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Can anybody identify this wood for me?
- Thread starter Richard Avram
- Start date
looks like it might be ambrosia maple.
Looks like Sugar Maple to me. I just cut up 2 8' trunks last week one of them looked very much like this and the bark is right as well.
I have had somebody tell me that it is Bitternut Hickory, is anybody familiar with that. I researched it and it is common in the area where I got this.
Richard, it is very hazardous to try to identify wood by pictures like this. I can't say what it is but am pretty sure it is neither hickory nor maple because what you have here has smooth bark but the other two mentioned here have rough bark. If I REALLY wanted to go out on the limb (no pun intended), I might try Chinese elm, although the bark doesn't have the characteristic pattern of Chinese elm and I don't know if it grows in the area where you got it.
Good luck.
Good luck.
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Like Richard, it is hard to take much more than a guess. From your pics, it looks to be neither maple or hickory, but might be apple.
Well, I agree that probably not maple, but haven't seen much hickory out here. Not apple, one of my favorites. I don't have any idea really. The bark looks similar to 'Mountain Ash' which isn't an ash, but the wood doesn't look right. Lots of internal damage. I would be very careful with this one, slower speeds, and stand out of the line of fire.
robo hippy
robo hippy
Almost looks like crab apple to me. Maybe some kind of ornamental.
We won't even go there, it's only been about six months since the last time I got clocked. I took six stitches in my chin and two in my neck where it bounced off. If it hadn't been for the face shield it would have been a lot worse. You can bet that I am gun shy and I will be extra careful.
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You could try this tree identification app from the Arbor Day Foundation.
You can probably do a better job at guessing since you have the wood itself. Sometimes sniffing the wood can give you a hint. If you know anything about the shape of the tree, its size, and leaves then that also will help you.
Identification of the piece of wood that you have is complicated by things such as bark inclusions and healed over wounds and other things. Then there is the some sort of moss or fungus and maybe algae on the bark that complicates things even further.
Given all this, the tree is definitely Blue Beech (hey, I'm just making this up).
You can probably do a better job at guessing since you have the wood itself. Sometimes sniffing the wood can give you a hint. If you know anything about the shape of the tree, its size, and leaves then that also will help you.
Identification of the piece of wood that you have is complicated by things such as bark inclusions and healed over wounds and other things. Then there is the some sort of moss or fungus and maybe algae on the bark that complicates things even further.
Given all this, the tree is definitely Blue Beech (hey, I'm just making this up).
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You can send a small sample of the wood to the Forest Products Laboratory, part of the USDA, and they will perform a scientific analysis of it. You can have five pieces analyzed per year for no cost.
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/research/centers/woodanatomy/wood_idfactsheet.php
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/research/centers/woodanatomy/wood_idfactsheet.php
Well--If you were in Texas or kind of close by, I would tell you that is Hackberry. It has a propensity to have bark inclusions, color and hardness changes and spalting. But I see that you're in Michigan, that kind of takes away my guess. Although there are several members of the Celtis genus that do grow up that way. Another common name that I know for this is "Sugarberry".
Not even close to Hackberry bark. Hackberry has cork-like bark with wart-like protuberances. Got that from Wikipedia by the way, I don't talk like that!
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I'm not sure if this tree is mature enough to have the mature bark of the tree.
Looks to be maybe 40-50 years old.
It has been my experience that the bark in young trees is quite different than the bark on older trees of the same species.
Also the bark on large limbs can be quite different from the main trunk.
Young maples have smooth bark, Gets rough as the get big.
Big maples often have some large smooth barked limbs.
We have couple of young hackberries in our yard they have smooth bark. The ones on a trail we walk are as described above.
Looks to be maybe 40-50 years old.
It has been my experience that the bark in young trees is quite different than the bark on older trees of the same species.
Also the bark on large limbs can be quite different from the main trunk.
Young maples have smooth bark, Gets rough as the get big.
Big maples often have some large smooth barked limbs.
We have couple of young hackberries in our yard they have smooth bark. The ones on a trail we walk are as described above.
echoing previous comments -
probably not a hickory
probably not chinese elm
probably not hackberry
in all three, the bark photo is wrong for the trees named.
probably not a hickory
probably not chinese elm
probably not hackberry
in all three, the bark photo is wrong for the trees named.
Mountain ash????? Bark kinda looks like the dying large one in back yard we planted 39 years ago, and the heartwood looks similar to ones I got from a friend about 1 month ago. (without the bark inclusions, Gretch
Need a macro-photograph of the end grain.....
Although this discussion is progressing along a path of successive approximations, these amount to educated guesses unless some concrete data is added to be able to evaluate what the wood can or can not be.
Is it possible to post a high resolution image or two of the cellular structure of the end grain of wood as shown in a freshly cut cross section (with a razor blade or very sharp plane, and not a saw), so that some of the most basic characters needed can be seen to at least get a start on an ID?
Macro-characters like bark texture, thickness, color, composition, etc. are useful, but the really telling characteristics are found at the cellular level. Leaves and fruits are even better, but often do not accompany wood samples, particularly those species frequently identified as "curbwood" or "gavemealogwood". Without a better set of characters derived from a close-up image of a freshly cut end-grain cross section, a real identification is not likely to emerge. While I can tell you LOTS of wood species that it isn't, I will refrain from even speculating on what species the wood IS without more information.
I contend that what Richard asked for was really more along the lines of "Does anyone RECOGNIZE this wood?" instead of being an actual wood identification. I emphasize this point in my Wood Identification demonstration. Most people do not identify wood, they recognize it from previous experience. Give them something new they have never seen, they don't recognize it, and thus cannot "identify" it. Identification is an analytical process of collecting characters, processing them through an identification key, and deducing the name by eliminating all possible alternatives. You can identify wood using this process, even if you have never seen the wood before.
Maybe we should develop an AAW web page or do an American Woodturner article on the basics of wood identification so people might be able to learn what kinds of information are needed to begin the process of putting a name to unknown samples of wood. Do you think that would be useful?
Rob
Although this discussion is progressing along a path of successive approximations, these amount to educated guesses unless some concrete data is added to be able to evaluate what the wood can or can not be.
Is it possible to post a high resolution image or two of the cellular structure of the end grain of wood as shown in a freshly cut cross section (with a razor blade or very sharp plane, and not a saw), so that some of the most basic characters needed can be seen to at least get a start on an ID?
Macro-characters like bark texture, thickness, color, composition, etc. are useful, but the really telling characteristics are found at the cellular level. Leaves and fruits are even better, but often do not accompany wood samples, particularly those species frequently identified as "curbwood" or "gavemealogwood". Without a better set of characters derived from a close-up image of a freshly cut end-grain cross section, a real identification is not likely to emerge. While I can tell you LOTS of wood species that it isn't, I will refrain from even speculating on what species the wood IS without more information.
I contend that what Richard asked for was really more along the lines of "Does anyone RECOGNIZE this wood?" instead of being an actual wood identification. I emphasize this point in my Wood Identification demonstration. Most people do not identify wood, they recognize it from previous experience. Give them something new they have never seen, they don't recognize it, and thus cannot "identify" it. Identification is an analytical process of collecting characters, processing them through an identification key, and deducing the name by eliminating all possible alternatives. You can identify wood using this process, even if you have never seen the wood before.
Maybe we should develop an AAW web page or do an American Woodturner article on the basics of wood identification so people might be able to learn what kinds of information are needed to begin the process of putting a name to unknown samples of wood. Do you think that would be useful?
Rob
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Rob, Good basic idea for AAW however there are lots of sites out there already and instead of duplicating that work a list of available sites under a heading of wood identification might be more efficient and very helpful.
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I think that it is an excellent idea. A decision tree approach would be a good idea because it encourages going beyond a single picture and putting some effort into examining the wood ... assuming that there was no opportunity to see the tree and leaves.
Hickory
Just saw this when surfing. It is definitely Bitternut Hickory. The bark of this hickory is much different than others like shagbark hickory. The elliptical spots are insect damage.
Just saw this when surfing. It is definitely Bitternut Hickory. The bark of this hickory is much different than others like shagbark hickory. The elliptical spots are insect damage.
Take it to a college or university that has someone specializing on botany. A local tree service might be able to help; a custom cabinet shop might have the answer. I have a friend who worked for a logging company and can tell what kinds of wood I have. He is very accurate.
looks like ambrosia maple......possible silver maple that the beetle got into......I believe silver maple has smooth bark......not sure
I'm from NE Ohio, It's Bitternut Hickory with bark inclusion, which is not that uncommon.