Turkey Oak - Bad Firewood?!

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

Never burnt the stuff but I was told this morning that Turkey Oak is not the best of woods for burning - is this so? Or is it another case of dryness being the deciding factor?

[Chris Sheppard]

I've burnt it and not had any problems - does burn quicker than other oaks but then it's not as dense so that amkes sense. if you've chance of some I'd say go for it

[Peter]

My answer to pretty much all firewood queries now is "wood burns, water doesnt"

[Hogs Breath]

Turkey oak has a higher moisture content than English oak but burns well when dry.

[Rob Stringer]

as above, has a very high moisture content so people write it off but once dry kicks out plenty of heat. Heard people say it spits and sparks but I've never found this. Firewood and charcoal are the only uses I know of for turkey oak!

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

Phew! Not that I paid for it apart from processing cost but I have a mahoosive pile of the stuff... Lots of splitting to do! Cheers.

[Mesterh]

Just out of interest is the a way to tell the difference by looking at the timber?

 

Is the timber hairy too

[Mozza]

Is the timber hairy too

 

:lol:

[shropshirestars]

its very hairy & sweats a high temperture

[tommer9]

The timber is pretty recognisable. The bark is very furrowed even from a fairly early age. When you cut the log you will notice a very large amount of pale sapwood- on a 3' diameter log you may easily have 8" of sapwood allround. There will be a very pronounced oak smell, more so than robur, and a very noticeable sign is the large star shaped crack on the end grain that opens up when the log starts drying, and fairly rapidly too. The timber is VERY heavy, which earned it the monicker 'iron oak' in times gone by.

If milled the medullary rays are very prominent and larger than onm other types of oak, and also seem more prominent right through the log, occurring on most boards not just the quater sawn ones.

It was also known as wainscote oak, as it was considered that it was only good for internal wall panelling or 'wainscoting'. If it can be succesfully dried without warping and splitting, for which it is prone, the timber is usable for interior furniture making and sometimes veneer, althoug it has such a bad press that not many people will use it. I have milled and sold it, and the guy who bought it was right up for it- he was 3rd generation cabinet maker, and said his father and grandfather had used it. Once kilned it is perfectly servicable for interior non structural use- ie furniture, but getting it dry and still useable is very hard.