Help with "Hickory" bark ID? Edit; The call is Elm.

[Woody Stover]

This pic is the bark of a Hickory that was part of the grab-bag score my nephew got from a work buddy. Any guesses? I don't think its Pignut, but when I'm out splitting wood here today, I'll look for a Piggy about that size, and see how the bark compares.
I'm thinking it could be Mockernut Hickory.."common hickory" specie, "Bark: Gray, irregularly furrowed into narrow forking ridges." Whaddya think??

 

[Microduck17]

Maybe bitternut hickory?

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[Woody Stover]

Maybe bitternut hickory?

"The Guide" (Audubon Field Guide to North American Trees, Eastern Region) Says Bitternut Hickory is another "common" Hickory, and its wide range includes our area, so that's a definite possibility. Its bark is ""gray or light brown; shallowly furrowed into narrow forking scaly ridges." That sounds as good a match as the Mockernut bark description, or better. I do see some "scalyness" in my pics. You may well have nailed it!
The bark pic shown in The Guide for Bitternut doesn't look very close, but some of their bark pics for other species don't resemble what I have seen here either, so I take their pics with a grain of salt..

 

[Woody Stover]

When I was splitting today, I walked into the woods a ways and found a Pignut about the same trunk size. I think it was Pignut anyway..Bark looked different for sure..

 

[matts6spd]

Looks like elm to me

 

[tadmaz]

Looks like elm to me

You know what, you're right!

 

[matts6spd]

Certainly not as prized as hickory but I've burned quite a bit of it and take it when it comes.

 

[CincyBurner]

Slice bark tangentially with a pen knife. Am elm bark is layered: buff / dark (chocolate) and young bark is spongy.

 

[Woody Stover]

Looks like elm to me

What kind of Elm? I see quite a bit of Slippery (Red) Elm here, but I think American is around as well.
Here's some pics I posted in the "Work 2019" thread...should posted them here as well, instead of just the bark. Does Elm sometimes have the dark heartwood like these do?
I'll go over there tomorrow and cut a couple rounds and split them, to get a better look at the wood. I'll also try the CincyBurner slash test..

 

[matts6spd]

I would say American elm. In my experience its reddish to pink in the center. Really stringy which can be similar to hickory. Hickory is way more heavy when seasoned but may be similar in weight when green

 

[Woody Stover]

I would say American elm. In my experience its reddish to pink in the center. Really stringy which can be similar to hickory. Hickory is way more heavy when seasoned but may be similar in weight when green

Yeah, I got to thinking, "I may not be able to split either one with the maul." He's got the power splitter sitting right there, though. As far as the color, the only Elm I've seen a lot of is the Red, and it's all the same color except for a thin layer of sapwood.
This wood is heavy, but like you say, even the green Sweetgum in the pile is heavy. This might be a bit heavier, though.
Raining right now, I'll get the goods in a bit.
Slippery (Red) Elm:


Or it could be Red Maple..too many barks look similar!

 

[Woody Stover]

If I burn the bark, and it's Hickory, will I get that classic Hickory BBQ smell?

 

[hickoryhoarder]

If you have a clean, hot burn, hickory won't have a lot of smell. But it smells a little bit.

 

[Woody Stover]

Slice bark tangentially with a pen knife. Am elm bark is layered: buff / dark (chocolate) and young bark is spongy.

Well, this sure looks "chocolate-y!" I also got a pic of a fresh saw cut.

I would say American elm. In my experience its reddish to pink in the center. Really stringy which can be similar to hickory.

I finally got a round split, after double-teaming it with the 6# and 8#. It doesn't look like Hickory, does it?

Thanks, guys, for the help getting me up to speed on this Am. Elm..I've not seen much of it yet.

 

[Kevin Weis]

I would take Elm any time I can get it. Just as good as Red Oak IMO if it was standing dead for three years with the bark off before cutting.

 

[Woody Stover]

I would take Elm any time I can get it. Just as good as Red Oak IMO if it was standing dead for three years with the bark off before cutting.

Any wood that gets them ahead is good wood. The BTU numbers I generally see for Am Elm are around 19.5M/cord. Not bad, about like Black Cherry but a bit below the 24 I see for Red Oak or Sugar Maple. Red Elm, which I see quite a bit of, I've seen a couple of points higher, like 21.6MBTU. Problem is, not many of 'em get very big before Dutch Elm gets 'em. I did get one 19" specimen several years back..
I can't find a pic of it right now but I got an Elm tree-man score from a neighbor this spring. I metered it as they were cutting it, and some of the smaller branches were ready to go in the stove, up to about 6" in diameter. All the bark was gone from that tree. I'll probably keep some, stack some for the in-laws. I like to have a variety of wood on hand to pick from. They got a bunch of River Birch a couple weeks ago. Talk about some sweet-smelling wood when it burns..Oh, myyyyyy!

 

[matts6spd]

I've buried 3 wedges in a piece of elm and still not had it split. Definitely helps to split the outer circumference of bigger pieces first.

 

[Woody Stover]

We'll see how far I get on the tree-man Elm that was dead and bark falling off, but I get the feeling that this old man will be going to the power splitter fairly early into it, unless the edges chip off pretty easy. Splitting Ash by hand is more my speed. The one I'm getting now is 14"..right in my wheelhouse.