I know, I know, elm is a baaaad word to some of you. The situation is this. I have an opportunity to get a sh!#load of elm for free. A friend is having a huge elm tree professionally removed and he isn't a wood burner so its all mine if I want it. The obvious problem is splitting it. My question is how much does it really take? I've got one of the old Didier mfg. splitters (John Deere 52) rated at 13 tons. I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to split the limbs with relative ease but just how greedy should I get with the big pieces? Also, am I better off splitting this during the winter months when its frozen or wait until next summer to let it dry out some? Any advise is appreciated. Aaron
elm burners check in here
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I burn a lot of it and will say the larger rounds can be very tough to split. What I do is cutting the rounds shorter and split the rounds into more like blocks then longer splits. More sawing this way but works well and is easier on the splitter.
I have also found using a small hatchet to whack away at the stringy stuff helps a lot as the splitter will cycle all the way through the wood but the hatchet will help seprate it.
It seems to split better wet than dry as I recall.
I myself like to burn it and have split many rounds of it.
I have also found using a small hatchet to whack away at the stringy stuff helps a lot as the splitter will cycle all the way through the wood but the hatchet will help seprate it.
It seems to split better wet than dry as I recall.
I myself like to burn it and have split many rounds of it.
I'll take elm any time I can get it, in fact I would put it in my top 5. My splitter handles it well and I really like the way it burns.
Elm is tough to split, but burns well.
When splitting, take little splits off the edge all the way around. Then repeat.
I don't think you can split it in the middle unless you have one heck of a splitter.
Elm does not seem to smoke much.
Good Luck
When splitting, take little splits off the edge all the way around. Then repeat.
I don't think you can split it in the middle unless you have one heck of a splitter.
Elm does not seem to smoke much.
Good Luck
When I get elm, or any other hard to split wood, I rip down through it about half way with my heavy duty poulan before splitting it, that usually makes life much easier 
You guys are baiting me again
You just like to hear me rant and rave over how that stuff is mother natures cruel joke. Well, not this time. You won't get me to groan endlessly over how stringy and nasty that stuff is. How it can take an hour to split one friggin round. No No NO, not this time.
You just like to hear me rant and rave over how that stuff is mother natures cruel joke. Well, not this time. You won't get me to groan endlessly over how stringy and nasty that stuff is. How it can take an hour to split one friggin round. No No NO, not this time.
Despite risking the Warren peace, I agree with derbygreg, I'll take elm if its free and conveniant, split it by flaking it off from the outside.
Warren said:You guys are baiting me again
An hour?!? I don't know . . .a true craftsman never blames his tools. (focus more on technique?) :cheese:
I would not try to hand split any Elm ever again. The only way I split it is with my 27 ton yard machine splitter. Even then......even then......I still needed by double ax to cut the last of the strings holding the pieces together. Siberian Elm is to me what Mother in Laws are to some men....pure evil. If you are fortunate to get a splitter, rent or otherwise, bully to you. You couldn't pay me enough to split a few cords worth by hand. Stack it up let it set for a while, a ton of water in that crap. It will burn excellent if it is seasoned out right. If it is not seasoned out, it will burn like a wet towel.
Free is free....Elm is Elm.
Free is free....Elm is Elm.
Does this stuff slit better when it is frozen?? Take a freshly cut tree and wait til January and then split'er up. ???
I split a fair amount of elm this season with my splitter. A little trick I learned was to lay a squared off piece of wood on the base of the splitter. When the ram descends, it must actually touch the piece slightly. Then set the piece to be split on top of this raised base. Basically it creates a shearing effect with the wedge and cuts all the stringies completely. It saved me a lot of hatchet time.
I split a 150 year old elm this summer, it was a standing dead elm so it was dryer then a green tree. Since I had alot to split and knowing how tuff it would be I cut it in 12" sections which seems small but a fifteen pound maul shows no mercy so anything that small. With trunk pieces I would take the sledge and wedge and split them in half then use the maul. And yes I still have elm that needs to be split.
take it. it'll split but it will be more difficult. let the splitter do it's thing then you might have to go back and cut strings.
Old timers say that a cord of Elm will last you all winter.....cause it will take all winter to split.
thanks for the input, keep it coming.
Mmaul - you're crazy (and obviously a lot bigger than me). It takes a big man to swing a 15 pound maul over and over and.....
Mmaul - you're crazy (and obviously a lot bigger than me). It takes a big man to swing a 15 pound maul over and over and.....
I do have to take a couple of breaks, I try to split for two hours a day. It takes alot longer with elm. But you really do get used to the weight of the maul, and with different techniques like I dont usally swing the maul over my head like an ax swing unless its a really hard piece of wood to split usally I can throw it up and come down with enough force to split.
I'd like to try it, but even possesing it is illegal around here.
(broken link removed to http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/forestry/forest-urban/u-faq.html)
(broken link removed to http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/forestry/forest-urban/u-faq.html)
Take it all. Its fun.....real fun......you'll see. Anything over 2 times the size of the wedge on your splitter and you'll be reaching for the chainsaw to hack at the strings. Alright burning, but evil stuff to split.
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