Help me ID this hardwood?

[Jeff]

Yea, those look like different boards than were sticking out of the pile. Not sure if any of those look like maple, especially the top one.  That sliver of bark tells me white oak for that photo.

[Sawdust Lover]

Your gonna have to find out what it is and let us know. If you have a University near you there forestry dept. will tell you. You have us all wondering now. :P

[SwampDonkey]

The wood there that was finished and planed and the latest photos don't suggest maple. I couldn't see any big rays (oak) because of the photos, but ash or sassafrass is my guess. If there is a luster after planing then ash, aromatic than sas. Leaning hard on sas because the ends show too much waviness for ash. ;D Sass is around Lake Erie on the Ontario side, so I assume it's in C. MI.

Like Jeff and others suggest, I think there is a mixed bag in that pile. But beware, ash and sas are an oak look  alike until you look at the fine details.

[Jeff]

I would doubt Sassafras, simply because of living my entire life in Michigan, I have never seen a Sassafras tree. I've never lived down state though, but I know it does not grow up here, unless perhaps as an ornamental. I am really above the walnut line as well. While you do see the odd tree here and there, they are usually always planted in a yard. I've never saw one wild in the woods. If you go 40 miles south of here, you can start to find some of the hickories and butternut, with butternut now being almost non-existent due to blight.

[SwampDonkey]

Probably so Jeff. The sas I think would be on the fringe there and not very big if you found any.

I was wondering if the brownish one in post 22 was butternut actually. Sure looks like it. Is it soft and light weight? The waviness to the rings is often in butternut. I would say it is also stained lumber though. Looks like butternut sawdust on the floor.

[SwampDonkey]

I take the part back about the ash not being wavy. I was looking at some samples in the shop of ash and they have that waviness once in awhile. What makes me suspect ash a little more now is the uneven color in those finished boards. Ash hasn't a true heartwood, you get brown, yellow brown and grey brown all mixed from one ring to the next in the heart. Not an even color. Kind of why they want the lighter outter side lumber when staining and finishing.

There is still a mixed bunch of species as far as I'm concerned.

[SwampDonkey]

A fellow just down the road about 4 miles built a home bandsaw mill. He sawed a whack of ash, I bought some and the rest has laid outside in a stack now for a good 10 years. It's nice and black now and probably well spalted. ;D His boards had terrible wane to.  :D

[DDobbs]

man this it a tough one,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, how heavy is it  what does a 1x6 x 8 weigh?