The Wood ID Thread ( or name this wood type )

[davidwyby]

Love the trees and the firewood but working on them and their thousands of tiny tangling branches can fúck right off.

Sounds like mesquite

 

[Woodpecker]

Sounds like mesquite

But harder than your mother-in-law’s head.

 

[davidwyby]

But harder than your mother-in-law’s head.

A quick Giggle perusal indicates locust around 1700 and mesquite 2300

Add in desert dried and chains skate. Hammers and axes ping off it…not as crazy as ironwood…which coincidentally I just dropped in water and watched it sink. Crazy.

 

[Woodpecker]

A quick Giggle perusal indicates locust around 1700 and mesquite 2300

Add in desert dried and chains skate. Hammers and axes ping off it…not as crazy as ironwood…which coincidentally I just dropped in water and watched it sink. Crazy.

Both likely harder than your MILs head. I agree the janka scale doesn’t often tell the whole story. Environmental factors play a large role in the characteristics of a particular tree on a micro climate scale. I will say none of the trees in North America come close to something like Ipe (Brazilian walnut) or Cumaru (Brazilian teak). Trying to saw or work those species is an exercise in frustration.

 

[Squareground3691]

Both likely harder than your MILs head. I agree the janka scale doesn’t often tell the whole story. Environmental factors play a large role in the characteristics of a particular tree on a micro climate scale. I will say none of the trees in North America come close to something like Ipe (Brazilian walnut) or Cumaru (Brazilian teak). Trying to saw or work those species is an exercise in frustration.

I use Jatoba wedges for hanging axe heads , that is tough stuff,

 

[J.Noss]

Alright, what species of wood is this? My 22 ton that goes through oak no problem has a problem with this. It goes through but you can hear it straining like its going to drop a nut. I've got to take out the maul and beat it to death to get it apart. Want to avoid this wood if at all possible.

I've recently had wood that was like this break a new splitter, it was a factory defect that got replaced but still.. here's a picture of some I had.. I figured out exactly what it was, let me go back and look/find out

 

[J.Noss]

Alright, what species of wood is this? My 22 ton that goes through oak no problem has a problem with this. It goes through but you can hear it straining like its going to drop a nut. I've got to take out the maul and beat it to death to get it apart. Want to avoid this wood if at all possible.

Black Tupelo also known as Black Gum trees

 

[Woodpecker]

Black Tupelo also known as Black Gum though it is not related to the commonly called "gum" trees (Eucalyptus)

Liquidambar (gum) trees are not eucalyptus.

 

[J.Noss]

Liquidambar (gum) trees are not eucalyptus.

Oh well I know in Australia (from their TV shows) they commonly call Eucalyptus as Gum trees, that's what I was meaning.. never heard of Liquidambar trees, pretty interesting what you can learn on here. But yeah you're definitely right what you said.

 

[Woodpecker]

Oh well I know in Australia (from their TV shows) they commonly call Eucalyptus as Gum trees, that's what I was meaning.. never heard of Liquidambar trees, pretty interesting what you can learn on here. But yeah you're definitely right what you said.

Yeah they usually call those blue gum. Pretty confusing. If it’s N. America actual gum is liquidambar if it’s Australia it’s blue gum which isn’t really a gum but is eucalyptus. But they are entirely different species. Just like black gum isn’t an actual gum but Tupelo.

 

[J.Noss]

Yeah they usually call those blue gum. Pretty confusing. If it’s N. America actual gum is liquidambar if it’s Australia it’s blue gum which isn’t really a gum but is eucalyptus. But they are entirely different species. Just like black gum isn’t an actual gum but Tupelo.

Looking up the Liquidambar American Sweetgum trees I realized that I've seen those before up here in the woods of Perry County Pennsylvania, on the Wikipedia page it shows their native range as only being to the south of PA but I recognized the seed pods and have seen Luna Moth caterpillars on them.. I love to learn about the different tree species and thank you as I just learned a new one thanks to you mentioning it.

 

[J.Noss]

Interested in the opinions on what type of tree this wood is from.. pretty sure it's a kind of Birch, but which one? It has a very slight smell, it had laid dead for a few months so I had to leaves to compare to.. and as you'll see in pics the bark comes off in full sheets when split and has a soft brown/yellow/white under-bark.
Its not terribly heavy or hard and it seems to be pretty darn dry already so the weight is already lacking the water-weight.

 

[Woodpecker]

Looks an aweful lot like sweet birch. Some folks call it black birch.

 

[J.Noss]

Looks an aweful lot like sweet birch. Some folks call it black birch.

That's the good Birch then.. (BTU charts show Sweet/Black Birch as equal to Locust) I was surprised that it was pretty easy to cut and pretty darn lightweight. I'm not good at identifying Birches, I got this at a house on the mountainside about 1mi away from the Susquehanna river.. free marketplace ad.
guess I ought to go back for the rest tomorrow, only about 5mi drive

 

[Woodpecker]

That's the good Birch then.. (BTU charts show Sweet/Black Birch as equal to Locust) I was surprised that it was pretty easy to cut and pretty darn lightweight. I'm not good at identifying Birches, I got this at a house on the mountainside about 1mi away from the Susquehanna river.. free marketplace ad.
guess I ought to go back for the rest tomorrow, only about 5mi drive

It’s also possible it’s a type of cherry. Especially if it feels light.

 

[J.Noss]

It’s also possible it’s a type of cherry. Especially if it feels light.

We have black cherry here but it typically has quite red inner wood and completely different bark, guy who house it was seemed to be certain it was Birch. Possibly Yellow or some hybrid Birch perhaps..
But out of curiosity I checked the moisture content: 23% that's in the center of a freshly-split piece, so considering that it's not that light. But compared with green Red Oak (very wet 80%?) for example it did feel lightweight.

 

[davidwyby]

I have a weird one. What type of wood is similar to eucalyptus, mainly felling characteristics? Brittle, doesn’t hinge, doesn’t seem barberchair prone.

 

[Woodslasher]

I have a weird one. What type of wood is similar to eucalyptus, mainly felling characteristics? Brittle, doesn’t hinge, doesn’t seem barberchair prone.

Concrete?

 

[Woodslasher]

I know around me dead Black Oak trees are brittle and don't really hinge, but they might barberchair.

 

[davidwyby]

I know around me dead Black Oak trees are brittle and don't really hinge, but they might barberchair.

Yeah just about any dead hardwood I reckon. I’m thinking something in the PNW. I dunno what maple is like. Cut dead coast live oaks last summer, more this summer. As hard or harder than Euc. A couple recently dead ones were tough, like mesquite. Smelled like beer, fermented.