Found a perfectly straight log, can't figure out what it is

[doggonemess]

Finally got some pics here. I skimmed off some bark, and found that the wood was black underneath. Then I chopped at it, and the black rot only went about 1 mm in. The wood under that is hard, clear, and light colored. It breaks like maple when chopped but doesn't have that watermelon-like smell (which only fresh maple has when it's cut, I bet).

See pics:





Here's the end of the log, with a cross section cut off:

[crooketarrow]

  POPULAR FOR SURE.
 Here in WV where I live are lots and lots of popular woods. I walk through 1000 miles of it while sanging and shroom hunting. Here all popular woods have dog woods as lowere ground cover. A great place to get shoots. Turkeys favoret winter  food.
  You said it when you said there's no lower limbs. Popular woods all have a high campy.

[DarkSoul]

Popular? You mean...poplar, I presume?
Liriodendron tulipifera a.k.a. yellow poplar.

Yeah. Looks like it
Not a good bowwood though...actually a pretty lousy bowwood...

[gstoneberg]

We'd call that cottonwood, in the poplar family.  A few years earlier and the bark would have been smooth, 30 years from now the bark would have been 4" thick and perfect for carving.  It should split clean and straight.  50 lbs for that log is actually pretty light.  An osage or black locust log that size would be over twice that weight.  You could cut a 3' length, split it down into about half inch squares and plane out a couple arrows.  It burns like firewood, but won't produce the heat a good hardwood would.  Where I used to live in Nebraska they logged the old monster cottonwoods to use in pallets.  I would not try to make a bow from it.

George

[nclonghunter]

You might look around the area you found it. I will guess the stump is near by, unless it was transported and dropped off or something. Should be a living one near by to get more info to make a decision.
 
I will also guess a poplar tree based on the limits of info. Only thing that bothers me is the reddish looking bark. Poplar is a gray bark unless maybe wet. The end cut/chip also looks like you have water damage down into the white wood about a half inch. Just looks softer or slightly more porous in the picture. I believe it's called spalted or something.

Good Luck

[doggonemess]

Awesome, thanks so much for all that info. I'm glad to finally know for sure what it is. I like the arrow idea - I could definitely use more arrows, and have been looking for something that would serve well for some shafts. I don't have a lathe, but I do have a variable-speed corded drill, which, with a little rig building, I'm told can make a pretty good poor-man's lathe. I might give that a shot.

Speaking of arrows - I have started collecting reeds for making them. I'll post that in another topic with some pics.

Although, just for fun, I might save a four foot section of it and turn it into a bow anyway. Just to see what happens. I'm almost taking the "not a bow wood" advice as a challenge now.    Of course, if "not a bow wood" ever means "it will blow up in your face", I may take the advice rather than play with fire. I don't want to use a wood that is incredibly brittle or so soft that it won't hold a tiller.