What is this blasted wood?!?

[hedgebird]

Howdy all - hoping someone might be able to help identify this wood type so i can try to avoid it in the future! 😂

Bucked up this wood from a downed tree. Not sure how long it’s been down. Moisture meeter reads about 15%. Seems to burn well. Located in SE Pennsylvania.. Just about impossible to split. 5lb splitting axe just sticks in strike after strike. Thankfully most logs will fit in my stove un-split..

Cheers! HedgeBird..

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Do you see any cool squiggly shapes where the bark would be? Look up elm bark beetle damage.

 

[johneh]

Sure looks like Good Old American Elm

 

[jaoneill]

Sure looks like Good Old American Elm

That would be my guess!

 

[hedgebird]

Do you see any cool squiggly shapes where the bark would be? Look up elm bark beetle damage.

i’m not seeing anything as dramatic as the pictures i’m seeing online.. but yeah, seems right

 

[ole]

Elm.

 

[JamesGuido]

I'll never forget the free elm i got from a guy.... it was down & cut in nice 20" stumps for two years and i could have it all.
About a good half cord i hauled it away in my '72 C-10 Chevy in a coupla trips.
Got it home and started to split it.
B-I-L swings by with a beer in hand (for himself) leans against the truck and says something like,
you ain't gonna split that s*** by hand... whereas i said (bustin' my ****s) you just watch me.

bout 10 minutes later i was on the phone looking to rent a log splitter.

 

[NickW]

Yep. Anybody who splits elm by hand gets his man card punched for life.

 

[Caw]

Yep. Anybody who splits elm by hand gets his man card punched for life.

Which their wife will take and file away.

 

[zmender]

Any scent to the wood?

 

[PAPA BEAR]

Looks like Elm to me .

 

[ScottLewis]

It looks like locust. However, locust usually is easy to split.

 

[ScottLewis]

Looking at that pic again, I bet hundred bucks it is locust. You said the tree was down, 20 years ago the blight swept through here and killed all the locust. But, locust rots slowly and I just cut up a dead standing locust 3 weeks ago. Great firewood. It was 15 percent moisture.

I am not familiar with elm.

 

[bigealta]

Not sure what type it is, could be locust. But that is what i call "petrified" logs. Super hard and dry. Burns Fantastic, usually don't need to split.
That stuff is Gold Baby!

 

[aansorge]

Looks like American Elm to me.

 

[bigealta]

If/When Splitting - Look for the natural cracks and hit those spots. I can see some in the pic that were not hit.

 

[mcdougy]

Could be a hickory as well ....is there any pieces with bark

 

[Heat Maxx]

It is American "bastard" elm!!