Identifying Hardwood Firewood

Desirable woods like oaks and hard maples have distinctive barks.

Identifying hardwood firewood.

Most common hardwoods unlike the conifers or softwood firs spruce and pines hardwood trees have evolved into a broad array of common species. Splitting firewood by hand can be really fun and it s a great source of exercise. Yellow and black birch present a distinct wintergreen odor. Pines cedars firs and other softwoods have needles rather than leaves which is a good identifier.

Over the years i began fielding questions from a more diverse audience worldwide including wood workers carpenters sawmill managers historical societies and archeologists. Popular types of hardwood for burning. Split wood may not have leaves but often branches or twigs will have remnants of leaves that can identify firewood. Identify wood by scent smell the scent of the wood.

The wood from hardwood trees tends to be harder because the trees grow at a slower rate giving the wood its greater density. Pine wood also has a marked odor and makes excellent firewood as it burns clean with little ash. 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. When attempting to identify a wood sample it s important to keep in mind the limitations and obstacles that are present in our task.

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. Before starting please have a look at the truth behind wood identification to approach the task in a proper mindset. A favorite because it can be found almost anywhere oak is very dense and can burn for a long long time. Here we tackle a few ways to recognize some of the most common species of wood in north america by sight.

This article is a one stop guide to provide some insights into the traditional classification of wood. I consider the linked article to be required reading for all those visiting my site with the. You can usually tell different types of wood apart by looking at the wood grain color and the visibility of growth rings. Hardwood and softwood and the distinctive set of characteristics of each type of wood which will determines the aesthetic and intrinsic strength of the.

For this reason i decided to revise and expand this site. Hardwood is generally the best wood for your fireplace. There should be some on at least some logs. A thorough understanding of how to distinguish hardwoods from softwoods is essential as you make your choices for the next project.

Many trees are readily identified by their scent. The list of different types of hardwood could go on and on forever so we will focus on just three of the most popular. It has been designed to serve both the amateur and experienced person in identifying unknown wood specimens.