Oak Question

[njtuna]

last may i got about .75 cord of red oak from a friend who had a tree fall from a micro-burst. the tree was from about 18 miles away from where i live. this wood had a thick bark, like armor plating, almost prehistoric looking, and had an very nice aroma- almost like a perfume. then this weekend, i got about .75 cord of red oak from a local tree service. this wood had that distinct "manure" oak smell, and the heartwood was very red in the larger trunk pieces. the bark on what i think were some upper parts of the trunk was very smooth, and thorught the bark was thin. nothing like the red oak i got from my friend last year. they are both definitely oak, but why are they so different? i am in northern NJ. thanks.

 

[ericjeeper]

red oak has a slick tight bark

The bark is well adhered to the trunk. White oak has sort of a shaggy look to it up higher than your head generally. Then there is black oak the bark is very dark and different than either the white or the red. But all the leaves are basically the same.. Other oaks I am not familiar with enough to describe

 

[Deadman]

Red oak definately has a nasty smell that smells like Pee. Its also got a really thick bark and its red underneath the bark, and also red in the heart.
The white does have a shaggy bark and is much heavier.............
Not really sure what your other one is???????????

 

[Mikecutstrees]

thick bark

the oak with really thick bark might possibly be chestnut oak. It has very thick and deeply furrowed bark. The wood is more of a brownish color. I don't remember a smell to it. The leaves are much different, they are kinda football shaped with waves on the margins. Although probably no luck finding any leaves this time of year. I burns well but doesn't split as easy as red oak.

 

[njtuna]

i also got chestnut oak from my friend last may. it was very different from the red oak with the armor-plating bark (which seemed to split if you look at it funny). the chestnut oak was very stringy and much harder to split. and i know what you mean about the leaves. i have the audobon tree book and used it to identify both the red oak and the chesnut. it described the red oak as having deeply furrowed bark, which it certainly did.

 

[reaperman]

My woods is primarily red oak. The red oak does generally have a smoother bark, but once in a while I run across one with heavy bark. These with heavy bark may be some kind of sub species, I'm not sure, but the leaves are the same as a red. As far as the smell goes, I've noticed the wetter the red oak, the more they smell like manure. I've never smelled one that actually smelled like "roses".

 

[Brushwacker]

I've researched some in the past years and I will tell you the best I know.
The wood in black oak is mostly red and I understand the lumber industry markets black oak as red oak, and 1 old book I have claims pin oak sometimes is also.
I am sure black and pin oak sometimes cross pollenate and I have cut trees that look like pin oak on the outside but the wood is red almost identical to black oak. True pin oak wood is closer to white with darker heartwood. Around here a majority of people call black oak, red oak when they cut it and I would say most do not know the difference. I think when they sell it they just as soon call it red oak whether they know the difference or not as red oak has the better reputation for quality and if the lumber industry does it why not the firewood industry ? I am very familiar with the black oak and pin oak as the 2 combined are about 3/4 of the oak I cut. Either pin or black oak often have strong odors. To me an average black oak smells similar to corn silage when freshly split or cut. Some smell cosiderably worse and some smell less and when well seasoned I if any barely smell it.
Pin oak I find frequently smells much worse, like puke at its worse but usually not that bad, sometimes little odor. Either one well seasoned split I donot remember having any problems with the smell. Fresh cut and split they sometimes have the nasty smell, especially trees with hollows that take in water and sometimes I just get in a spot where they carry more odor then other areas. Every now and then I find a white oak with some rank smelling wood, usually under a hollow where the tree collected water.
I've cut very little true red oak but I think the wood is lighter (less red ) with a more distinct heartwood. If you can get some foilage off the trees the red oak leaves are significantly differant then black or pin oak.
My guess is the second load you got that smelled like manure to you was black or pin oak , possibly a cross pollenated tree. I think the first wood you discribed was probably true red oak.

 

[SWI Don]

I would guess your "armored oak" may be a burr oak. Very common here in SW Iowa. They are one of the few trees that would survive a prairie fire due to their thick bark and generous root systems.

Don

 

[njtuna]

i just posted a new thread showing the red oak i split this weekend. whatever type of oak it is, it is oak, and i am very happy to have it!

 

[DWittenbreder]

chestnut oak

Chestnut oak splits very easy and isn't stringy at all. sounds like you have some red oak and maybe some pin oak.

 

[GeeVee]

I'm having to agree with TreeCO and Brushwacker, Oaks are like incestuous families, they all sleep with each other.

I've had a really tough time identifying the trees in my Oak Hammock, so much that now I could care less.

I thoroughly believe that the trees cross pollenate, or hybridize themslves.

And then I get over it, its not too important to me.

 

[njtuna]

i think it was actually chinkapin oak, not chestnut oak, that i got from my friend. i took a few leaves, and was pretty sure it was chinkapin, form what i could see in the audobon tree book. whatever it was, it was not nearly as easy to split as the red oak.