Some cutting in my spare time

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Gearhead1

ArboristSite Operative
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Back in December I had done some cutting for another man on his property along a county drain that runs through his field. I had two truckloads this size cut before Christmas, but had to wait until just a few weeks ago to haul it out because of the January thaw we had. This truck would have sunk right to the axles in his pasture when it softens. The load pictured is about 90% dead elm (from Dutch elm disease). I cut it into boiler wood for him, which is about 30-36" and no splitting with the diameter of these sticks. I calculated the box capacity of this truck and it came out to 2 1/2 full cords when loaded as pictured, which is not close to approaching the 23000+ GVWR of the truck, a GMC 7000.
 
How well does this wood burn? Is it punky from the Dutch Elm disease?
 
rmihalek said:
How well does this wood burn? Is it punky from the Dutch Elm disease?
Bob elm burns quite well,upper quartile of btu charts.Around here rule of thumb is leave standing until bark falls off.Fall it,buck it,burn it.The wood fiber is "stringy" and grain seems to "twist" making it almost impossible to split with maul.As for longevity,my fathers 100 year old bank barn beams are axe hewn 24"x24" ish.Dutch elm disease in the 1970's literally all but wiped out local trees.Growing up we burnt elm almost exclusively,couldn't keep up with the death rate.Most trees were 30"dbh and up with monsters 4 feet(approx).Locally elm seem to thrive in fence lines,with a prolific growth rate.Well witchers also start from an elm tree because the tap root (hence tree) are usually close to water vein.We had some impressive elm regeneration until 2 years ago when dutch elm disease reared its ugly head again.If you bring a work chain or use my saw you can cut some on the 18.30 yards from the show is a 12 dbh just waiting to be fallen.jeff
 
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