Toughest wood I've ever split (worse than gum) ID please so I can avoid it.

I was over at SIL's today moving up some dry wood. Just out of curiosity I split a couple of pieces of some stuff a friend gave her. He said it was Pecan, and what dried leaves I saw at the time seemed to support that claim. The bark wasn't quite the same as the wood in question here and it split easy. I didn't see any dark center either FWIW.

RORY12553 said:

That looks like what I have and man is it tough to split.

Click to expand...

The pic I posted was definately Big Leaf maple. Yes it is miserable when green anyway. Pretty much anything over 10" with any kind of knot I had trouble splitting. It is getting better though as it dries. This is the 1st time I've had big leaf maple so I left a few rounds for summer to see how it splits then. I'm glad I only took the limbs becuase there is no way I could have handled the main trunk. I think the misery may pay off though as it feels like iron and should burn good.

It looks like what dad used to call Russian elm or quaking elm, doesn't live long, rots fast when left standing a big tree is 18" acrossed. Once cut and dryer makes heat like pig hickory, but it is nasty stuff to spit except in short<16" and green, burned a lot in the field cause we couldn't split it as a kid.

i believe elm

I'm not sure what that stuff is, but the bark and wood looks like a maple. But I bet it will provide some decent heat, should be more dense than a tree of the similar straight grain. Good Luck...

Looks like what I call Chinese elm, a common weed tree that is much more resistant to Dutch elm disease. The shape looks vaguely like American elm but drops limbs like a willow, or maybe it just seems that bad.

I've split about 3 cords of Pecan last couple years and none of it split stringy/narley like that. Could be different variation but doubt it.

Wow - nasty stuff to split.
I had some Beech that was tough to split, too. Stringy, and some of it twisted 90 degrees in 18" lengths!
(I was told twisted wood is due to strong prevailing winds, twisting the trunk as it grows.)
Dad and I beat on it with mauls and wedges, sometimes 20 or 30 hits.
We gave up and rented a splitter for the day. Did 12 cord, with some help.
But it burns great!

I am 98% sure its elm.

here are the trees on the current "do not cut" list

#1. sweet gum - ugh, where do i begin... just painful

#2. sycamore- first and last exerience splitting it was last summer. lots of water in it and it reminded me of gum. will see how it burns next winter.

i cut and am now splitting a hickory. what a PITA it is. cutting it was absolutely brutal. splitting it is quite a chore as well. cant wait to burn it though.

i did encounted a knarly maple like some have, the grain was pretty twisted. boy does it burn hot and quick when dry.

I'm having a hard time ID'ing that wood.
I've never run stuff like that through my splitter.

I have a Sweet Gum Tree in my yard and the bark and sapwood look different from your sample. (I've split many a Sweet Gum and stepped on those friggin spiny balls.)
I know that what you have there is'nt Red Maple.

I'm a wood ID buff and I'm curious if anyone will chime in on the specific species.

My Pictures...... red maple, sweetgum limb bucks and one large sweetgum limb that almost hit my house.

WoodButcher