Just curious if this is Elm?

[maulhead]

I've been cutting firewood at a farm down the road from me. The farmer told me it was all elm. (see first two pictures)

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Yesterday I cut into a tree and the bark is different than the rest of the wood I have cut into there. It dragged the chainsaw down more, as well. When I got it home and tried to split it with my big maul it wouldn't even touch it. I hit it about a dozen times and it wouldn't open up. The third picture is the wood that wouldn't split and I am wondering what kind it is? I finally was able to cleave two small pieces off the one on the right. It cuts and splits different than the rest of the wood there. It was like hitting a boulder with a hammer, nothing happens, it just rings.

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Fourth picture is the splits from the rest of the wood that I have been hauling out of there. Which I believe it is Elm as I was told, just not sure which species?

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[Kevin in Ohio]

If your splitting it with a Fiskars, it's not like any elm I've ever split. The one pic kinda looks like oak/ash? Our elm strings something fierce.

 

[REJ2]

Id say elm, when green really tough to split, a little better when dry.

 

[medic8852]

we cut alot of elm around here for firewood, burns nice. Most of the time, the bark has slipped or is already off of what we have, but the few that still do have the bark on them don't quite look like yours. As for splitting, they are pretty stringy when splitting, quite difficult even with an x27, usually have to use the splitter to get them apart. When split, they do have a pleasant smell and some are a darker red than others(different specie maybe). I agree that some of your wood looks like ash and oak. I gott go out and feed the stove in the garage, so i'll try and get ya a pic of some elm, split, might even have a pice or two with the bark still left on.

 

[z50guru]

Looks like elm to me. Especially pic # 3. Appears to have pretty loose bark as its likely been dead for some time. Not to mention the "strike" marks left on the face of the round is especially "elm like". I agree its not quite as stringy as im used to seeing, however if the grain is fairly strait, ive had elm split rather nicely. Which could account for the variable difficulty between rounds from the different trees. Some may have had to twist and wind their way to the sunlight, as a few of the others maybe not as much. When i run into a tough elm round, i'll make a cut down through the face of the round a few inches or so with the saw. Then whack the hell out of it! Usually she'll lay right in half. I also think elm has a crap like odor to it. Kinda funky. Take a whiff :msp_biggrin:. Happy split'n! :bang:

 

[Cbird14]

ive got a 4" piece of piss elm that i will bet the farm u wont split with any maul, fiskars ect. believe me. yours looks like red elm to me. good wood. not bad splitting if its cold out.. like below zero cold been splitting some 2' rounds the last few days and most of em take 3-4 swings before they split open. a couple have twists in em and the 8# ludell just bounces off em. elm is the only wood ive ever had do that.

 

[3fordasho]

Siberian or red elm, more likely siberian. Most siberian splits pretty good when green or once the bark has fallen off, anything inbetween can be more difficult. Then there are those rounds that are a PITA no matter what.

 

[Kemper]

If the maul bounces off....then it is probably Elm. Stringy as heck if you do get it split, about need a log splitter.

 

[maulhead]

Thanks for the responses.

I have a few Fiskars and a few other mauls but none of them will split this stuff easily. The only thing I have found that will split it is my 17lb monster maul the orange one on the stump. I use my Fiskars to pick and roll the stuff out of my truck bed so I dont have to climb in the bed or I also use the Fiskars on the small or real dry pieces, like the stump no bark and bleached out white on the outside a Fiskars will eat that type of wood up real easy.

If you look close at the 3rd picture (in my first post)You can see where I hit the top of the one about dozen times, (I usually give myself a three strike rule, but I really wanted to open that one up) would not open up so I gave up. It's pretty small to 13-14" round it should have split. I thought it was a different kind of wood then rest of the stuff I have got out off this farm the bark looks kind different then the other stuff, but maybe it is just a harder piece and grew different.

Some of this stuff is pretty stringy and some is real straight grained and splits easy.


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