Tree identification

[Loope]

I was cutting some trees for firewood last night, and to clear a small area for a shed.  As I was cutting this one into firewood, the thought came to me... stave wood!  I started thinking it might be hickory or maybe elm.  I immediately cut out two approx 7 foot logs and sealed the ends with Bullseye shellac.  Can anyone help with identification?  Could this be bow wood?

[TacticalFate]

looks like oak of some sort. if so, yes its bow wood.

[Hrothgar]

Some type of white oak.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Im leaning towards a hickory of sorts.

[DarkSoul]

Some type of (white) oak. Yes! It is bow wood!

@Pearl Drums: hickories don't have these medullary rays that are clearly visible in the end grain pic. So it can't be a hickory. In fact, oak are about the only woods that have such clear rays.

[BOWMAN53]

Im leaning towards a hickory of sorts.

thats the first thing i thought

[BOWMAN53]

chinkapin oak its a white oak

[Loope]

I've lived here for 7 years and just can't remember the leaves or nuts of this tree.  I am much better at identification with leaves/nuts on.  I've never been accused of being observant;) 

So, it looks like this could be worth saving as bow wood.  Should I go ahead and split the staves, debark, and seal the back, or let it cure some first?

[blackhawk]

White oak without a doubt 201% sure....n I'd bet everything I own it is. That one was easy to identify...yes it makes bows....split it into staves,seal the ends...try peeling the bark off....I doubt it will as the sap comes up a lil later in white oaks than other trees...and the sap isn't up yet anywhere in anything yet here in Pennsylvania....but if your down in the southerly south it might slip off easily now?...if so peel it off and seal the backs as well....if it won't peel try and carefully debark at least several and seal the wood underneath....ya can even reduce em to near bow dimension,but do it in a parallel dimensions thiskness and width to help prevent warping n twisting as it dries....oodles more can be said ,and it takes a book to cover it all,so do your research etc....etc...

[PatM]

Keep in mind a white Oak isn't going to produce much in the way of acorns until it is about 20 years old and needs 50 years before acorns are plentiful.
 There may not have been much in the way of acorns to notice. Looks like it is about 25 years old.

[NeolithicMan]

I was thinking hickory until I saw the cross cut with the darker heart wood and the streak looking lines gogoing from center to bark and that looks exactly like a pin oak I cut las summer ( i belive it was pin, but deffinetly an oak)

[bubbles]

The bud clusters on the end or characteristics of oaks too correct?

[Pat B]

White oak!

[Loope]

Thanks for all the white oak comments.  I was not even thinking oak and looking elsewhere.  Your comments made me do some more reading and I found that the way to identify for sure white oak is to paint a solution of sodium nitrite onto the heartwood.  If it is white oak, the heartwood will gradually stain and darken with a dark indigo tint.

I happen to have some curing salts for making corned beef or bacon.  Cure #1 contains plain salt and sodium nitrite salt.  I thought I would give this a try, so I mixed some with tap water and painted it onto one of the cut sections.  Within an hour or so, the wood had turned color just like predicted.  Chemical confirmation of white oak... but you guys already knew that.

I have saved three 7ft logs to try to put to some good use later.

Thanks for all the help.

[wapiti1997]

It's absolutely a type of white oak. It looks like chinkapin  (Quercus muehlenbergii) to me but could be a white oak (Q. alba) or hybrid.  The bark looks like chinkapin on your log, there is a white oak behind in the pic where you're holding the twig.  The upper bark flakes or layers from the side on white oak, chinkapin not so much.  The leaves of chinkapin look like a chestnut, white oak is deeply lobed with rounded tips.