wood id

[nyny]

any clue what this beast could be? very dense like sugar maple or bl but i have never seen something so small be so resistant to a maul. road crew left it on a roadside near a bunch of ash and maple but impossible to split

 

[Woody Stover]

The checking and end grain look like what I see on Hickory but the bark doesn't look like the Shagbark or Pignut I see here. If so, get it all....if you have a power splitter.

 

[Applesister]

Maybe Rock Elm
Its like ironwood

 

[Applesister]

The bark is Elm bark, whether the wood has interlocking grain can be seen in wavy undulating growth rings. It doesnt look too bad from the pics but I cant really see it. If the growth rings vary in diameter around the circumference it might be hard to split.

 

[Applesister]

Burns hot though.

 

[Scooter422]

It's either rock elm or shellbark hickory. Both good!!

 

[Scooter422]

Lets us know how it splits. Then post a pic of the split.

 

[STIHLY DAN]

It's not hickory. It wont split because there is a chain going through the round. C,mon man.

 

[Paulywalnut]

Think it's a hard rock maple. Great stuff. At first I thought Ash, but wrong bark. A split piece might be helpful.

 

[Wood Duck]

It looks like Red Maple to me.

 

[Ncountry]

Elm. The not wanting to be split part is the deciding factor..lol.

 

[CTBurner]

i vote elm

 

[Woody Stover]

Its like ironwood

Any reason it couldn't be Ironwood (Eastern Hophornbeam?)

 

[nyny]

finally got this 4" piece split this am after 12 whacks. i know theres a small crotch there but a straight 5" piece wouldn't budge. never seen wood that would not split. any idea? is it worth it?

 

[Jags]

Elm. Maybe red elm. Good luck with that.

 

[nyny]

if it's def elm, is it decent to burn? those rounds are incredibly heavy. would they be good overnighters if i let them season as is?

 

[Jags]

I like burning elm. I would consider it a bit above the average for btu output. Its burn characteristics are not generally a debated issue. The spitting characteristics are.

Some hand splitters simply won't deal with it.

 

[nyny]

i'm a hand splitter. heard about elm before, just thought the commentors were either weak or had bad technique, now i know better

 

[Jags]

I have posted this a million times, so I guess one more won't hurt.


That used to be a log.

 

[claydogg84]

It's elm. I, like most, purchased a Hydraulic splitter because of elm. I burned quite a bit of it my first 2 years and then stopped grabbing it. I put it in the same category, btu wise with black walnut and soft maple.

 

[Ncountry]

For the 1st few years that I sold firewood(100s cord/year) i split by hand. Anything that I had to hit more than a few times to split got tossed aside. Once a year I would rent a splitter and split all the uglys. Unless it was red elm or dead and frozen, I didn't even try, I would block and throw elm directly in this pile. : )
Meanest splitting wood I've ever seen

 

[Applesister]

Dont give up on it, just set the rounds aside. It looks like Rock Elm and its better than average burning. I think its up with Ironwood. Its heavy wood and it burns hot.
Did you get the limbs too? They make kick ass rounds.
Dont let the boys scare you. If you manage to get them split, they come with their own kindling.

 

[nyny]

the linbs feel like picking up iron rod. i've got tons of sugar maple and locust but this stuff is heavy

 

[Woody Stover]

I would keep it and find someone with a splitter, or maybe one of the cheap electric splitters would handle it, I don't know.

Elm. Maybe red elm. Good luck with that.

I don't lump all Elm together. Slippery (Red) Elm is easier than other types, and can be hand-split. It can be tough, however. That stuff isn't Red Elm, though...

Unless it was red elm or dead and frozen, I didn't even try,

 

[rideau]

Woody, Ironwood has really thin (as in paper thin) flaky bark. That is definitely not ironwood (hophornbeam).