My First Wood ID Thread

[10range]

Took a tree down tonight that was standing dead. It had snapped off about 25 feet up. At first I thought it was ash but it does not split like ash. My maul just bounced off the stump. The smaller pieces from the top sound like bowling pins when you tap them together.

Here are a couple of pictures.

 

[Prosecond]

Might be elm.

 

[Thistle]

Looks like American (White) Elm. Judging by the way you said it didnt split + the color,thats my guess.

 

[JustWood]

My guess is BINGO!

 

[chinkapin_oak]

yep, looks like elm, especially with the bark coming off.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Yup, and it will burn nicely. Had you waited a bit longer to cut it, the splitting may have been easier. Yet, we have cut some in this stage and some splits easy and some hard. We usually wait until all bark has fallen off the tree before cutting. Geeze, we have several in back now just waiting to be cut but I can't handle that just yet. They may have to wait until fall now as most folks seem to be dead set against me running the saw until I'm fully healed. Okay, I'll wait....for a bit.

 

[firefighterjake]

Based on the look of the wood grain, bark, fact that the bark is falling off in a way similar to elm and the difficulty in splitting . . . my guess would be elm.

 

[10range]

Thanks for the id. I am still learning. About 70 percent of the bark is already off this tree. The round that I took a picture of had about the most bark of any of the tree. I will be splitting this in a couple of weeks. I just wanted to see how it would split with the maul. After the first couple of whacks it makes me glad that I have access to a splitter! How long is the normal drying time for Elm?

 

[firefighterjake]

On another note . . . while it appears as though your ash pan is sitting outside on a non-combustible surface I might suggest that using a metal pail (preferably a covered metal pail) vs. a plastic pail might be better in terms of fire safety . . . unless these ashes have been cool for a very, very long time.

 

[midwestcoast]

Others have plenty of experience with Elm, but based on the stuff I got late last summer from green trees, I'd say if you get it split & stacked soon it'll be good to go next season. Dries faster than most of what we get around here.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Thanks for the id. I am still learning. About 70 percent of the bark is already off this tree. The round that I took a picture of had about the most bark of any of the tree. I will be splitting this in a couple of weeks. I just wanted to see how it would split with the maul. After the first couple of whacks it makes me glad that I have access to a splitter! How long is the normal drying time for Elm?

Get it split and stacked asap and burn it next fall or winter. It should be fine.

 

[CountryBoy19]

I'm not too familiar with elm, but boy that sure does look like Ash. Add in that you're from northern IN (EAB territory) and the tree was standing dead, and the bark appears to be peeling off in sheets (tell-tale sign of an EAB killed ash tree) I would say it's ash.

But like I said, I'm not all that familiar with elm.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

The ash bark has never fell off in sheets like the elm does here although all our ash are dieing. Although the bark will fall off completely when cut to firewood length and split, this is typically how ash looks after the borer does its thing:

And this is how it will look after you split it and the bark just peels right off:

 

[10range]

On another note . . . while it appears as though your ash pan is sitting outside on a non-combustible surface I might suggest that using a metal pail (preferably a covered metal pail) vs. a plastic pail might be better in terms of fire safety . . . unless these ashes have been cool for a very, very long time.

Can't get anything past you guys! The plastic bucket are ashes that have cooled for a week or more. My wife makes soap and asked me to save some for her to try and make some lye(that may be an interesting project). The fresh ashes go into the gallon metal bucket you see in the background. That usually holds about a months worth of ashes before it goes into a plastic bucket or on the lawn.

Until I tried to split this stuff I thought it was ash too. I have never had ash just laugh at me after hitting it with a maul like this stuff does. I believe that there may be some sort of beetle in our area that is affecting elm. Not sure but it seems like I heard that rumor.

 

[Duetech]

What is called "Dutch elm disease" is blamed for killing a lot of elm in my area. Young trees can grow until they reach the age where they can produce seed (about 14 years) then they succumb to the disease. Makes prety good firewood but is devastating the species.