maple

[dave_376]

The last few load I brought home have been maple. How do you know which variety it is. How do you know if its "hard maple". The rounds were 20" Dia and were heavy.

 

[blacklocst]

That there looks like Sugar Maple.(aka hard Maple) just as heavy as Oak.

 

[PEKS]

Nice Rounds, good looking lad that cut them too..
Soft Maple seasons fast, light weight when dry, burns quick..
Hard Maple very dense when dry, burns awesome..

 

[chadihman]

Looks like silver maple bark. Silver maple is a softer maple but burns ok for the shoulder season. Silver maples grow like weeds and give loads of flying helicopters. The leaves are silver on the bottom side.

 

[H 2 H]

Looks like your helper got the job done

 

[CTYank]

There is no species "hard maple". There are some species that are classed as "hard maple", i.e. sugar maple and black maple. The other common north american maples are "soft maples". First clue is the fiber density.

What you have in the pix is sugar maple. Look at the bark. Sugar maple is a slow-grower, so you should see relatively closely spaced annual rings, another clue. Sugar maple is also known in the NE as "rock" maple, because of how it responds to a maul. It is primo peak-season stove fuel, and well worth the effort. IMO

 

[RiverRocket]

Looks like you got a good helper there...any day messing with firewood, (what ever species) with your son or Grandson is a Great Day..

 

[unclemoustache]

Another vote for Sugar Maple. Nice haul, and a great little helper you got there!:msp_thumbsup:

 

[Rsquared]

http://www.arboristsite.com/attachm...ing-equipment/293439d1367542302t-dsc01595-jpg
He cut all that wood and doesn't even look tired.. Ahhhh to be young again...

 

[haveawoody]

That be some nice rounds of sugar maple/Black maple or hard maple as it's classified.
How to tell, hard maple has raised ridges on the bark, soft maple does not, when you begin to cut hard maple and the chainsaw chatters on the bark of every cut you know you have hard maple.
Hard maple is tough stuff to chainsaw, soft maple isn't.
Growth rings are quite different on hard or soft maple.
Hard maple weighs a bit more than soft maple but not much, a difference in the weight of dry hard and soft maple is easy to tell.
A dull chainsaw long before the day of cutting is another good indication it's hard maple.
Bad back at the end of the day from loading the heavy stuff is another LOL

I bet the little guy did most of the work though, even with the Black walnut and White Oak behind the trailer.
Don't they have child labour laws? But he does tote a mighty fine saw

 

[haveawoody]

CTYank,

And then we have Norway maple that is semi hard LOL
I find it to be mighty close to hard maple in BTU, but Norway is similar for coals to ash.
Difficult to find Norway on the charts for BTU but the few I have found put it at 25.8 and sugar/black at 26.4.

 

[WOODSMAN416]

I agree with sugar maple. Just split some last week.

that's a nice load of wood you and you helper have there. I see a picture like that and my hands start itching for the maul!:msp_biggrin:

 

[Cheesecutter]

I've noticed sugar maple has a bit more of a pinkish tint while soft maple is lighter cream color. Not sure if that always holds true, but thats how it seems here. I take sugar maple every chance I get.

 

[dave_376]

thanks for all the replies and compliments on how cute my little boy is. That is his second chainsaw, his Husqvarna didn't last to the demands of a serious logger, this one is a Black and Decker, I hope it last longer.

Last year my daughter wanted to help me cut wood, she grabbed the little toy husky and started in on the first limb when she actually realized there was a difference between my saws and the toy, "DADDY IT WON'T CUT" followed by tears.

haveawoody
good call on the white oak behind the trailer but the walnut is tulip poplar. There is a huge tree I can have but it is last on my list to take, I have some better choices I need to get home first. I also still need to get the wood in my driveway split before the MRS gets mad at me.

 

[haveawoody]

dave_376,

Was tough to tell if it was walnut, somebody placed a big trailer load of sugar maple in the way.
Looked pretty good as a walnut on the biggest piece I could see, but I nearly though the last piece on the right was Norway maple.
That should have told me something was not right in walnut land LOL.
I never would have guessed it was tulip poplar.

White Oak and Sugar maple, no fear of you having cold days this winter.
Hard maple is wonderful cooking, heating and coaling wood.
I place hard maple toe to toe for heat and burn time with the best oaks and hard maple isn't to hard to start a fire with so it wins easy as fire starting wood to long night burn wood.
Almost none of the dense hardwoods will burn from a small start fire and then continue burning for a long time, hard maple is one that will.

 

[dave_376]

When I saw the poplar tree I thought it was ash, I got excited because I thought it was a great score. after I picked up the first piece I knew I was either wrong or tuned into Arnold Schwarzenegger because it was so light.
I am a fan of silver maple because it is so easy to start. I ball up a few sheets of newspaper and place full splits on and around them. 1 match and the fire is going, no kindling no supercedar.

 

[PEKS]

When I saw the poplar tree I thought it was ash, I got excited because I thought it was a great score. after I picked up the first piece I knew I was either wrong or tuned into Arnold Schwarzenegger because it was so light.
I am a fan of silver maple because it is so easy to start. I ball up a few sheets of newspaper and place full splits on and around them. 1 match and the fire is going, no kindling no supercedar.

I am the opposite, I usually won't take Silver Maple..
Hard Maple is one my favorites all day long..

 

[ShaneLogs]

Looks good. Nice score!

 

[haveawoody]

dave_376,

If you have never burnt hard maple you will just love it.
A couple of small splits a bit of paper and the fire is going.
Only difference to silver maple is hard maple puts out about 1/2 the heat again and coals up like a champ.

Silver maple I'm also a big fan, have many cords of it.
Wonderful shoulder season, easy fire start, cures quick, burns clean, splits easy and has a decent BTU at 20mbtu.
I think probably 1/2 of what I burn is silver maple.

Even though your ash/walnut turned out to be tulip poplar it's not a total loss.
Poplar is a very clean burning wood so nice to burn when the house has a chill but not really cold enough to be more than a warm up fire.
Makes pretty decent shoulder wood and fire start wood so it's all good.

 

[apattie]

I have a lot of locust that I split for next year, but I also have a lot of silver maple that the power company dropped clearing the lines. I've taken some and still need to cut more and get it split and stacked. It's right next to the house so easy to get. I know it's not the greatest but it still burns!