What kind of tree was this??

[crpncoop]

I've split a lot of wood over the years, but never, ever came across a tree that gave me as much of a hassle as this one. Wood splitter couldn't handle it. Wedges and a maul took a ton of effort. It ended up being extremely stringy on the inside and refused to split even remotely straight. Based on the bark (no leaves this time of year) my original thought is a white ash, but they're usually very easy to split. Any ideas?

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[JeffHK454]

I've seen some Hackberry bark like that...inside looks all Hackberry.

 

[timbercare366]

From the picture the bark looks similar to black jack oaks I've removed but I may be completely wrong,I don't see many of them they seem rare in my area, not sure how they split but it was a little bit tougher to cut than other oaks

 

[buzz sawyer]

Maybe Persimmon? That's what the bark looks like and it would be hard to split. That's why they made golf driver heads from it.

 

[moondoggie]

Gum tree

 

[moondoggie]

Black

 

[buzz sawyer]

Black

I believe you are right.

 

[moondoggie]

http://my.woodmagazine.com/materials-guide/lumber/wood-species-1/black-gum/

 

[JeffHK454]

Gum tree

Yeah , that sounds better than my guess.

 

[crpncoop]

Gum tree

I'm thinking that black gum is the winner. Sure looks like the online pics and fits the description. I never gave the gum a thought. It makes sense to me. I would have never cut it down, but it was in my way for some time and had to go. I wish I had just let it alone!

 

[moondoggie]

Once you split that stuff you will never forget it.
My splitter blade is 1\2 thick. It slices through it. Definatly doesn't split it. To me it smells like fishy licorice. Once dry it's very light. It cuts with a chainsaw pretty easy. Maybe noodle everthing that won't fit in the stove.

 

[crpncoop]

Once you split that stuff you will never forget it.
My splitter blade is 1\2 thick. It slices through it. Definatly doesn't split it. To me it smells like fishy licorice. Once dry it's very light. It cuts with a chainsaw pretty easy. Maybe noodle everthing that won't fit in the stove.

Definitely the fishy smell to it. My current splitter is fairly small and had angle iron welded to the blade to help widen the splits which is where it ran out of steam and refused to go any further. Even the smaller diameter 9"-10" pieces were tough splitting even though it was quite easy to cut. I got the big pieces split in half and have more than enjoyed tossing them into the burner. Thanks for the help

 

[moondoggie]

Definitely the fishy smell to it. My current splitter is fairly small and had angle iron welded to the blade to help widen the splits which is where it ran out of steam and refused to go any further. Even the smaller diameter 9"-10" pieces were tough splitting even though it was quite easy to cut. I got the big pieces split in half and have more than enjoyed tossing them into the burner. Thanks for the help

No problem sir.

 

[unclemoustache]

I was thinking Persimmon, but I'm not familiar with gum at all.

 

[Fred Wright]

Bark in the first photo threw me off... had thought of gum at first by the OP's description.

Subsequent photos, bark certainly looks like black gum. Similar to alligator hide. We cut quite a bit of it over the years ~ tupelo (black gum) grows like weeds here. If you leave the rounds to set a few months they'll split cleaner. You'll probably still need a hydro splitter to bust it though.

We haven't cut any for firewood in a couple years. Poor heat output, hardly worth the effort IMHO.

 

[crpncoop]

I've seen some gum trees around here before, mostly ID'd by their spiky little balls on the ground. They're fairly rare around here, and certainly not plentiful. I found this one in the woods, near where an old farm lot was many, many years ago. It was in my way, so I cut it down. I didn't figure it would make for good firewood, but I wasn't going to let it go to waste. It would have been cool to send to the mill to have a few slabs cut from it just to see the grain pattern but it's too late for that now.

 

[jrider]

Gum. It sucks unless you have an owb

 

[lone wolf]

Gum tree

Now you nailed it! no doubt it Gum I think Sour Gum at that.

 

[jrider]

Just keep sinking wedges into it. It will take me all

 

[lone wolf]

Just keep sinking wedges into it. It will take me all

Just let it sit till dry it will split a lot easier. I would through them SOB pieces into the chipper