Finally went and got "Big Red"...and stacked!

[Woody Stover]

This Slippery (Red) Elm had been dead for several years, and finally fell last year. Unfortunately it fell downhill and I had to hump the rounds from the top up out of a ravine. Luckily most of the trunk was up far enough so I could get the quad pretty close; Wouldn't have wanted to walk up the hill with some of those 18" rounds! This is the biggest Red Elm I've come across so far. Most are closer to 12" by the time Dutch Elm Disease gets 'em. BTU on this stuff is between Cherry and White Ash, so it's decent wood. The grain and color are pretty. User nrford trimmed the interior of his house with it. I wasn't in a big hurry to get it because it doesn't have the punky sapwood like Oaks do after standing dead for a while, and holds up well on the ground. It should stack out to 2/3+ cord I think. Trying to get my SILs a full two years ahead. I just might do it, unless we have a cold winter.
The darker gray wood under these fresh rounds is Red Elm as well, from another tree which was pretty good size.

 

[TedyOH]

Nice - I would have loved to get my chainsaw mill on that log...........as you mentioned, all we have is 12" dead - Love burning it...I swear really old elm like this burns a lot hotter than the BTU charts claim....

 

[Lake Girl]

Gorgeous colour ... too bad it is firewood! Nice work.

 

[Woody Stover]

Nice - I would have loved to get my chainsaw mill on that log...........as you mentioned, all we have is 12" dead - Love burning it...I swear really old elm like this burns a lot hotter than the BTU charts claim....

Yep, it was deep in the woods so it grew a nice, straight trunk trying to reach the light. The charts I look at show Red btu around 21.6, a bit higher than American Elm at 19.5. The smaller rounds were 20% or less moisture but had pretty good heft to 'em...definitely some btus there.

 

[Jags]

I like how red elm burns. It doesn't pack the btu punch of some others but seems to roll out a nice even heat.

 

[FaithfulWoodsman]

...I swear really old elm like this burns a lot hotter than the BTU charts claim....

I would have to agree, especially Red. Maybe due to it being super dry, but I had some two year old red that was cut dead that seemed to burn hotter than Ash. Nice score.

 

[ElmBurner]

I actually prefer that DED gets the elms before they get too big. Less work splitting the trunk and the limbs can be just cut to length and stacked.

Dead elm trees got me through my first year burning...it's all I cut. Last year was the cherry that I cut the first year, along with some elm and basswood. This year is oak that I cut the first year, along with some misc stuff I've been cutting as time allows (hackberry, cherry, mulberry, elm, oak, walnut, basswood, hickory...I have pretty much the "Who's who of American hardwoods" on my lot).

It does put off pretty good heat, makes for a clean firewood pile (no bark shedding off), and I like the blue flame.

 

[Lake Girl]

I have pretty much the "Who's who of American hardwoods" on my lot

Must have an interesting walk through your property with all that variety!

 

[ElmBurner]

Must have an interesting walk through your property with all that variety!

Well, I am pretty heavy into certain species, so it's not as interesting as it sounds. I just have walked through the property enough that I know where to go for certain varieties.

There are some species where I only have one or two trees over the 5 acres of timber I have.

If I had to break it down percentage wise, it'd probably be something like this:

40% oak (probably a 90% red and 10% white mix here, including burr, white, northern red, pin, black)
25% basswood
20% cherry
5% elm
5% hickory
<1% of walnut, mulberry, cottonwood, red cedar, honey locust, dogwood, black locust, ash, box elder, wild plum, etc.

I don't know that I have a maple tree on my property or any pines unless you count the cedar trees.

I am in the process of trying to balance this out a bit, with the guidance of my local DNR forestry person. He recommends thinning the oaks heavily to help avoid oak wilt taking out large stands. Also, taking down the older trees that cast too much shade. Should help with variety, as well as the firewood pile.

 

[Woody Stover]

percentage wise, it'd probably be something like this:
40% oak (probably a 90% red and 10% white mix here, including burr, white, northern red, pin, black)
25% basswood
20% cherry
5% elm
5% hickory
<1% of walnut, mulberry, cottonwood, red cedar, honey locust, dogwood, black locust, ash, box elder, wild plum, etc.
I don't know that I have a maple tree on my property or any pines unless you count the cedar trees.

local DNR forestry person. He recommends thinning the oaks heavily to help avoid oak wilt taking out large stands. Also, taking down the older trees that cast too much shade. Should help with variety, as well as the firewood pile.

Nice. Sounds similar to our woods here, even though we aren't real close to you. We are bordering on three of the regions on this map; Oak-Hickory, Oak-Gum-Cypress and Maple-Beech-Birch, so there's a lot of variety. I'll have to research that Oak wilt...seems like a lot of Red Oaks are dying here. White Ash is one of the more common trees here as well, and the EAB is close. There is also a little Persimmon, Black Locust, Flowering Dogwood, Post Oak, Chestnut Oak and Black Tupelo (Blackgum.)

 

[Hasufel]

Well, I am pretty heavy into certain species, so it's not as interesting as it sounds. I just have walked through the property enough that I know where to go for certain varieties.

There are some species where I only have one or two trees over the 5 acres of timber I have.

If I had to break it down percentage wise, it'd probably be something like this:

40% oak (probably a 90% red and 10% white mix here, including burr, white, northern red, pin, black)
25% basswood
20% cherry
5% elm
5% hickory
<1% of walnut, mulberry, cottonwood, red cedar, honey locust, dogwood, black locust, ash, box elder, wild plum, etc.

I don't know that I have a maple tree on my property or any pines unless you count the cedar trees.

Not a bad mix of species! My timber selection isn't quite as diverse, but there are some similarities. I'd say I have about 1/3 oak (pretty much the same breakdown as you--90% red, 10% white), 1/3 tulip poplar, and 1/3 a mix of hickory, beech, maple, sycamore, pine, and a few random singletons. My retirement lot in WNC is about 500 miles from here but, from what I've seen, it has a pretty similar kind of Eastern forest mix. Fortunately the major blights don't seem to have bothered us much here (except for gypsy moths) but I fear it's just a matter of time.

 

[Lake Girl]

I am in the process of trying to balance this out a bit, with the guidance of my local DNR forestry person. He recommends thinning the oaks heavily to help avoid oak wilt taking out large stands. Also, taking down the older trees that cast too much shade. Should help with variety, as well as the firewood pile.

DNR folks must love that you came to them for advice ... many don't seek out their expertise!

 

[ElmBurner]

DNR folks must love that you came to them for advice ... many don't seek out their expertise!

Yeah, I get a pretty enthusiastic response from him when I ask for his time. He's glad that I am interested in trying to manage the forest in a "natural" way, instead of just logging it for cash or scraping it with a bulldozer and letting cattle go through it, like most of the people around here do.

He said it was probably just used as a woodlot for firewood and poles and has been ignored for at least the last 40 years, so it was in pretty rough shape when I bought the land. Very overgrown.

 

[Handsonautotech]

Well, I am pretty heavy into certain species, so it's not as interesting as it sounds. I just have walked through the property enough that I know where to go for certain varieties.

There are some species where I only have one or two trees over the 5 acres of timber I have.

If I had to break it down percentage wise, it'd probably be something like this:

40% oak (probably a 90% red and 10% white mix here, including burr, white, northern red, pin, black)
25% basswood
20% cherry
5% elm
5% hickory
<1% of walnut, mulberry, cottonwood, red cedar, honey locust, dogwood, black locust, ash, box elder, wild plum, etc.

I don't know that I have a maple tree on my property or any pines unless you count the cedar trees.

I am in the process of trying to balance this out a bit, with the guidance of my local DNR forestry person. He recommends thinning the oaks heavily to help avoid oak wilt taking out large stands. Also, taking down the older trees that cast too much shade. Should help with variety, as well as the firewood pile.

I would take that mix. I have 99% pine and 1% aspen.

 

[CheapBassTurd]

The elm looks to be in wonderful condition!

At the base of Lake Michigan we're heavy on oak, ash, maple, and yes, everything else
but those three are probably half the total area trees. Honorable mention to a few pine
varieties, tulip, beech, birch, walnut, hickory, etc etc.

 

[beatlefan]

Oaks are dying here. White Ash is one of the more common trees here as well, and the EAB is close

I am surprised EAB is not there yet. You will be amazed at how quickly they destroy those ash trees.

 

[Woody Stover]

The elm looks to be in wonderful condition!

Yeah, it holds up very well. That one had been lying with parts of the trunk on the forest floor for almost a year, but not much degradation to speak of except a little of the sapwood. Like ElmBurner said, makes for a clean wood stack with no bark or crumbly punk to deal with. And on some of the stringier splits, you got built-in kindling. It may not be primo BTU but this stuff has a lot going for it.

 

[Woody Stover]

My SILs and I worked up the Red yesterday, plus some miscellaneous soft Maple and Red Oak. About a cord, all told.
The top 3/4 of this shed bay. This is some of the weathered stuff you can see in post #1, from another Red:

The fresh wood here:

And the main stack where I went from two to three rows wide:

I was surprised how easily the big rounds slabbed off in the splitter; Not stringy at all:

 

[FaithfulWoodsman]

I was surprised how easily the big rounds slabbed off in the splitter; Not stringy at all

Yeah. Red pops apart like Ash for me, especially when dead. Never have cut down a fresh live one. White elm is hairy unless it's almost punky and then not worth it.

 

[Woody Stover]

Looks like a little more from this angle.

And I whacked a little Tulip kindling for my other SIL.

 

[ElmBurner]

Yes, slippery or red elm is easier to split, for sure. I had to noodle all my American elm up (which was almost enough to make me not want to bother), but I could whack off big chunks of the red elm with my Fiskars. I still made the rounds fairly short (16" instead of my usual 20") to make the splitting easier, but it wasn't really much more work than Oak or Cherry.

 

[Jags]

Yes, slippery or red elm is easier to split, for sure. I had to noodle all my American elm up

There is a reason I built my splitter the way I built it. American elm is the reason.

 

[Lake Girl]

And I whacked a little Tulip kindling for my other SIL.

How many siblings does your wife have? If I had a wood stove, I would say she could adopt me too

 

[Woody Stover]

How many siblings does your wife have? If I had a wood stove, I would say she could adopt me too

Two sisters that I get the wood for, and help them split and stack. Another that I help get the wood out but BIL helps cut and handles most of the splitting and stacking. Another sister that doesn't burn wood.
Negateev on the adoption...I have all I can handle.