What the heck is this!!??? Wood (if it is wood) ID, please.

[firefighterjake]

Strange as it may seem, we used to burn even more elm than we do now.....before we got the hydraulic splitter. Most of it was no big problem though. We just accepted that it split harder but after we learned that there is a time to cut elm and a time to not cut, we turned out very well.

Dennis, not that I will be seeking out elm in the near (or distant) future, out of curiosity when *is* a good time to cut elm?

Ed

Don't know about the time to cut elm . . . but the time to split elm . . . if you're doing it by hand . . . is when it has been dead for a few years . . . my experience has been that when the bark is off the tree and you cut it and then split it you will find it splits easier than cutting a fresh cut elm and attempting to split it.

 

[Intheswamp]

Wait until all or at least 90% of the bark has fallen from the tree. Then it splits good and usually you don't get the stringy stuff which makes it burn nicely instead of burning up like paper. I simply won't cut an elm when it is alive.

Ok, so dead standing, eh? This tree had been down maybe nine months but had no bark to amount to anything on it...outside gray and weathered looking. I've got one round of it left so I'm going to just leave it alone for a couple of years and see what happens...I'll get it up off the ground.

Oh, I edited my message above and added another question to it...

Ed

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Ed, we also have several that have fallen and have been dead for some time. Was hoping to get some of those cut last week or this week. Somehow Mother Nature had other ideas for us. Ideas like re-installing the snow blade....

btw, no matter when we cut the dead elm, almost always the butt of the tree still has moisture. The top part is ready to burn then but the bottom needs some time.

 

[joefrompa]

I got some elm that was felled back in October. I killed myself on one 30" diameter round maybe 18" high (weighed a frigging ton freshly felled). My axe bounced off of it. Not once, not twice, not thrice, not......maybe 10-15 times before it'd bite in a spot. This was a brand new fiskar's, so the blade would shave bark. Sharp as heck. Still bouncy bounce.

I split a few pieces off one side nice and thin and let them sit out in the open in winter. They seasoned pretty well in about 4 months.

These were pieces that were about 8x10 in size, maybe 1-2" thick, and seasoned for 4 months in the winter.

I put 2 such pieces in my firebox on a nice coal bed and got one of the nicest burns I'd had all season. Wood burned solidly, slowly consumed, and gave off an obviously even heat.

Now I've got about 1500 pounds of elm sitting back there waiting to be split, and I'm excited to dig into it because even if it's alot of work....I know it'll burn real nice after 7-8 months of split-seasoning in warm weather.

 

[Intheswamp]

Well, it looks like maybe elm ain't all that bad *IF* you cut it at the right time and *IF* it's good and dry before trying to split it. Sound like it burns nicely once dried. joefrompa, when you say it that round weighed a ton I'm taking it that it was very wet wood, is that right? And that some thin pieces of it dried in less than four winter months? Interesting. So even though it's heavy it gives up it's moisture faster than oak?

Ok, I won't write it off for now, but when I get my new splitter it's gonna be a while before it sees any...probably around 2 years.<g>

Dennis, I know ya'll have got to be wearing thin from this extended cold. It'll be good to get some warm weather in to stretch that new hip out it. Just take it easy, will ya. Ya ain't gotta be Paul Bunyun yet...afterall, your 87 years ahead right now.

Springs comin' for ya'll!
Ed

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I can just picture poor Joe trying to split that elm Only those who have split the stuff can fully appreciate it. :lol: But like Joe says, it can be some nice burning wood.

Ed, that stuff you cut should have split good but it must have got lots of wind to twist like that. Most of our elm grows along the creek and gets a goodly amount of wind but most aren't that twisted. Also, leaving it lay now will probably not help it at all because of the stage it is at already. Best to split with the hydraulics on that for sure.

Ed, actually this weather is not abnormal for us. I recall one particular winter when it was rather mild or at least a little above normal all winter. Then came March and we about froze all month long. The robins came back and we got a big snowfall and some below zero nights. The coldest we had all winter. Here, the robins always get their feathers white every spring. Most times more than once too. So we just take this weather and complain, but know very well we'll get more of the same.

I usually start splitting wood when the snow is almost gone. Well, where I have the splitting stack this year I could have split last week. Now I'm glad I didn't start. As far as I got was to get the splitter out and look around to see if I had an extra filter. Haven't even changed the oil yet and am in no hurry to do so. Last year though I split all the wood in March but we really had an early and warm spring last year.

Not so far ahead any more. The wood piles have shrunk drastically. I did sell a little more this year but also cut a whole lot less. Still not worried though as we'll get by for another 6 years or so if we don't sell or give away. Nope, not worried at all about that.