site check out black locust.
habanero
ArboristSite Guru
Both osage orange and locust have darker wood than what is sounds like he is describing.
I cut hedge and locust all the tie, and this is not it. This wood is way to light in color iside and the heart is the same color as the wood. When I say yellow I mean light pale yellow. And this stuff is hard to split. I have a monster maul and I cant get it done. I had 2 BIG wedges barried in it(they are some my granpa made that are about 1&1/2" at the heel and 10" long) and I had to cut the wedges out with a saw. This was when it was like 8 out last week. Also the trees are thorn free and located all over our property, but mostly in the river bottom. Maybe some kind of elm or maple?
sawinredneck
Addicted to ArboristSite
Does the bark come off in chuncks like leaves, or it a tight pattern? When you split it does it shatter rather than split?
Bowtie
Gearhead
Still sounds like hackberry, there are a few variations of hackberry, but most has off white inner wood. I was thinking locust at first, but locust either has thorns, and or a red heart if its honey locust. Black locust I am not familiar with. Obviously a picture makes it 100% easier.. Hello fellow Kansans!!!
sawinredneck
Addicted to ArboristSite
Hackberry comes to mind, but usually doesn't grow that straight around here, and the braches are a lot lower than 2/3's of the way up.
Doe these trees have any berries on them MOA?
All the picture I have seen of hackberry dont look like it, but I now that doesnt matter. How does hackberry burn? We have a lot of this that we are going to be clearing to regain some of our feilds and to make a better deer habitat. It would be great if this stuff will burn good when aged.
Bowtie
Gearhead
Right, Hackberry has lower branches and sometimes has small low branches that grow downwards, although thats not always common. Hackberrys and dwarf hackberrys have purplish semihard berries that grow in mid spring to early summer. About 1/4 inch diameter.
sawinredneck
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Bowtie
Gearhead
Hackberry is decent firewood, I burn quite a bit of it here, as it is plentiful. Its not the hottest, like mulberry, Oak, or hedge, but its worth harvesting for firewood.
sawinredneck
Addicted to ArboristSite
Also the heartwood can have black and purplish tint or streaks in it.
sawinredneck
Addicted to ArboristSite
I really havent got any split. Just cant do it by hand. Worked on one round for over a hour, and had to cut the round in half to get the wedges back
I do all my splitting by hand and I cant do this with a monster maul. And I am good at splitting. most stuff is a one hit deal, but this stuff the maul bounces off.
I do all my splitting by hand and I cant do this with a monster maul. And I am good at splitting. most stuff is a one hit deal, but this stuff the maul bounces off.sawinredneck
Addicted to ArboristSite
OK, grows around ponds and streams, the maul bounces off of it, and the wedge gets stuck. Sounds more like cottonwood all the time! The others that came to mind are Sycamore, scaley greyish bark that comes off in chunks. And Poplar, really white at the branches, but a gator style bark at the stump. Sycamore and Poplar will shatter rather than split, it is like glass, Sycamore in particular. None of these are worth the work of dragging to a fire pile!! Cottonwood burns ok green, but like paper seasoned!
Bowtie
Gearhead
OH No, the dreaded nasty ill burning cottonwood! Im in the Salina area, out in the sticks.
I just got back from some training at salina, LEO stuff. What does cottonwood look like inside? And we do have a lot of hackberry around too. Mostly trying to overtake are pasture... Does cottonwood cut like steel? Cause this stuff ate my chain today. Looks like I was cutting hedge all day, except not all nasty and sticky.
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