Identifying Hardwood Firewood

It has been designed to serve both the amateur and experienced person in identifying unknown wood specimens.

Identifying hardwood firewood.

When attempting to identify a wood sample it s important to keep in mind the limitations and obstacles that are present in our task. Many trees are readily identified by their scent. Before starting please have a look at the truth behind wood identification to approach the task in a proper mindset. Split wood may not have leaves but often branches or twigs will have remnants of leaves that can identify firewood.

Desirable woods like oaks and hard maples have distinctive barks. Identify wood by scent smell the scent of the wood. Hardwood and softwood and the distinctive set of characteristics of each type of wood which will determines the aesthetic and intrinsic strength of the. Hardwood is generally the best wood for your fireplace.

Splitting firewood by hand can be really fun and it s a great source of exercise. A thorough understanding of how to distinguish hardwoods from softwoods is essential as you make your choices for the next project. A favorite because it can be found almost anywhere oak is very dense and can burn for a long long time. Apple and cherry both evidence the respective scent of the fruit they bear.

Read on to learn about five different types of hardwood trees and how they stack up to one another in terms of heating split ability and more. I m working my way alphabetically by botanical name so check out the latest added wood to see where i m at in the queue. You can usually tell different types of wood apart by looking at the wood grain color and the visibility of growth rings. Most common hardwoods unlike the conifers or softwood firs spruce and pines hardwood trees have evolved into a broad array of common species.

Yellow and black birch present a distinct wintergreen odor. There should be some on at least some logs. For this reason i decided to revise and expand this site. The wood from hardwood trees tends to be harder because the trees grow at a slower rate giving the wood its greater density.

Over the years i began fielding questions from a more diverse audience worldwide including wood workers carpenters sawmill managers historical societies and archeologists. Here we tackle a few ways to recognize some of the most common species of wood in north america by sight. I consider the linked article to be required reading for all those visiting my site with the. The list of different types of hardwood could go on and on forever so we will focus on just three of the most popular.

Pine wood also has a marked odor and makes excellent firewood as it burns clean with little ash. However there are a few key criteria to look for in wood identification. This article is a one stop guide to provide some insights into the traditional classification of wood.