Yet another elm thread...

[thombat4]

Can't say I've ever had the pleasure of burning or cutting/splitting elm of any species before. Having said that, I just scored a huge (for me anyway) amount of the stuff already bucked. Guy says some of the bigger rounds are over 2 feet in diameter. Trees were cut down a couple weeks ago due to elm disease but all the wood is solid and without any rot. Should amount to about 5 to 7 full-size pickup loads. Having never dealt with the stuff before what would you guys recommend as far as preparing it for next years burning? Is it splittable using a Fiskars SS? Is it best split right away or should I maybe quarter it and work on it come spring and summer? What would you elm burners do? Thanks for any and all advice:yoyo:

Oh yeah, don't know what kind it is but I live in the Cleveland Ohio area if that helps...judging from the pics uploaded by Whitespider I'll see if I can identify it when I go get some this evening. I hope to post a few pics too.

 

[Encore]

Be prepared for a sore back lol. that stuff is super heavy when wet

 

[Whitespider]

If didn't have a hydraulic splitter...
I would get it cut (noodled) into pieces I could lift without hurting myself.
Then I would line-up some help (couple of guys) I could count on to work hard, all day, for free beer.
Then I'd drive into town and rent the most powerful hydraulic splitter I could find for a day.
Then I'd stop at the local mart and buy three big boxes-o-beer, some fixins for sandwiches and a few cans of chilli-con-carny.
Then I'd go home and pour the chilli in a crock-pot and plug it in.
And then I'd plan on workin' my butt off to get it all split in that one day.

I've split elm with a maul and wedge in my younger past... ain't never gonna' do it again!

 

[EXCALIBER]

:agree2:I would agree if you are planning on splitting elm with an x27 fiskars you better buy stock in wheaties! Its tough, twisty, stringy, and very heavy. Even completely dry its like splitting concrete. Better get a hydro splitter and some help. Good times will not be had trying to split elm the armstrong way. It can be done but think I would rather take a beating first.

 

[thombat4]

If didn't have a hydraulic splitter...
I would get it cut (noodled) into pieces I could lift without hurting myself.
Then I would line-up some help (couple of guys) I could count on to work hard, all day, for free beer.
Then I'd drive into town and rent the most powerful hydraulic splitter I could find for a day.
Then I'd stop at the local mart and buy three big boxes-o-beer, some fixins for sandwiches and a few cans of chilli-con-carny.
Then I'd go home and pour the chilli in a crock-pot and plug it in.
And then I'd plan on workin' my butt off to get it all split in that one day.

I've split elm with a maul and wedge in my younger past... ain't never gonna' do it again!

I'm beginning to see what I'm up against now...thanks! Sounds like this ain't gonna be fun

 

[thombat4]

:agree2:I would agree if you are planning on splitting elm with an x27 fiskars you better buy stock in wheaties! Its tough, twisty, stringy, and very heavy. Even completely dry its like splitting concrete. Better get a hydro splitter and some help. Good times will not be had trying to split elm the armstrong way. It can be done but think I would rather take a beating first.

Geez...that bad huh? Well I hope the heat output is worth the while.

 

[thombat4]

Be prepared for a sore back lol. that stuff is super heavy when wet

I'll be sure to wear my lifting belt.

 

[1project2many]

I can't really lift large logs since my back surgery. I usually use the saw to third or quarter the ends of a large round, then open 'em with the wedge. That's what I did with the large green Elm I cut. So I cut about 2" down, and hammered in wedge, and out it comes. I tried a few more times then cut down about 4". Hammered in wedge and it stayed. Wood didn't move. So I hammered in wedge #2. "It's a rare day" thinks I "when I can't split a started log with 2 wedges." And wedge #2 drives in and stays. So I gets the maul and start to drive that in with the hammer. I'm "hot" enough to use the hammer alone to open this thing up. Maul goes in and wood opens up... some. Some??? So I pull the maul and start working the wedges. When I got to where both wedges were touching soil at the other end of the log, and the log wouldn't pull apart for all the strings, I'd had enough. I worked the rounds into the trailer by rolling and lifting, unloaded them at the house the same way, and split every one on the hydraulic splitter. That night my back bothered me "for some reason." I was so wound up over the wood not splitting that I didn't realize how heavy it was until I went to get more the next day. At that point I called for help. Lesson learned.

 

[borat]

I managed to score a couple huge white elm trees about twenty years ago when I was much younger and very fit. I had probably 10 to 12 pickup loads. Some was close to 36" diameter. The good news was that the trees had been standing dead for some years and was relatively dry. So I didn't kill myself loading and hauling. However, to this day, I've NEVER split anything more difficult with an 8 lb. maul and wedge. It was a wrestling match with every piece. Nastiest stuff I've every worked with. Burned nice but I doubt that I would do it again without a stout hydraulic log splitter.

 

[thombat4]

Well when I went to check this stiff out yesterday I found it to be very solid and apparently it was standing dead...that is to say the bark literally peeled right off easier than a banana. I knocked a few pieces together and it sounded like hitting two baseball bats together! This stuff seems like it could be dry enough to burn...at least the branches anyway. I tried out the Fiskars on a couple of the bigger rounds and was pleasantly surprised at how easily they busted apart. A bit more stringy than I'm used to but so far it looks like I may get by with the Fiskars for most of ituttahere2:. I'm sure I'll end up quartering the bigger stuff though.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Yep, bark-off standing dead is usually fairly dry in the tops, some of the trunk will normally be real wet yet though. Elm can vary widely in splitting difficulty, from not bad to #($% I'm just gonna buy gas next winter.

Sounds like a nice haul. You'll enjoy it when it's in the stove.