Tree Identification

[atlantawoods]

I have been in the specialty/reclaimed lumber business for almost 20 years.
I have a timber king sawmill and a 55" Alaskan sawmill.
I have a KD 250 dehumidification kiln.
I have a fantastic staff and the company has a stellar reputation with over 200 five star Google reviews.  : )
My struggles have been with properly identifying logs.
We get people that send pictures constantly of their logs and they don't know what they are.
I'm good at the oaks (not water oak) and pines and poplar and walnut.
There's always something that I don't know what it is, and I wish I did.
What's the best way to learn the identification methods and to be sure that I get it right?
I've seen aps for tree identification, but they seem cumbersome and inaccurate.
How does a fella go about being better at the ID of logs and lumber?
Also, we're constantly looking for walnut logs to bring in and saw up and dry them.
What's the best way to get a hot line on walnut logs in my area?
The business is Atlanta Specialty Woods and we're in Kennesaw, GA.
Thank you,
Christian Spencer

[beenthere]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum.

For good identification, learn how to make a clean knife cut in the end grain, and how to use a 10x hand lens to see the wood cell structure and the arrangement of cells and rays.  But within some species, even the best experts cannot sort out species without some additional info such as the leaves. The red oaks are one of those groups. 
https://woodidentification.net/about/

Pictures of the ends of logs and of log bark are difficult at best without a lot of experience, but many get very good at it.
  You might pass on some of those pics to the forum here to check with the experts here for some clarification to help you out.

Also, read the forum terms and rules at the bottom of every page (when not covered over and hidden by an advertisement).

[Texas Ranger]

US   forest service at one time produced a book on wood identification, I would give you information on it, but my copy floated off in the last flood.  USFS is a good source for wood related books.  I know who woulda thunk it?

[Texas Ranger]

Wood identification handbook: Commercial woods of the Eastern United States
Marshall S. White

ISBN 10: 0684173492 / ISBN 13: 9780684173498
Published by Scribner, 1981

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[caveman]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, Christian.

I know this seems obvious, but if you can get pictures of the tree, with leaves, before it is turned into logs, the identification process gets much easier.  The weight and density of the samples can help get you pointed in the right direction.  

I look forward to reading the sources shared by TRanger and Beenthere when I have a little more time.