Need help/confirmation on type of firewood this is.

[valleyman]

I have access to a large pile of wood already cut into perfect lengths. It is so clean and straight grained. I'm use to oak which is what I almost exclusively burn but this is too good to pass up unless its junk wood.

If anyone could help ID for me I'd appreciate the help.

From what I can see with my limited experience is it looks to be Ash of some kind. The bark is deeply grooved, grain fairly tight and very straight. I looked at the lot and there are hardly any branches and where they were dont' show the characteristic pattern like pine branches which I don't want for fire safety reasons.

Thanks

56665667

[Maplewalnut]

Looks like locust to me. Great burninig and drys quickly.

[PerryW]

It's not a familiar species to me. The Locust around here has a definite green tint to the wood and is very hard.

[Waynehere]

Why are you afraid of pine? I just got done making 70 gallons this season on pine slab wood that burned nice and hot. Yes, you will use more then your typical hardwood, but if it is free???? I have an Omish saw mill just down the street that gives it away, so I am stocking up for next season with the pine.

Your pic does look like pine bark BTW, but I am no expert. I would use it. :)

[wnybassman]

The bark "kinda" looks like black locust, but the wood and grain almost certainly does. I burn locust almost exclusively. Splits nice and it will stay nice in a wood pile for decades. lol Actually, the ones I cut last year the power company dropped 8+ years ago and the wood still looked like the day it was dropped.

No matter what it is, I'm sure it will burn just fine.

[bowtie]

boy it does not look like locust to me. i would say it is an evergreen,you should be able to tell the difference between hardwod and soft/pine by just lifting it. locust would be much heavier than pine. i have seen some trees similiar to this in bark but it was orangish on the inside. by how clear and "shiny" it is it reminds me of soft maple but bark is much different, the bark says hemlock to me but the color and grain say pine. locusts usually have dark centers and are greenish when fresh.

[bowtie]

actually by looking closer at the bark i would say it is a pine.

[Springfield Acer]

The split surface looks way too smooth for locust. I'd go with pine IMHO. If it's free, burn it. You'll probably load more often but it'll make heat.

[PerryW]

5668 this, I believe is Black Locust. Very hard, rot resistant. burns great in the wood stove and evaporator.

[valleyman]

Thank you.

I was poking around google images and now Poplar looks like a suspect too. Because it was just dumped, hough I'm trying to convince myself, I'm suspicious of it being some type of conifer/softwood. It is pretty lightweight as well. But where I did see a branch section, I expected to see the typical grouping around the trunk. that wasn't the case. Just an occasional branch. I'm going to do some more investigating.

[village idiot]

I'm pretty sure that is hemlock from the red under the bark. I burn it when I have some left over trees but I don't like it because it doesn't seem to pack many btu's. It is not locust and the heart wood seems too dark for poplar (my least favorite tree). If it's free and easy I'd take it, but it is definitely second tier wood.

[SevenCreeksSap]

from the bark my guess is sassafrass if you have that in your area. The wood grain does look like ash but the bark really doesnt. Locust should be yellower or greenish wood.

[wnybassman]

I have come to the realization that is not locust. Bark is similar, but I have never seen any red like that at all in locust. If I had access to it, I'd burn it. I usually have some soft wood around that I throw in the mix, especially if I have coals near the end of a boil and I want something for a quick flame.

[sirsapsalot]

Thats sassafras what does it smell like ?

[Vermont Creation Hardwood]

To me it looks like red pine, the species that was planted often around resevoirs in New England, and to fill in clear cuts. It's a fast growing pine, and when grown as it was typically planted, very tall and straight, straight grained. I've used red pine as a structural lumber, but it has to be in a dry place as it's very prone to rot. If dry, I'm sure it would make a hot fire. The only problem with pine in a woodstove is when not dry there is much moisture in the smoke and resulting creosote production. Dry the only problem is it's not as dense as hardwood, so burns faster, In an evaporator it burns hot when dry. My grandfather used pine slabs all the time in his evaporator. I don't have much pine, but I use the slabs from all my lumber in my evaporator.

[Ed R]

I just took my laptop out to a sassafrass tree growing 30 feet outside my front door, the bark is identical. I'm going with sassafrass. I'd take it and burn it. It will mix in nice with other more dense hardwood, or even softwood.

[Lee]

Sassafrass!

[PerryW]

the only Sassafrass I now works at one of the local strip joints.:o

[logboy]

Thats not a conifer (softwood). The wood has very distinguishing color differences between the heartwood and sapwood, unlike most pine which typically has the same color throughout. The bark is not right for Red Pine anyway, its not flaky and scaly. Plus there is no sap oozing anywhere (unless it was cut dry,then it wouldnt). I have a bunch in the pile waiting to be sawed into lumber at the moment. Based on the stuff I have sawed and the straight grained, clear appearance I'd say white ash.

[Dan W]

That is sassafrass. I burned about 3 cords in the last 2 years. Works just fine. It is very light like pine but burns a little longer. Use it or bring it to me!

[RollinsOrchards]

I would say pine or hemlock based on the bark, but i wouldn't guarantee it.

[Springfield Acer]

I was able to see a better picture and I am on the Sassafras side now. The smaller picture looked like the bark was checkered or like I refer as turtle shelled as alot of pine is. Now that the picture shows the deep furrows and the reddish scrape marks, I'd lean to the Sassafras. How about splitting a piece and smell it? One thing for sure, Hemlock or sassafras, it will burn fast; especially if you have forced air. Both are also light weight and easy to handle but best of all; it's free.

[stoweski]

Looks like the hemlock that I burn at times... especially the wood itself. Definitely not ash. Bark isn't as smooth. The locust that I burned this year had the bark falling off of it. Burns well but is a mess.

[cvmaple]

I think who ever said poplar I think is pretty close It looks like a species known as Balm of Gilead. It has really rough bark with deep grooves in it and is soft so not a lot of btu's in it. The trees grow near wet areas and can reach huge sizes.It takes a large chainsaw to cut a mature one up. Just my 2 cents

[MJFlores]

That's sassafras. I have a bunch here on my property. Burns well, and real easy to split...very easy. It doesn't burn as long as other woods, but it burns nice and if it's free I wouldn't hesitate to use it. I burn a little in the wood stove every winter.

[PerryW]

I think Sassafrass wins. No, wait! I think it's Mahogany!

[maple flats]

Can you get a picture of the end grain (growth rings?) I'm not familiar with sassafras but it looks similar to hemlock. (Balm of gillead is a poplar)

[valleyman]

Thank you mapletraders for your input. I'll grab some more partly because it's free and partly because it splits so perfectly. But I be sure to have a diversified portfolio of wood, leaning aggressively towards oak.

MapleFlats, I'll take a pic showing the growth rings.

[HHM-07]

no dout in my mind that is hemlock and it makes good sugarwood, take it and say thank you.

[johnallin]

My vote is Sassafras, for sure. Have you smelled it yet? Sassafras has a distinct sweet smell to it unlike any other wood I've handled. It has nice straight grain like Ash, but is not as heavy and the bark is not as dark or tight. Mix it in with some hardwood and you'll be fine.

[jimsudz]

I believe john is right, sassafras, has a sweet medicany smell not reel hard but it'll burn.

[valleyman]

Maple Flats, Here a couple more pics I took.
Thanks again

56975698

[Michael Greer]

Sassafrass is also allegedly quite rot-resistant.

[oneoldsap]

Looks like Hemlock to me . Ct. was full of it up till a few years ago when a blight struck them . The red bark is a dead giveaway !

[markcasper]

the inside to me looks like butternut, but the bark doesn't fit butternut....too rough

[Dave Y]

It is mature sasafras. Period!

[farmall h]

Does it have leaves or evergreen needles. If it has needles than it is definately Hemlock. If it has leaves than I would guess it to be a Poplar. (hard to tell by picture alone).

[Indiana-Jones]

I'm in the sassafras camp. It is great for making syrup and out door fires, not so good for heating the house. It doesn't make much coals. Here in Indiana we don't have much pine to burn, so I cut some sassafras to mix in with the oak and hickory.

It is good for the last couple of firings when you are trying to figure out when to stop, it burns up hot and fast..and gone.

[sirsapsalot]

This thread is still going maybe you should start a poll.

[johnallin]

Have you smelled it yet? I'm 99% certain that's sassafras - one whiff and you'll know. Will have a distinct sweet smell unlike any other wood.

[sapbrush]

locust without a doubt good hard wood

[noreast maple]

it looks like locust to me too, its definetly hardwood ,you can tell that just by looking at the heart,loged for 35 years and it a hardwood heart.