Mackle Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 Last time I visited my uncle he had a giant stack of logs from a tree he felled that he claims is some type of walnut. He was using them as firewood (blasphemy, I know). After I saw the color split I convinced him to let me have a few. I got a second opinion from a friend with a tree removal business who claims its some sort of maple. What do you guys think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 Got a better photo of the bark? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 The bark is wrong for walnut. Looks more like Bradford Pear. Better pictures will help. If it is Maple, Norway Maple is also similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 A planed surface shows the grain better. A really clean end grain cut can be crucial to wood ID . A single leaf is very helpful. Bark helps as well. Pretty sure it's not walnut . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keggers Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 Looks like hickory to me. Pretty hard to tell though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mackle Posted March 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 Here are some more photos. The last two are spoons made from it before and after finishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 Looks like hickory to me. Pretty hard to tell though. Agreed. Walnut and hickory trees look sorta similar, so I could understand your uncle's confusion. Maple does have brown heartwood so it could be a maple (the white sapwood of your spoon does look more like maple than hickory). It can be really hard to tell from a single chunk of lumber. The leaves tell the story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 Butternut is a related tree to walnut, sometimes referred to as white walnut, but it doesn't look like that either. Hickory and pecan could be possibilities, bark looks right to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keggers Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 You should be able to easily identify hickory by the smell. If it doesn't smell like hickory then it's most likely maple. I really like your spoons! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuxnerd88 Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 Looks like maple bark to me. And the white sapwood looks right. Wish you had some leaves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 I vote for hickory. Was it pretty hard to work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keggers Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 I vote for hickory. Was it pretty hard to work? I'm guessing we'll never know..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mackle Posted March 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 I think it was fairly easy to work with. To be fair I'm a novice and the couple spoons I've made were all from this wood so I don't have anything to compare it to. Can hickory have dark heartwood like this? Thank you all for helping me out here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 Yes, hickory has darker heartwood. It can also be quite variegated light and dark. Pecan that I have used was more consistent in color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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