What kind of wood is this?

[mspina14]

I cut down a tree about 2 months ago. Firewood for the evaporator. After I cut the tree down, I cut it into 16 inch rounds.

I went to split it last week end and it was hard as hell. Stopped my 7 ton electric log splitter a couple of times. When it did split, the heart wood was very fiberous and stringy.

I thought the tree was a white Ash. But I've read on the internet that white Ash should be easy to split.

So maybe it's not a white Ash.

Photos of leaves, bark and wood grain below.

Anybody know?

thanks


Mark

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[wiam]

I do know what it is, but defiantly not white ash.

[WMF]

Looks like Hickory

[lakeview maple]

Smooth bark Hickory

[Michael Greer]

Hickory of some sort. It's a great habitat tree that keeps the squirrels busy in the fall, a beautiful and tough hardwood for cabinets or flooring, and the best firewood you ever lay your hands on.

[adk1]

I was dropped off a load of mixed hardwood for sapwood. I had this very stringy wood that looked like that as well but the bark was much smoother and seemed to be stuck on the wood with glue. Stringiest wood I have ever split. Had a decent sized heart center that was reddish brown. Maybe hickory as well

[GeneralStark]

Bitternut Hickory. Awesome firewood. can be tough to split, especially the butt

[mspina14]

Bitternut Hickory. Awesome firewood. can be tough to split, especially the butt

thanks.

Didn't know it was Hickory.

I have a bunch of them on my property.

Anyone know how long it takes to season?

Mark

[Ed R]

It looks pretty dry already. Put it in the woodshed after splitting it small enough and it might be burnable this coming season. If not, next year for sure.

[jimsudz]

I'm leaning twords pignut hickory,not positive though. Usually bitternut is mostly all red hearted. I Know that pignut is harder than bitternut. All the hickorys split better when freshly feld.

[MapleMark753]

We use a lot of hickory during maple season, ours is bitternut. I have cut and split it as late as yours, and it burned fine the following season. Wouldn't want to START a fire with almost seasoned hickory, but it burned fine and hot for us once the fire was going. Others'd probably say to season it longer, and I concur with that if practical for you. Lotta btus in that wood.

[Bricklayer]

bitternut hickory is what I've been burning in my woodstove for years. Best fire wood out there. I usually fell trees in spring and block them. Split in late summer and let season untill next fall. It's a pretty sparky wood also. But gives off lots of eat and keeps a nice coal bed.
The ones on my property have smooth bark and rougher bark just like yours. Looks very similar to ash.
You can usually tell a hickory by looking at the branches and looking for black ball growths that grow on them. That's what my grandfather always told me.

[Michael Greer]

Hickory is also the preferred wood for those curvy Amish rocking chairs.

[RileySugarbush]

I have bitternut hickory on my property here in Minnesota. But I always think back fondly of the shagbark hickory we had in Michigan. This past weekend I was in Indiana and brought back a couple of Shagbark saplings to plant. They grow slowly, so I may never see them with that great shaggy bark, but I've done my part.

[Ed R]

They are squirrel magnets, almost as bad as walnuts.