Wood ID

[EchoRomeoCharlie]

My immediate thought was black locust. However, if it's really light, it could be cottonwood. Cottonwood gets some serious furrows in the bark like that too.

 

[lone wolf]

Black locust. I can smell it from here.

That's what it looks like to me.

 

[windthrown]

I vote for black locust. Locust furrows when young. I have black locust growing here from when the wagon train folks planted it here in the 1880s. Cottonwood would not have that deep a furrowed bark until it is larger/older. Cottonwood is also a bitch on the saw to cut of it has been laying around any time. It has tons of cross fibers. Cottonwood here (Black Cottonwood) would smell bad when burned, like cat piss. Eastern species are not as bad smelling, but they are lighter in weight and have less heat when burned than black cottonwood. I have cut and burned a lot of all of these species. I do not cut cottonwood any more. Not worth it. Black locust I will drive miles to get. One of my favorites to burn. Heat galore. Never rots. The pioneers brought it here and planted it mainly for fence posts. Now its considered invasive. So I volunteer to cut it down and burn it and save the PNW from an evil invasive species! (Its not, but that is what the greenies say).

 

[Multifaceted]

Black Locust. I've cut some standing dead and it wasn't as heavy as expected. Bark pattern, tight growth rings, yellow wood all say BL to me. Nice score!

 

[capetrees]

Locust would be heavy

Not to my knowledge, not black locust. Honey locust is heavy and most others are heavy like oak, maple nd cherry but by volume, I've always realized black locust is light by comparison.

 

[MechanicMatt]

I have been cutting a lot of Black Locust, Cherry and Ash lately. Of the three I think the Locust is the lightest

 

[lone wolf]

I have been cutting a lot of Black Locust, Cherry and Ash lately. Of the three I think the Locust is the lightest

And Black Locust splits nicely.

 

[jrider]

https://forestry.usu.edu/forest-products/wood-heating

Shows the weight of various types of wood both green and dry. Black locust doesn't measure as heavy as I thought it would but according to this, it's heavier than many others.

 

[lone wolf]

https://forestry.usu.edu/forest-products/wood-heating
It feels light believe me.

Shows the weight of various types of wood both green and dry. Black locust doesn't measure as heavy as I thought it would but according to this, it's heavier than many others.