Shagbark Hickory!

[secureland]

Cut this damaged Shagbark Hickory up today. I've never burned it, any experienced Shagbark burners out there? Does it dry slowly? I split it and hope its dry by this winter.


A slow grower, around 60 years old at about 17" in diameter.

Also, check out this gooseberry! How delicious! First time I had one!

Is Shagbark as good as it's reputation?

 

[aandabooks]

About a year to season and then it is as good as oak. Not going to find much to beat it, other than osage orange.

 

[Stihl here]

About a year to season and then it is as good as oak. Not going to find much to beat it, other than osage orange.

I agree!!

 

[abohac]

Cut this damaged Shagbark Hickory up today. I've never burned it, any experienced Shagbark burners out there? Does it dry slowly? I split it and hope its dry by this winter.


A slow grower, around 60 years old at about 17" in diameter.

Also, check out this gooseberry! How delicious! First time I had one!

Is Shagbark as good as it's reputation?

Really hard on your saw (barks usally full of dirt and the wood istelf is very hard) hard to split, and cutting it green now and trying to burn this fall isn't the best idea (wait until next year). Pretty hard to beat in terms of BTU's and a long-lasting fire.

 

[Peacock]

Remember that it won't last long on the ground. Try to keep it up off from the soil.

I wouldn't hesitate to burn it this year, provided that it has been in the sun/wind until January or February.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

I cut one last summer and it was not ready to burn in the winter. The wood was very heavy and wet - and when I did throw a piece in with other wood it burned very slowly and obviously was too wet to burn well. Splitting it was very tough - it split in rings around the center wood and was very stringy. This 24" tree was what convinced me to get a saw bigger than my 029 - the 029 did cut it up but I felt I was working the saw way too hard.

It is good firewood and will burn great in the winter of 2009/2010.

 

[Wood Doctor]

About a year to season and then it is as good as oak. Not going to find much to beat it, other than osage orange.

+1! For heat content, only the osage orange (or perhaps live oak) will beat the shagbark hickory, but hickory is a little easier to split when dry. If cut green, I season it for close to a year--about the same as oak, mulberry, and hackberry.

Practically all the furniture in my family room I have built using hickory. That stuff is tough as nails and its mar pressure rating is off the chart. In addition, the sapwood is almost as hard as the heartwood.

 

[Countrybois]

Cook a pig over it. Best pork you will ever eat.

Anyway, it will take a good year to dry. All but the straightest pieces will be tough to split by hand. Other than that, it makes GREAT firewood. Enjoy it.

 

[spike60]

That is excellent wood. I have 2 kinds of Hickory on my property. Most of it is mockernut, but there are a few shagbarks. Together, they are the best wood I've got. The only thing even close is white oak. Very long lasting coals, and it's the best smelling smoke as well.

The hickory does require a full year to season. Very dense, and you are right about the slow growth. It takes twice as long to grow as red oak.

 

[crowbuster]

Hickory is one of my favorites for cooking and burning, nothing smells better. If you are burning indoors be carefull as it does pop and spew embers, enjoy.

C.B.

 

[Chuck Diesel]

Hickory and Oak in Michigan takes two winters to season.
Take a piece of that green hickory through a couple pieces on the BBQ with burgers, pork, or steaks and you have yourself a meal.

 

[ms310]

i dont know if the hickory we cut is shagbark but, it is one of the easiest splitting woods, as far as going threw the four way. Maple and oak are the toughest. As far as heat, it is great but, i would wait a year after cutting and splitting to burn indoors.

 

[Fastcast]

Have quite a few shags on our property also but never had a chance to burn any of it....Cool tree, love those big leaves too. Ours are only about 12-18"

Now my FIL has one his property (right in the back yard) has to go at least 36" to 40"......Anybody have an idea how old that one has to be?

 

[Swamp Yankee]

Burned a lot of that stuff,

High BTU content, can be hard to work.

It leaves a lot of big ashes and chunks in the stove when you burn it.
If it's straight like most wood it'll split pretty easy. Get one of those old field trees with a lot of branches and you'll talk to it some. Extremely dense and hard wood, will not get the normal length of time between sharpenings on a chain. Make sure oiler is putting out plenty if your going to be "burying the bar".

Take Care

 

[woodbooga]

Hickory and Oak in Michigan takes two winters to season.
Take a piece of that green hickory through a couple pieces on the BBQ with burgers, pork, or steaks and you have yourself a meal.

I'm just beyond the northernmost extent of hickory's range and don't see it much here - a couple specimens here and there is about it. When I lived in the southern part of the state of NH, I used to see it all the time.

Be sure to save any waste (bark, splints, etc.) from processing and set it aside for your next cookout. You'll get the flavor, keep all your good wood for the stove (eventually - I'd hold off until next winter), and clean up your yard all at once.

 

[dimanager]

i dont know if the hickory we cut is shagbark but, it is one of the easiest splitting woods, as far as going threw the four way. Maple and oak are the toughest. As far as heat, it is great but, i would wait a year after cutting and splitting to burn indoors.

If is was easy to split, it was not shagbark. It is real stringy and you usually have to use an axe to get it apart once it is split. It sounds like what we call mockernut around here. Shagbark nuts have a thin husk and a thick shell, mockernut has a think husk and thin shell.

Sam

 

[iowawoodcutter]

If is was easy to split, it was not shagbark. It is real stringy and you usually have to use an axe to get it apart once it is split. It sounds like what we call mockernut around here. Shagbark nuts have a thin husk and a thick shell, mockernut has a think husk and thin shell.

Sam

I split up a 24" shagbark with my splitting maul in april. I did not think it was too bad to split. Not as easy as red oak, but a lot easier than american elm. I would say it is on the white oak scale as far as splitting ease with a maul. Not much experience with a gas powered splitter, so I can't comment on that.

 

[secureland]

Really hard on your saw (barks usally full of dirt and the wood istelf is very hard) hard to split, and cutting it green now and trying to burn this fall isn't the best idea (wait until next year). Pretty hard to beat in terms of BTU's and a long-lasting fire.

Absolutely, I noticed the bar getting hotter than normal!

The straight non-knot pieces cut fairly well with some string wood at the end of the split.

The wood is so hard, I'm wondering why this one snapped off about 12' up, I don't think it was lightning. Some trees like silver maple snap easy, I have a feeling that the Shagbark is less prone to breaking.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Great score!

You can't get much better fuelwood than Hickory; you really made a great score there!

 

[avalancher]

We have both shag bark and mockernut here, and they are both my favorites.
The only downside to them both is the working of them. Hard on chains, the back, and the splitter. Cant beat them for burn time and the heat that they put out.
Luckily I ran into several of them last winter, and should have enough for most of this winter.
Great find there!
Good luck with the splitting.