Need to do my home work

[Sully]

I went to a craigslist find today, big lot piles of trees. People all over cutting when I got there. To be honest it was sorta overwhelming trying to find "good" wood. I do not know wood very well. I need to study up. Lol.
In the end I loaded half a pick up with maple and some locust. I need to start going through the wood id posts and leaning because it really did get. Little frustrating. I was late to the party though as I was informed by someone else that the pro scrounges were there this weekend with cranes and dump trucks taking all the best wood.

On a good note i live being outside and cutting wood even if I have no clue what I'm cutting. I need to find out the key evidence to spotting something good

 

[Sully]

Wrong forum sry. Can someone move this when they get a chance to the wood shed. Thanks

 

[nrford]

Do you have a jack-knife? Better quality wood will be harder(more dense) If you stab the knife into a cut end and it penetrates easily pass on that wood and find something that is resistant to easy penetration with the knife point. Maples, Oaks, Hickories, Locust, will be much harder than poplars, basswood, cottonwood, tree of heaven, and pines.

 

[Paulywalnut]

Try and focus on the bark. Memorize the characteristics of the bark and picture it with the splits of firewood.
After working with different kinds you will pick up on it quickly. I look for oak,locust,mulberry and ash.
They are all pretty easy to remember. Ash as we all say has the distinct hole in the end of each piece.
You sound frustrated but you'll get it.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Don't try to learn them all at once. It won't happen. Make up your mind to learn 3 or 4 really well and then add to that every year. I've been at this for over 50 years and already know 5 of them.

 

[paul bunion]

The key is experience which you are rapidly getting. There is one or two things about every species that you will hone in on. Once you have that you can look at a piece of wood and just know what it is or isn't. Handle all the wood that you can and learn from it.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Just keep working at it, don't be afraid to talk to others and ask them what kind of wood is this or that, look up pictures on Google, get a good handbook to I.D. trees with like the National Audobon Field Guide to trees, but just keep working at it and it'll teach you. Once you know what you are burning it will help teach you which burns fast or slow, how much heat it throws, how it splits, how fast or slow it dries etc.

Experience is the best teacher and even us old hats at it are still learning too....

 

[Ralphie Boy]

Take anything with opposite branching. Here again are the only deciduous trees with opposite branching Maple, Ash, Dogwood Horse Chestnut Acronym: MAD Horse includes all maples, even box elder. All ash, white, green, blue and black. Horse chestnut includes all the buckeye types. All the wood in that make up the acronym make firewood ranging from excellent to fair and that's where the bark, fruit and twig identification is needed. The softest maple, box elder and the buckeyes would be rated fair but are good shoulder season wood. Get yourself a good tree field guide that you can carry in the field with you every time you go out, even if you are not cutting trees. Hope this helps a bit.

 

[mark cline]

Don't forget to smell the wood when you split it. Most wood has a distinct odor, that you can tell by smell if the bark is not present. Wood that smells bad, will smell bad when burned. Poplar for instance , smells like crap when wet and when burned.

 

[tfdchief]

Don't try to learn them all at once. It won't happen. Make up your mind to learn 3 or 4 really well and then add to that every year. I've been at this for over 50 years and already know 5 of them.

I would bet on more than 5 Dennis. Tree identification truly takes a lifetime. I have a degree in Botany, 65 years old, and still learning.

 

[Osage]

Don't try to learn them all at once. It won't happen. Make up your mind to learn 3 or 4 really well and then add to that every year. I've been at this for over 50 years and already know 5 of them.

Learn one----HEDGE----thats all you need to know

 

[Jon1270]

Learn one----HEDGE----thats all you need to know

Oh, that I should be so lucky! Osage does grow in my area, but it's rare. I only know of one tree of any size near me, and it's in a very prominent spot in a city park. But the consolation prize for our lack of hedge is black locust, which is all over the place. We've also got oodles of oak, soft maple, mulberry, cherry and elm. Chances are good that wherever you are, there are a handful of species or genera that dominate. It's really helpful to be able to recognize the handful of most common local trees; anything more than that is gravy.

 

[Osage]

Oh, that I should be so lucky! Osage does grow in my area, but it's rare. I only know of one tree of any size near me, and it's in a very prominent spot in a city park. But the consolation prize for our lack of hedge is black locust, which is all over the place. We've also got oodles of oak, soft maple, mulberry, cherry and elm. Chances are good that wherever you are, there are a handful of species or genera that dominate. It's really helpful to be able to recognize the handful of most common local trees; anything more than that is gravy.

Prolly no one in the park after midnight

 

[D8Chumley]

In my apprenticeship of identifying trees I have added a new one growing in my yard. Lacebark elm about 50+' tall and maybe 18" thru, thanks to the guys here for the help

 

[BillLion]

Oh, that I should be so lucky! Osage does grow in my area, but it's rare. I only know of one tree of any size near me, and it's in a very prominent spot in a city park. But the consolation prize for our lack of hedge is black locust, which is all over the place. We've also got oodles of oak, soft maple, mulberry, cherry and elm. Chances are good that wherever you are, there are a handful of species or genera that dominate. It's really helpful to be able to recognize the handful of most common local trees; anything more than that is gravy.

Same boat. The only osage orange tree I've seen around (here, but rare) is on the grounds of an elementary school. Can't complain though, plenty of other quality wood available readily.