# Is this monster oak?



## Flatbedford (Nov 25, 2011)

I can have this if I want it. The homeowner says it is White oak. I can park the truck next to it, and my friend has a Husqvarna 3123 with a big bar.


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## Flatbedford (Nov 25, 2011)

Doesn't look like Oak to me.


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## fossil (Nov 25, 2011)

I don't know.  Looks an awful lot like a whole slew of great big old Poplars that grew on my property back in Virginia.  Rick


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## BrotherBart (Nov 25, 2011)

I am with fossil on this one. Got a few that size on the place here. It damn sure ain't red or white oak.

With the 3123 it will cut like butter, split like crap soaking up your maul and burn hot and clean with no coals but a lot of fluffy ashes. In fact it will  split like crap soaking up your maul and burn hot and clean with no coals but a lot of fluffy ashes even without the 3123.

Had to clean that up before fossil caught me on the sentence structure.  :lol:


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## firetender (Nov 25, 2011)

the bark on that tree looks like a maple I had cut down, about the same size too.


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## raybonz (Nov 25, 2011)

That's one big tree and it could be oak.. Cut and split a piece and we'll know better..

Ray


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## Gark (Nov 25, 2011)

Doesn't the distance between annular rings (seen on the big cross-section) generally tell how fast-growing a tree it was? Can't really see the rings with the pic being fuzzy, but the top and middle pics seem to show wide 1 inch rings which wouldn't be oak. All oak we did had well-defined closely spaced (1/4 inch) rings. Also, the thumbnail test -- did your thumbnail sink into the end-grain (soft, fluffy wood:: not oak) or not (hard dense wood:: maybe oak)..... ?? Oak generally grows slowly.


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## gzecc (Nov 25, 2011)

Only way I would cut that up if it was black locust, or osage orange. Leave the $500 in labor and tools for someone else.


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## Flatbedford (Nov 25, 2011)

I was thinking some kind of Maple too. Probably very hard to split. If it were one of the Oaks, I'd jump on it, Maple or something else, not so much. 4' rounds of red or White Oak don't scare me, but 4' rounds of Maple would not be fun.


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## Flatbedford (Nov 25, 2011)

A few more pictures.


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## Huskyforlife (Nov 25, 2011)

I would go for it, but I own a Huskee.  Trying to split that by hand does not look fun.


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## Fifelaker (Nov 25, 2011)

Looks like some kind of maple to me cut split and enjoy.


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## smokinj (Nov 25, 2011)

The way the end staining out I would say its oak!
First pic sugar and the second red oak, but look how it rings.


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## DanCorcoran (Nov 25, 2011)

Well, using the technique of expert concensus, we've so far eliminated bamboo and feline willow.


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## Thistle (Nov 25, 2011)

The 3123 wont work because there is no such thing. Husqvarna makes a 3120 though.

I'd take it.Anything that isnt Ailanthus/Tree Of Hell is OK with me.Cottonwood,various Pines or Cedar/Juniper,I'll cut & bring it all home if I can squeeze it in the backyard.


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## Flatbedford (Nov 25, 2011)

This is it in its former glory. Th e tree in the center of the image. The one right above the white car.

<iframe width="640" height="480" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode;=&q=1216+Jackson+Street,+Peekskill,+NY&aq=0&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=37.735377,86.572266&vpsrc=6&ie=UTF8&hq;=&hnear=1216+Jackson+St,+Peekskill,+Westchester,+New+York+10567&t=h&ll=41.26974,-73.931517&spn=0.000484,0.000858&z=20&output=embed"></iframe>
[size="1"][url="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=embed&hl=en&geocode;=&q=1216+Jackson+Street,+Peekskill,+NY&aq=0&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=37.735377,86.572266&vpsrc=6&ie=UTF8&hq;=&hnear=1216+Jackson+St,+Peekskill,+Westchester,+New+York+10567&t=h&ll=41.26974,-73.931517&spn=0.000484,0.000858&z=20"]View Larger Map[/url][/size]


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## Flatbedford (Nov 25, 2011)

Thistle said:
			
		

> The 3123 wont work because there is no such thing. Husqvarna makes a 3120 though.



Whatever. It is a BMF saw! I don't remember the Husqvarna numbers. Thanks for the correction.

Here's the 3120 in some White Oak. The bark doesn't look anything like the monster above.


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## smokinj (Nov 25, 2011)

Flatbedford said:
			
		

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Hes bleeding from both hands!  :bug:


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## Flatbedford (Nov 25, 2011)

smokinjay said:
			
		

> Hes bleeding from both hands!  :bug:



It was hard work that day!


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## smokinj (Nov 25, 2011)

Flatbedford said:
			
		

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Yea there nothing easy about milling, right down to cleaning the saw afterwards. The slabs sure come in handy a year or two latter though. Working on a table now for x-mass you just dont get presents like that anymore!


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## Thistle (Nov 25, 2011)

smokinjay said:
			
		

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I didnt realize White Oak bark was so tough.Its usually pretty soft. ;-)


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## Flatbedford (Nov 25, 2011)

I think is is Sugar Maple. Am I correct that it will not HAND split as easily as Red or White Oak?


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## wkpoor (Nov 25, 2011)

I like em that size. That is my specialty but I have a way to put them up and take them home in one piece. 
3123 through me off for a moment too.


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## fireview2788 (Nov 25, 2011)

Ask the homeowner if it produced acorns.

f v


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## jeff_t (Nov 25, 2011)

fireview2788 said:
			
		

> Ask the homeowner if it produced acorns.
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> f v



Geez, brilliant :lol:


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## Flatbedford (Nov 25, 2011)

fireview2788 said:
			
		

> Ask the homeowner if it produced acorns.
> 
> f v



Good point.

My wife actually lived next door to this house about 12 years ago when were dating. I remember this tree and how huge it was. I wasn't a wood burner then, so I never really thought about what species it was. We might have some pictures of it with leaves somewhere. I don't remember acorns though. I probably parked under it from time to time back then.


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## babzog (Nov 25, 2011)

DanCorcoran said:
			
		

> Well, using the technique of expert concensus, *we've so far eliminated bamboo and feline willow.*



Almost lost my breakfast on that one!

It looks like a hardwood of some type... my guess would be maple, in which case, I'd be all over that.  The rounds would be heavy as lead - get a buddy to help you lift them into your truck/trailer or use machinery if it's available.  A hydraulic splitter will make quick work of those and give you lots of nice heat!  Nice find!

Look for some leaves... there must be a few lying around nearby.


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## Flatbedford (Nov 25, 2011)

No hydraulics available. This would a hand job.


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## smokinj (Nov 25, 2011)

Flatbedford said:
			
		

> No hydraulics available. This would a hand job.



Count me in!  :cheese:


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## raybonz (Nov 25, 2011)

Flatbedford said:
			
		

> No hydraulics available. This would a hand job.



LMAO!! I couldn't possibly add to that statement LOL

Ray


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## Thistle (Nov 25, 2011)

raybonz said:
			
		

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Ray you beat me to it. Not gonna touch that one with a 10 ft pole!  :lol:  ;-P


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## Flatbedford (Nov 25, 2011)

Geez guys! I'm talking about having no machinery to deal with 4' rounds!


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## babzog (Nov 25, 2011)

wkpoor said:
			
		

> I like em that size. That is my specialty but* I have a way to put them up and take them home in one piece. *
> 3123 through me off for a moment too.



Please share... I'm getting offers on a lot of rounds that size and they're a bear to load up and get home!


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## babzog (Nov 25, 2011)

Flatbedford said:
			
		

> Geez guys! I'm talking about having no machinery to deal with 4' rounds!



No rental center w/ log splitters nearby?  I'm getting a pretty good pile of biguns out back and will need to rent a splitter soon.  By the end of the weekend, I should have around 9 cords of big rounds of ash and maple to deal with.


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## smokinj (Nov 25, 2011)

Flatbedford said:
			
		

> Geez guys! I'm talking about having no machinery to deal with 4' rounds!



With no limbs on that trunk it is easy splitting. Any Y's and game over.


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## Flatbedford (Nov 25, 2011)

I could rent a splitter, but there is so much other wood around me that I could easily handle without the costs and hassle of renting equipment. Rental fees take away from the "free" in free heat.


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## Flatbedford (Nov 25, 2011)

It had a few branches and I think one end is the bottom of a Y. It does not look like an easy split. My limited experience with The Maples has been that they do not split as easy as the Oaks. If it was straight, and had no branches I would be more inclined to go for it.


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## smokinj (Nov 25, 2011)

Flatbedford said:
			
		

> It had a few branches and I think one end is the bottom of a Y. It does not look like an easy split. My limited experience with The Maples has been that they do not split as easy as the Oaks. If it was straight, and had no branches I would be more inclined to go for it.



Time to see what that 036 is made of.....I done some pretty nasty ash rounds last weekend full of limbs. (But it was still tough on the hydro)


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## Woody Stover (Nov 25, 2011)

That looks like it could be Red Maple. The straight stuff won't be too bad to split (with a power splitter.) I got a Red this summer...lots of twists and branches. 22-ton power splitter even had a tough go of it. I like the way it burns, though.
Can you just cherry-pick the straight stuff? I'd think the guy would be happy to get rid of whatever he could...


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## jeff_t (Nov 25, 2011)

If you have lots of other choices, I say pass. Especially after looking at the second set of pics. Four footers aren't bad to deal with if they are straight, but looking at the other side it's more of a PITA than it's worth, and the one end is the bottom of a nasty crotch. Now if it looked like that white oak under the mill.....


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## wkpoor (Nov 25, 2011)

babzog said:
			
		

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Secret weapon hehehe.


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## babzog (Nov 25, 2011)

wkpoor said:
			
		

> Secret weapon hehehe.



Well, that's a little much to take on a scrounge unless it's just up the road. LOL


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## nrford (Nov 25, 2011)

It's a Red Oak no doubt about it!!


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## wkpoor (Nov 25, 2011)

babzog said:
			
		

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Nope I haul it all over the place. My neighbor hauls an empty trailer and I haul the tractor. I fill his trailer or my dump trailer with logs and home we go. How far I'll got depends on what it is and how much. Mostly I stick to a 25mi radius of the home place. A dump truck with a grapple crane would be the sweetest.


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## Duetech (Nov 25, 2011)

Looks like a silver maple to me but I don't see any branches to help confirm.


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## Dune (Nov 25, 2011)

Sure looks like a red oak to me, but if it is hard maple it would be a great score also.


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## babzog (Nov 25, 2011)

wkpoor said:
			
		

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Well now, that's scrounging in style!


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## ruserious2008 (Nov 25, 2011)

Whatcha see around this sucker on the ground? Whirly spinning seed pods? Its maple. Acorns its Oak. Isn't that right?


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## zipping_horse (Nov 25, 2011)

Going by the first and second picture white oak seems right to me... but some of the other pictures the bark seems too dark among other things. Leaf, upper branch, or fruit/nut sample would clear things up.


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## wkpoor (Nov 25, 2011)

If I'm in doubt I cut a cookie off the end to what it is.


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## smokinj (Nov 25, 2011)

Red oak trunks take a little while for it to turn red, but red it will turn! (Done a few of these big suckers)


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## amateur cutter (Nov 25, 2011)

Cut it to length, quarter it with the saw, load it & take it home. I'm in the maple camp on this one btw. A C


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## CTYank (Nov 26, 2011)

firetender said:
			
		

> the bark on that tree looks like a maple I had cut down, about the same size too.



Yup, sure looks like norway maple, a very mature one.


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## BlankBlankBlank (Nov 26, 2011)

DanCorcoran said:
			
		

> Well, using the technique of expert concensus, we've so far eliminated bamboo and feline willow.



Eliminated pine, birch, and cottonwood.  LOL


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## nrford (Nov 26, 2011)

nrford said:
			
		

> It's a Red Oak no doubt about it!!



 I WAS NOT GUESSING.


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## smokinj (Nov 26, 2011)

nrford said:
			
		

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Good to hear!


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## ms440 (Nov 27, 2011)

Aw man, don't be scared! If you can get it in rounds go for it.


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## BlankBlankBlank (Nov 27, 2011)

You'ld being sinning to turn down felled trunk wood, oak no less!!


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## mainstation (Nov 27, 2011)

My guess is soft maple, red or Silver.  Lots of firewood there if you can get it split.


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## raybonz (Nov 27, 2011)

Four pages of chat about one log? LOL too funny!! Steve aka FBF go get the damn tree already and tell us what you got! The suspense is killing me! Hell go get the tree and poly it and display it in your home but whatever you do just get the damned tree! lmao ..

Ray


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## BlankBlankBlank (Nov 27, 2011)

raybonz said:
			
		

> Four pages of chat about one log? LOL too funny!! Steve aka FBF go get the damn tree already and tell us what you got! The suspense is killing me! Hell go get the tree and poly it and display it in your home but whatever you do just get the damned tree! lmao ..
> 
> Ray



Maybe he's 10 years wood and is making us all salivate over how many btu's we'd get out of it.  LOL!!  Each day I look hoping to see it bucked out to 16" rounds and half split.  Yes I said 16".  Anything bigger will be too difficult to move.


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## Battenkiller (Nov 27, 2011)

The look of that end grain with its hard grain lines and light-colored medullary rays (clearly seen on the outer right hand side of the stump in this blowup) speaks only oak to me.  Looks very much like white oak except the bark.  Maybe a white/red hybrid?


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## smokinj (Nov 27, 2011)

Battenkiller said:
			
		

> The look of that end grain with its hard grain lines and light-colored medullary rays (clearly seen on the outer right hand side of the stump in this blowup) speaks only oak to me.  Looks very much like white oak except the bark.  Maybe a white/red hybrid?




Its red give it a little more time and it will change to a hard red.


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## Constrictor (Nov 28, 2011)

Ive never seen red oak change to red after cuttin. Its already red from the start. That round does look like oak. But i dont think you can see a medullary ray from the end grain. Must see them on the face of a split.


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## nrford (Nov 28, 2011)

You can see them in oak!! And that is red oak for the third time!


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## lukem (Nov 28, 2011)

I'm pretty confident that is black oak.


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## Duetech (Nov 28, 2011)

One botanist report I was reading (on the net) about oaks says there is just two real types of oak.. black and white. All the varieties are just basically sub species of black and white. I'd have never known. Still not sure I do. (No offense to the botanist) ;-)


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## smokinj (Nov 28, 2011)

Constrictor said:
			
		

> Ive never seen red oak change to red after cuttin. Its already red from the start. That round does look like oak. But i dont think you can see a medullary ray from the end grain. Must see them on the face of a split.



Now you have.......... ;-) Stump after a month.


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## Flatbedford (Nov 28, 2011)

Sorry to disappoint you guys, but I have passed on it. No matter what it is, it is just too much for me to manage. There are too many crotches and branches for an an easy hand split and I do not want to spend the $$$ on splitter rental when there is so much easier wood around me, and I have three year supply now. I don't have to struggle with stuff like this.
Anybody close enough interested, here's the CL ad. I'll be happy to come watch, maybe even help somebody out, just don't ask me to split or lift the stuff!
http://newyork.craigslist.org/wch/zip/2714867182.html . It's less than 10 minutes form the Eastern side of the Bear Mountain Bridge in Peekskill, NY. Only minutes from major highways. There is a hospital nearby too!


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## Jags (Nov 28, 2011)

Its Red Oak.  Go get it.  With the 2130 - saw that sucker into quarters and get it home.


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## smokinj (Nov 28, 2011)

Flatbedford said:
			
		

> Sorry to disappoint you guys, but I have passed on it. No matter what it is, it is just too much for me to manage. There are too many crotches and branches for an an easy hand split and I do not want to spend the $$$ on splitter rental when there is so much easier wood around me, and I have three year supply now. I don't have to struggle with stuff like this.
> Anybody close enough interested, here's the CL ad. I'll be happy to come watch, maybe even help somebody out, just don't ask me to split or lift the stuff!
> http://newyork.craigslist.org/wch/zip/2714867182.html . It's less than 10 minutes form the Eastern side of the Bear Mountain Bridge in Peekskill, NY. Only minutes from major highways. There is a hospital nearby too!



lol, cant blame you. I dont want to do another one ever!  :lol:


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## JustWood (Nov 28, 2011)

Battenkiller said:
			
		

> The look of that end grain with its hard grain lines and light-colored medullary rays (clearly seen on the outer right hand side of the stump in this blowup) speaks only oak to me.  Looks very much like white oak except the bark.  Maybe a white/red hybrid?



Agreed, it's definetLEE oak .
I'm leaning to white oak also.  That stained sap wood screams white oak.


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## Jags (Nov 28, 2011)

uncontrolabLEE said:
			
		

> I'm leaning to white oak also.



I don't think the bark is thick enough for a white of that age.  That is the only reason I leaned to the Red side.  When I get one of comparable size (I probably do about 2 a year of this size) the bark can/will be 2" thick.


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## Flatbedford (Nov 28, 2011)

Still available.
http://newyork.craigslist.org/wch/zip/2723710711.html


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