# What kind of wood am I?



## low&slow (Apr 28, 2008)

Who knows what kind of wood this is? I grabbed a couple pieces this morning  from the side of the road. If it's any good I can get a ton of it. It smells a little fruity on the fresh cut places. A guy at work says it looks like oak. But I dont know. I have a bunch of oak at home and it doesnt like like it. Who knows?


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## bbq bubba (Apr 28, 2008)

Could be, if thats the case, throw it back!!


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## geek with fire (Apr 28, 2008)

I think TH is on the money.  If you have any doubt, here's a web site that does a pretty good job identifying trees:
http://www.inspire.net/trees/

You can identify by leaf, fruit, or name.

Here's the cotton wood:
http://www.inspire.net/trees/fact%20...ottonwood.html


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## bbq bubba (Apr 28, 2008)

O.K., ya made me go look, it looks like the Pear i have seasoning....
Might want to get a lil after all!
I'll be trying some shortly. Let ya know!


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## vegansbeware (Apr 28, 2008)

What kind of flaver do you get from Bradford Pear wood? What kind of meat goes best with it? I have a bunch of them all over here (around my office, in my subdivision, EVERYWHERE) and if it turns out to be a good wood for smoking.......Happy Hunting!!!


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## packplantpath (Apr 28, 2008)

Definitely pear.  I don't know how good it is for smoking though.


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## got smoke (Apr 28, 2008)

is it black walnut


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## pigcicles (Apr 28, 2008)

Here's a link to some smoking wood suggestions. Near the bottom it states that ornamental varieties of pear are good for smoking. Also note that cottonwood is listed as subtle and should be mixed with other woods (but don't use green cottonwood).

http://www.eaglequest.com/~bbq/faq2/8.html


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## master_dman (Apr 28, 2008)

I'd say cottonwood as well.. The pear kinda looks like it.. but the leaves aren't quite right.


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## low&slow (Apr 28, 2008)

It does look like a bradford pear now that I compare it to the pic TH posted. That would explain the fruity smell too. If it was cottonwood, I probably would have gotten a bad sinus infection. Cottonwood makes my nose clog up big time. I think Im allergic to it. Im gonna go get a truck load of it. It was just cut down so it'll have to season for awhile. Thanks everybody. Thats why I love this forum.


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## reddog (Apr 28, 2008)

What you have is a Bradford Pear. I have some in a stack of wood. Just waiting for the wood to age. I like fruitwood like Cherry and Apple.

Cottonwoods do not have the fruit like the Bradford Pear but the foilage does look alike.

Mike


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## low&slow (Apr 28, 2008)

It's coming along slowly but surely. It's been a bigger project than I anticipated. The bottom was so rusted out that every time I put a welding rod on it it just made a bigger hole. I didnt work on it much after that first day of vacation. I got frustrated and went fishing every day instead. But I've been working on it for a few hours every day after work. I finally got all the holes welded. And now Im in the process of getting all the rust off of the outside. Been using a wire wheel on a grinder. Gone through 5 wire wheels so far. The little wires come flying off and stick in ya. Its kinda like acupuncture 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





. Another couple of days and I'll be ready to paint it. Wont be much longer. I've been taking pictures along the way too. Will post them eventually.


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## zapper (Apr 28, 2008)

Me? I don't know nothing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradford_pear


Notice one of the pics has the shriveled fruit

The leaves don't look to have the sawtoothed edges of what I consider cottonwood to have. But also keep in mind that trees can be tricky to identify. The age, condition of the tree, season, locality and so many other factors can make matching one leaf to one photo very difficult and the same for the bark. You almost have to grow up in the area with the trees to know the local variations and add imports or non-natives into the mix and you can go crazy.


I would think that it would work for smoking purposes, I suspect that it would be a milder smoke, but as for any wood I would say that it needs to be seasoned (Dried) to somewhere below 30% moisture or less either by stacking it outside and somewhat protecting from the rain and snow for a "Season" or so, or dried in a kiln or kiln like conditions until a low enough moisture content is met.


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## low&slow (Apr 28, 2008)

LOL...no numbness yet. I dont think they're going in deep enough to worry about tetanus. But come to think of it, I haven't had a tetanus shot since 7th grade.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 I think I feel a numbness now!!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	




But the verdict is in, the wood is................................................  .................Bradford Pear. 
I was loading the back of my truck up and the VERY nice, extremely good looking young lady that owns the house came out and told me to take all that wood I wanted!
I asked her if she had any idea what kinda wood it was. She thought for a few seconds, and I said, is it pear? She said yep, it sure is, it's Bradford pear. I got an entire truck load, and her phone number (yea i wish) and theres still at least 2 truck loads left. Now I have to go unload it all.


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## richtee (Apr 29, 2008)

What a fun thread!  :{) I learned something too..as usual here.


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## kookie (Apr 29, 2008)

Nice score on the pear wood............


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## bassman (Apr 29, 2008)

Yes, the pear makes an excellent smoke.  I use it quite frequently.  Mine isn't the Bradford pear, but I'm sure it similar to what I've been using.


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