This a very light wood, and if dry burns fast and hot. Unlobed leaves may have a smooth edge (such as a magnolia) or a serrated edge (such as an elm). This tree has a very pretty, almost dainty-looking winter silhouette. They certainly are tough. Red Oak is one of those hardwoods that is awesome for firewood, but really not so great for other things. I am in Missouri, known for its vast oak/hickory forests. If you’re dealing with a piece of wood that has already seasoned a bit, splitting shouldn’t be an issue at all. Back home we did have Osage Orange, but I never saw it in person or had the chance to chop or burn it. tmbridgeland from Small Town, Illinois on July 15, 2012: I use a lot of soft maple. Black cherry is my second favorite for the aroma, but maple reminds me of my grandmothers kitchen. Rachel Koski Nielsen (author) from Pennsylvania, now farming in Minnesota on August 03, 2012: Grandmapearl - I use a Stihl MS 211 - it's lightweight and awesome, but only has a 16 inch bar. Maple is my all-time favorite for the amount of heat, and I prefer maple for kindling. Red Oak used to be used for roof shingles and exterior siding. Living Well Now from Near Indianapolis on July 17, 2012: I have a pile of Norway maple ready to split with my Fiskars when the weather isn't so danged hot. Sassafras is a medium, sometimes large, tree. If you want to be extra sure your wood is optimally seasoned and ready to burn, use a moisture meter to check its moisture content. Sassafras seasons faster than any other hardwood I’ve used for firewood. Wood hardness varies among the hardwood species, and some are ... Deciduous Perennial plants which are normally leafless for some time during the year. I’ve come to view chopping firewood as one of the many (almost) lost arts—yet another skill that was essential just a little over a century ago, but that has become almost obsolete. I used a lot of it last year, primarily as kindling wood in my fireplace. About 11 to 12 of all hickory species are found in North America. What kind of firewood is best for you, and why? moonlake from America on August 24, 2012: Very interesting hub. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our, Difference Between Hardwood and Broadleaf, Distinguishing Between Hardwood and Softwood Trees, The Most Common North American Hardwood Trees, Black Cherry, An Important North American Tree, A Beginner's Guide to Tree Identification, 13 Most Common North American Pine Species, Common Hardwood Tree Diseases - Prevention and Control, Observing a Tree: Understand a Tree at a Deeper Level, B.S., Forest Resource Management, University of Georgia, Hardwood: Trees with broad, flat leaves as opposed to. The battery packs are expensive and they only last a max of 45 minutes, plus the teeth are so widely spaced it kind of chews rather than cuts when it gets down to the last 15 minutes or so. A mature cherry tree has scaly, almost flaky bark; younger trees have smooth bark, much like a Birch. Split-Ability: Medium/HardHeat: HighKindling Grade: B-Cook Wood Grade: A, First of all, there are at least 30 different types of oak, including Red, White, Scarlet, Swamp, Black, Cherrybark, Pin, Jack, and so on. I hated getting wood. If you are trying to identify a cherry tree, looking at the trunk bark and comparing it to the bark on the upper branches will help; the trunk bark should be scaly and have horizontal lines, while the bark on the younger branches of the trees should be smooth but with the same horizontal lines. They can grow to over 150 feet, but are typically seen somewhere between 70 and 100 feet tall with trunk diameters ranging from 3 to 6 feet. It's very heavy and dense, hard to split, and a bit hard on the chainsaw blade, but it is perhaps the most desired type of firewood around here. My favorite season! If hedge doesn't grow in your area, it would be worthwhile to plant some. My husband's is a Farm Boss as well. I wrote this article when I still lived in Pennsylvania. Now following. Hardwoods have either simple or compound leaves. I would also have to travel around the United States, and eventually the whole world, in order to get a meaningful experience with each type. What don't you like about making wood? The most common species in North America are oaks, maple, hickory, birch, beech and cherry. America’s forests contain hundreds of different hardwood tree species. Like most wood for firewood, straight pieces are easier to split than others, but when it comes to White Ash, I have almost never seen very straight pieces (the ones I have found, we marked and cut for making tool handles). While it takes longer to ignite than softwood, there are many benefits to burning hardwood, especially if you use your fireplace or wood stove often (e.g. Types of hardwood and softwood explored. Below, you will find a table rating the five types of firewood in this article by how much heat they give off per cord. Or maybe it's already seasoned up a bit? The wood from hardwood trees tends to be harder because the trees grow at a slower rate, giving the wood its greater density. Harvesting deadfall is a sustainability issue, and when good trees come down because of storms, disease, damage or age, there is still a part of me that feels bad for the tree as a living organism—but I love chopping firewood, and winter is cold! I could split Sassafras in September and burn it in the woodstove in December with no problems. Because of this, it's more expensive (if you can't chop your own), but you need less of it, so if you use your fireplace often, the price differential should work out in the long run. He is a member of the Society of American Foresters. Supposedly, the hottest-burning wood known is hawthorn, but it is too small a tree to use for home heating. Taking a good look at a large round of Red Oak so that you can understand how the tree grew and “put itself together” can also go a long way in helping you to take it apart. Brandon Hart from Atlanta, Georgia, USA on January 09, 2014: Thanks for the hub. We do have oak, maple and pine trees. They burned apple and maple in the large cook stove--it just smells like her house and that is a great comfort. I love our cherry limbs that blow down for our fire pit, and inside when we've been in short supply of cedar and fir. I think it's MS 291. Depending on the species of tree, the toothed edges can be so fine that you have to look close to notice them. So for cooking fires, choose Sassafras as your kindling, and something else to get the coals you need, like Black Locust or Red Oak. As far as getting the firewood, I guess log-splitters are great and all, but they’re dangerous, burn too much fuel, and don’t afford me enough exercise. When I say this stuff burns hot, I mean it. We use to burn wood all the time. Really straight, veneer-quality Red Oak shouldn’t even be wasted on firewood, if you ask me—rive some fence boards or split some shingles or fence rails, instead! . My husband and I spend a lot of time cutting, splitting and stacking wood in our solar dryer. We had issues with Husqvarnas, so that's why we changed to Stihl! Most hardwood trees are deciduous trees, which lose their leaves annually, like elm or maple. For those fellows who like to calculate how much energy is hidden in firewood compared to oil or gas I like to recommend this link. Welcome to HubPages, btw! as well with locust (although what we had was not black locus. Rachel Koski Nielsen (author) from Pennsylvania, now farming in Minnesota on July 17, 2012: Thanks, Living Well! No need to fret, though: Locust that has seasoned for at least three to six months can still be burned, and will burn hot, it just takes a little longer to get going. This will provide a bit of natural protection. Well done. Mary Guimont from Pacific Northwest on April 01, 2016: Hi Rachael, I enjoyed reading your hubpage. We have so much silver maple here and it can be very tricky so split. I've got some scarlet oak and a bit of cherry waiting for a break in the heat, too :). Scroll over the materials below for a 'snap shot' of their properties and click to learn more. It's also much easier to get a fire going and keep it going with seasoned wood, as it contains much less liquid. Lastly, hardwoods also burn longer and result in wonderful coals. Its a great work out! If you fill your wood stove with "hedge," you risk melting the stove. Otherwise, you'll end up with a sticky, sappy blade. If the wood is green, it tends to just “pop” apart if you land your axe or splitting maul where the end grain has checked. The Best Types of Firewood Hardwood. If you go for this method, stack the bark wood-side down. might think you can cut firewood and use it the same day, that isn't the case. tmbridgeland from Small Town, Illinois on July 17, 2012: Well, it's about 90 here, and I got home from work, which involves sitting on my butt all day talking on the phone, and I went out and split a bunch of maple.