Tree identification?

[Ben.Kellerman]

Can anyone identify this species of maple that fell in my yard and smashed my fence?  Wanna be able to look on the bright side and possibly have an ample amount of bow material!

[upstatenybowyer]

I'm almost certain it's not hard maple just from looking at the bark. If I had to guess I'd say box elder (yes, it's a maple), in which case you're out of luck. Not a good bow wood. It's subject to fungus attack and that would explain such a large limb falling off the tree like that.

[bjrogg]

Hard to tell for sure from pictures on my phone but I'd tend to agree with Jeff.
Bjrogg

[Ben.Kellerman]

Well darn it!  And unfortunately it wasn't just a large limb.  It was the whole tree.  Fell right over straight from the roots.

[Springbuck]

Sorry about your tree.  A big tree is always a loss just because they take sop long to grow.

But, it looks like a box elder as mentioned, and its about right down there with cottonwood or such as a bow wood.

[PatM]

Manitoba Maple will forget to maintain root mass to support itself.  I've seen a lot of toppled specimens and had to cut down a few I noticed by sheer luck just about to crush a house.

[archeryrob]

Looks like what we call Boxwood around here, box elder might be right too. Tell tale is the maple like seeds that hang on through winter instead of falling in the spring like other maples.

I would assume it might make a bow, but only as good as Silver Maple. Hopefully you got a firepit, chainsaw and a beer fridge, becuase that is about the best use I have found for those trees. 

[PatM]

Woodworkers actually like Manitoba Maple with the pinkish red staining in the heartwood.   Some people have even said they will pay big bucks for it.

[ty_in_ND]

I've always thought box elder would look nice in a handle section (or... as a veneer):



On a side note, as someone mentioned cottonwood being near worthless as a bow wood, if you have a downed cottonwood, try to save the bark.  I guess people pay good money to make carvings out of it.  That sure surprised me, as it's a very common boulevard and shelter belt tree up here.

[BowEd]

I made a very nice large camel back box out of box elder.Serves the purpose well.Being light weight wood.Thing is though those red lines in time lots of times turn brown over time,but I only linseed oiled this box in paticular.Besides too you'd have to get the trunk to a saw mill to do that like I did.

[Bayou Ben]

A couple years ago I cut a branch of box elder and sawed it square in hopes of using it as a riser.  I never used it though and I don't plan on it.  It's very light in weight, it has small holes as in Ty's picture, and it has punkie rotted wood mixed in the heartwood.  The pinkish color is result of the wood's defense of the fungus that plagues the tree.  After seeing a dried piece in person, I think it's best used outside of the bow world.
 

[ty_in_ND]

Yeah, if I were to use it, I would go through the process of stabilizing it in a vacuum chamber.  That would most likely solve any issues with it being light and/or compromised by fungus. 

[mullet]

I've carved some pretty spoons and cast Iron skillet scrapers from it.