Mockernut Hickory?

[NewYankeeSawmill]

About 40 ft tall, pretty beat up, crooked, dead in places... Met a guy that wants some tool handle blanks,  I bet I can find 4, 5 and 6 foot sections that are straight, enough... I think it will be perfect salvage! Whaddya think?

[doc henderson]

cheap when you already have a sawmill, not much to lose.

[Don P]

I got your back if you come up short 

[bluthum]

I can't accurately predict for hickories grown in better timber growing regions than the Ozarks where I reside, but unless you wanted really short handles a tree like that around here would hardly have anything suitable for a handle. Tight rings are also a negative. I had some nice looking short logs sawn up a while back and maybe there were 3 less than perfect cant hook handle blanks in the lot along with some acceptable shorter blanks okay for smaller hammers.

There was once a handle blank mill locally and they wouldn't buy stuff that looked anything less than perfect. The black hickories are noted for tiny knots and sapsucker rings along with every other defect know to wood. Well okay, that's an exaggeration.

But of course if you want to spend the time and blades I'd say go for it anyway, all those smaller  sawn up pieces are always good for the smoker or kindling.

[Don P]

Hickory is one of those ring porous woods that is more dimensionally stable, but, is less dense and weaker if slow grown. From a couple of manufacturers;
• Genuine second growth hickory and tough white ash
• quality replacement handles feature:
• Genuine second growth hickory.

I think the spec is no more than 6 rings per inch for tool handle stock.

[Al_Smith]

Axe and sledge hammer handles ,actually any hammer handle  are not created equally .You want one the rings are lined up with  the tool .About like hitting a baseball with a bat .Look at them sometime when you see a display of them .
Old time carpenters often used those steel handle one piece hammers,Eastwing was one brand  .After a lifetime of that many developed elbow and shoulder problems ,Nothing but the leather washer handle grip to absorb the vibrations  .

[NCEric]

Does everyone else think this tree is even a mockernut hickory?  I wouldn't have even recognized it as a hickory.  I'm pretty sure I could positively identify it (at least as a hickory if not the exact species) in person, but I'm not used to identifying trees based on photos.

[NCEric]

I'm going mainly off the bark, because I can't tell which leaves are coming from the tree, but the leaves I can kind of see in the photo don't even look like they're compound.

[Don P]

The top pic I see compound leaves and "chain link" bark like a poor mockernut... I think. The bottom pic sort stumped me too, I thought chestnut oak but that leaf doesn't look like either. so I ignored it to the picture angle, I'm old and looking at a computer . 

[NewYankeeSawmill]

The leaves in the 2nd pic may not necessarily be from the tree in question.

I may have to have to break the rope out and cut that sucker down this morning and settle the debate! (It's leaning pretty hard over one of my wildflower patches).

If nothing else I can add it to the firewood pile!

[NCEric]

When you say it's leaning hard is that just the way it grew?  If I had to guess what the tree was based just off the leaves in the first pic, I would guess sourwood, and leaning hard is the typical sourwood form I'm familiar with.  Where are you/is this tree located?  Is that a dead limb coming from the tree in the first pic?  That's more common on sourwoods, too.

[NewYankeeSawmill]

Thanks @NCEric , Tree grew in pretty thick forest. The clearing under it is from the waste-pile the dozer generated clearing a pasture. He just pushed all the stumps into the one section of woods, this is leaning over that. I think it's as much a case of growing that way, as a result of the heavy equipment. 8 Years ago that tree was surrounded by others. Yes, dead branch is part of that tree, one reason I want to take it down.

[NewYankeeSawmill]

I believe @NCEric nailed it. Sourwood. Now I'm just sorry I didn't wait a few more weeks for my bee's to get a lick off it.

[Al_Smith]

Good heavens how many different hickories are there ? I know of shag bark ,shell bark and bitter nut which I have all three .Of those they claim bitter nut makes the best lumber because it closely resembles it's second cousin pecan .Then again oaks have many names ,a lot of them I've never heard of before .

[Magicman]

In Mississippi we have 12 Hickories and 36 Oaks.  We only have 6 Pines, 6 Maples, 5 Elms, and 5 Ashes.  All of the other Species fall into the "other" category.  

[Al_Smith]

As far as oaks locally only three ,white , red and pin .The most is white of which I'd guess I have between 35 and 40 on approx 7.5 acres of woods .Another 7-10 are yard trees,all 100 footers .