Scored some wood but need to ID it. Pics

[pwoller]

Got this off craigslist, home owner said it was maple. When I went to split it with a maul 8 swings and all I had was a bunch of dents. How do you split this stuff and what is it?

 

[logging22]

Dutch elm? Maybe.

 

[pwoller]

It was a big tree the limbs started about 10 feet off the ground. I measured the stump at 5 foot across.

 

[7hpjim]

red oak???

 

[pwoller]

red oak???

I've cut alot of red oak and it didnt have the smell of oak that I am used to. Bark looked like oak though.

 

[branchbuzzer]

red oak???

Bark doesn't really look like red oak from the end, not thick enough? Plus the split piece not stringy enough, too light colored.

It's obviously been sitting quite a while judging from the checks in the end, so not too surprising it was tough to split, no matter what.

A sugar maple? How heavy does it feel.

 

[DK_stihl]

Sugar maple

I agree

 

[pwoller]

Fairly heavy, not as heavy as Oak. Silver Maple is what I was thinking. How do you split this stuff?

 

[branchbuzzer]

Fairly heavy, not as heavy as Oak. Silver Maple is what I was thinking. How do you split this stuff?

Silver would be pretty light.

Have you tried going around the outside, trying to chip off a couple inches all the way around making D-shaped chips, then attempting to go through the middle later? This usually works for me. I did a 24" hinge round of hickory that had been sitting a year like that today just for the hail of it.

No wedges and sledge? Can also try hitting on the edge in-line with the center to get a crack started, then widen it a bit at a time.

Make a small plunge cut to get a wedge or the maul started?

 

[pwoller]

I loaded the wood alone so it felt heavy. I did hit it on the edges and got the small pieces that are pictured but its way harder to split then oak. I'm going to fire up the 390xp tomorrow and cut it into smaller pieces.

 

[pwoller]

I loaded the wood alone so it felt heavy. I did hit it on the edges and got the small pieces that are pictured but its way harder to split then oak. I'm going to fire up the 390xp tomorrow and cut it into smaller pieces.

I have wedges but this wood just eats them up.

 

[branchbuzzer]

I loaded the wood alone so it felt heavy. I did hit it on the edges and got the small pieces that are pictured but its way harder to split then oak. I'm going to fire up the 390xp tomorrow and cut it into smaller pieces.

Yep, use the saw. No point killing yourself to save a buck in fluids.

Almost anything that sits and dries like that is going to shrink and be a beech to split, even oak, which is like splitting celery when it's green. Leave a big round of white oak sitting a couple years and you'll see.

 

[pwoller]

Yep, use the saw. No point killing yourself to save a buck in fluids.

Almost anything that sits and dries like that is going to shrink and be a beech to split, even oak, which is like splitting celery when it's green. Leave a big round of white oak sitting a couple years and you'll see.

I havent tryed to burn it yet but it seems pretty dry. Will a splitter take care of it?

 

[branchbuzzer]

I havent tryed to burn it yet but it seems pretty dry. Will a splitter take care of it?

I would hope so, for ~ 2 large... but I've never even seen one in action, truth be told.

 

[pwoller]

Thought I had a clist score but I really have rounds too big to put into the fireplace. What to do?

 

[branchbuzzer]

Thought I had a clist score but I really have rounds too big to put into the fireplace. What to do?

If it was me, I'd just cut them down into shorter lengths with the saw. Unless you know someone who has a splitter, that would be quicker and cheaper. They should bust relatively easily then. They might not look as pretty but they'll burn.

 

[pwoller]

If it was me, I'd just cut them down into shorter lengths with the saw. Unless you know someone who has a splitter, that would be quicker and cheaper. They should bust relatively easily then. They might not look as pretty but they'll burn.

I think I'll cut them up with the 390xp and the 2100cd to give them some time to break in. Thanks for all the advise.

 

[Nosmo]

I wasn't there when the tree was cut so I didn't get a chance to look and see if there were any leaves or ? on the ground. The home owner said it was a maple and it looks like sweet gum maple to me.

That sweetgum maple is some tough stuff to split especially after it has seasoned. If there were any of those little spikey looking balls on the ground this is what it is.

Remedy: Noodle the large rounds into halves or better yet quarters and then use a log splitter on them. I had some sweetgum given to me earlier in the year and split it while it was still green with my splitter.

Nosmo

 

[bluestem]

If it doesn't split, it's probably Elm. Pull a chunk of bark off that's at least a 1/2" thick, if it is striped with red and white it's American Elm.

 

[DSS]

Looks like sugar maple that is starting to spalt. I burn a ton of it, and it normally isn't that hard to split. Noodle it with the saw and the splitter will take care of it.