Struggling To Identify Dead Wood

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Duker

New Member
Aug 19, 2018
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0
39
West Midlands
Evening all

First post on here so be gentle!

I've been researching the bow drill a lot lately and decided today that I knew enough about it to get into the woods and give it a try.

I have a list of woods off Paul Kirtley's blog I was looking to use but when looking at dead wood it all looked the same to me! I have an app to identify living trees but that is obviously no use when looking at dead trees!

Does anyone have any suggestions?
 

Mesquite

It is what it is.
Mar 5, 2008
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~Hemel Hempstead~
Find a live tree of the species you're looking for and check it for dead branches.

You can usually find dead branches either attached or or on the floor below the tree.

Failing that harvest green wood (with permission) and dry it out. A finished hearth board and drill will take a few days to dry and if you stick it in an oven for a while on a low heat will make sure its totally dry
 
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Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
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Wood that lies on the ground is seldom dry enough. Plus can be starting to get punky.

As said by Mesquite, get a piece of new wood and dry.

A well made piece lasts a long time.
 

C_Claycomb

Moderator staff
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Oct 6, 2003
7,355
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Bedfordshire
There is something about using a smart phone app to identify wood in order to make fire by rubbing sticks together that I think is inherently hilarious. Hard to imagine the meeting of two world that are any further apart! I am not having a dig at you, a source of reference is a source of reference and mobiles are more portable than guide books...but I still smile at the thought.

I have never used a mobile app for anything like that, so no idea why it can't help you identify dead wood. My experience with books is that they can help you identify trees, whether they have leaves or not. The trees you want to use for fire by friction lose their leaves, so if your app can't handle that, me thinks you need another means of id, either a different app, or a book.

Working with what you have, you need to look beyond just the leaves. Location, shape, bark type and pattern, long dead fruit, nuts, flowers or catkins in the branches or around the base, and dead leaves lying on the ground. Are there any trees around that look similar but are still alive and have leaves to help with the I.D? All these can be used to identify wood.

One way to figure things out is to go out with the goal to identify live trees of the species you are interested in, maybe the guide can help with the leaves, but then having made the identification you can look at the actual tree and examine bark, buds, how the branches grow, how the trunk is shaped and the texture and look of wood and bark from dead twigs or fallen branches (which may not be big enough or straight enough to be good for your fire set in themselves). That way you will build a much more complete picture of what the tree looks like and find identifying it much easier even when some clues are missing.
 

Duker

New Member
Aug 19, 2018
2
0
39
West Midlands
Thank you all for your help.

I'm not so much trying to build a nice set to keep as I am trying to go out and make a set with only whats around me on that day. Further down the line I'd like to make a nice set that I can keep, which may involve bringing home wood to dry.

From how you have all explained it I think I may have been doing wrong! I was finding a completely dead tree with no leaves of fruit or anything on it and hoping I could ID it! Taking some dead wood off a more easily recognisable living tree seems to make more sense and should make the process easier. I did see some severely snapped branches that were still hanging on to the tree but they looked like they had fresh leaves/twigs sprouting, making me think they were still alive.

I understand what your saying about the app C_Claycomb, and have to admit the two don't seem like they should be put together! I chose the app over a book as it's always with me, if I have 5 minutes to kill at work I can try and ID some tress. The app does show and explain the bark, leaves, flowers in quite some detail, and also helps narrow down trees your trying to identify by answering a few questions. I was looking at completely bare and downed trees with no clues!

This has highlighted to me that I need to work much harder on my tree identification from now on.
 

Ruud

Full Member
Jun 29, 2012
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Belgium
www.rudecheers.wordpress.com
The thing that has made my identification-skills better is the following:
On my way to work I pass by a very wide variety of trees. Those that I wasn't able to identify out of my car I identified by finding a place to park and get closer.
Now I have this same variety of trees that I have positively identified. I see them changing throughout the seasons, shedding leaves, seeing the first shoots pop up etc. Easy daily practice.
 
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Nice65

Brilliant!
Apr 16, 2009
6,440
2,860
W.Sussex
The thing that has made my identification-skills better is the following:
On my way to work I pass by a very wide variety of trees. Those that I wasn't able to identify out of my car I identified by finding a place to park and get closer.
Now I have this same variety of trees that I have positively identified. I see them changing throughout the seasons, shedding leaves, seeing the first shoots pop up etc. Easy daily practice.

This is how it’s done, familiarisation. A basic knowledge will even give a clue as to soil type and what to expect.

Throughout my year at Merrist Wood college in the very late 80s, we were given a long list trees and large shrubs to learn each month. We would have to locate the species, look at if budding is opposite or alternate, look at buds, bark, leaves (smooth, hairy, serrate, leaflets etc). At the end of the month a sack of numbered branches from the list was laid out on the floor and we’d have to identify each one. In winter, from just the bud. (Have a look at Beech and Hornbeam buds as an example.

My point is, it isn’t difficult. We were scoring upwards of 90%, even amongst the conifers. Learning enough to supply you with bow drill wood will be fairly easy, and a pleasure.
 
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