Tree Identification

[Pr3ssure]

So I thought this was a walnut tree, once I got it cut though my dad said it might be hemlock. I looked up and eastern hemlock has similar bark to walnut. So if anyone has a good idea I’d appreciate it. 

Edited October 26, 2018 by Mod34
Moved to proper section

[Glenn]

Use it for practice stump construction. It will solve many problems so you can make the second stump better and easier to build.

[Frosty]

I'm surprised you can't tell the difference between a Maple and a conifer. They look about as much alike as a tomato plant and a Christmas tree.

What difference does it make, is your anvil choosy or something? 

Frosty The Lucky.

 

[Marc1]

Looks pretty dense to me. (No pun intended)

Good enough for a stump, now you have to build the smithy around the stump.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Pictures of the leaves will help. The bark looks like shagbark hickory we have around here.

[Pr3ssure]

2 hours ago, Frosty said:

What difference does it make, is your anvil choosy or something? 

I already have the stump for my anvil. This is a separate tree want to know what it is for reference now and later. That’s one thing I was never taught how to identify trees. 

57 minutes ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said:

Pictures of the leaves will help. The bark looks like shagbark hickory we have around here.

There were no leaves. It didn’t grow any this year. 

I’m wanting to make handles for my hammers

[Daswulf]

Looks like locust to me. 

[Anachronist58]

Looks like locust. Do the dead branches have thorns?

[JME1149]

The color of the wood really looks like hickory to me. Might want to try out this site for identification purposes

http://www.docs.dcnr.pa.gov/cs/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_20029752.pdf

Look for other similar standing trees in the same area to try to get an idea on leaf shape to further narrow down the species.

[Pr3ssure]

No thorns, the only tree nearby that looks like it that has leaves is a big walnut. 

I’ll try that site though. 

[51 Papy]

Might just be the camera lying to me but the color looks yellow.  Most of the old mulberry trees here in the Midwest are that color yellow and have the rougher bark. 

[Shabumi]

From what I see, I'd guess locust as well, but the lack of thorns removes that possibility. Around here the walnuts of that size don't have as shaggy a bark, and the yellow section would be more chocolate milk colored. Based on some of the dead leaves around the stump, it *might* be mulberry, but the majority of the leaves I see Im not familiar with so take my guess with a grain of salt. I'm not overly versed in the flora of that side of the country.

[Pr3ssure]

I think my camera put more yellow on it, it’s not quite as yellow. 

Yeah, I guess it’s just gonna be a guess on this one. But it’s weird no trees that looked like it had any leaves on it. The biggest I’m pretty sure was an oak and I don’t know about the smaller one. I need to just get someone around here to give me a course on it. 

[Shabumi]

No leaves on any that look like it? That does help narrow it down a bit. Unless they are all dead then that means they're deciduous(drops all their leaves every year). That's one step closer to a positive ID. As for people to ask for an id, tree trimmers and wood cutters might know, an arborist would be better, and there are wood workers who can Id it by the way the wood looks, feels, smells... so maybe try furniture makers, wood sculpters, or a place that sells the raw material to those people. Happy hunting

[Daswulf]

Even the "stringynes" of where it split looks like locust. I have encountered many dead standing locust without the thorns on the branches. 

[Pr3ssure]

Yeah, my dad cut trees for several years. I need to get a better picture and he might have a better idea. I know we have locust around here. Well, you know that Das, I think the tree was standing in Pennsylvania and fell in West Virginia, literally. I live on the mason dixon line. 

[Frosty]

21 hours ago, Pr3ssure said:

I think the tree was standing in Pennsylvania and fell in West Virginia

That's easy to tell, listen carefully on a breezy day. If it's humming "The Immigrant Song" it's from somewhere else. 

Dropping a couple shavings on an ember might tell you something by the smell of the smoke. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Stash]

Another vote here for black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia).

Steve

[Farmall]

Definitely black locust. I’ve probably cut down 7-800 of those over the years. Back in 1970, Grandaddy had to sell off 32 acres when they were building Interstate 64 and we cut out all the red cedar and black locust for fence posts. Was LOADS of fun !  Very durable stuff.  Still have some of those posts in use........

[JHCC]

Black locust also doesn’t have thorns; those are typical of honey locust.

[SLAG]

I am late to the thread, having had a short vacation in Louisville, Kentucky.

Try this for pictures of the wood and bark.

www.shutterstock.com/search/black+locust 

SLAG.

[Pr3ssure]

Yeah, it’s looking like it could be black locust for sure. The barks very similar. Trying to find a picture of the inside of the tree as well

[Frosty]

8 minutes ago, Pr3ssure said:

Trying to find a picture of the inside of the tree as well

Those are hard to find, the job's boring. 

I'll be something more helpful than a smart Alec when I can but you're posting so many good straight lines I can't help myself.

Frosty The Lucky.

[ThomasPowers]

Hard to start but locust makes long burning hot coals. A good log to throw on top of the coals in the wood stove before going to bed---seasoned wood of course

[JHCC]

No mention of locust in “The Firewood Poem” by Lady Celia Congreve:

Beechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year,
Chestnut's only good they say,
If for logs 'tis laid away.
Make a fire of Elder tree,
Death within your house will be;
But ash new or ash old,
Is fit for a queen with crown of gold

Birch and fir logs burn too fast
Blaze up bright and do not last,
It is by the Irish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.
Elm wood burns like churchyard mould,
E'en the very flames are cold
But ash green or ash brown
Is fit for a queen with golden crown

Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke,
Apple wood will scent your room
Pear wood smells like flowers in bloom
Oaken logs, if dry and old
keep away the winter's cold
But ash wet or ash dry
a king shall warm his slippers by.