Wood that is very stringy, needs to be pulled apart

[Stelcom66]

For some reason I'm thinking Chinese Elm sounds somewhat familiar. What's crazy is I may have bought that tree from a local nursery 20+ years ago to fill in an open spot between my and my neighbor's yard. I will split it this year after letting it dry some and use it next year.

I can see how they could be hard to split even with a gas powered splitter.

That tree structure looks more like elm than my fist thought of hickory. I don’t even bother with elm. I have 175 acres of hardwoods so I don’t have to put up with the aggravation of elm.

Jeez - 175 acres of hardwoods! You'll never have to worry about a wood supply.

 

[mark cline]

Thanks, I have a logging company coming in this spring for a selective cut , come on down and cut all the tops you want.

 

[Stelcom66]

Thanks, I have a logging company coming in this spring for a selective cut , come on down and cut all the tops you want.

And thank you.. I wish I lived nearby! That sounds like a wonderful property.

 

[Simonkenton]

That hard to split one looks like hickory to me.

 

[Stelcom66]

I'll split some more of it this weekend. The maple (or whatever the other tree was) will seem so easy after working with the Hickory or Elm.

 

[Touch0Gray]

Goodbye old friend, I will remember splitting you forever!

 

[jackatc1]

Thanks, I have a logging company coming in this spring for a selective cut , come on down and cut all the tops you want.

Selective cut, AKA high grading. Not good.
Spring is the worst time to log your woods.

 

[blades]

hickory or elm family, some times ash is like that also, but that bark does not look like any ash I have seen

 

[tadmaz]

Selective cut, AKA high grading. Not good.
Spring is the worst time to log your woods.

Agreed. Ever heard of old growth forests, or how Menominee County, WI is able to sell timber with keeping old growth properties?
(broken link removed)

 

[weatherguy]

Goodbye old friend, I will remember splitting you forever! View attachment 257351

I can see why that was hard to split.

 

[Stelcom66]

Almost doesn't look like it would fit in the stove!

 

[Woody Stover]

Goodbye old friend, I will remember splitting you forever!

I can see why that was hard to split.

Good lard!

Almost doesn't look like it would fit in the stove!

After going through splitting that thing, I would saw it if I had to, to get it through the door, so I could laugh at it as it burned.

For some reason I'm thinking Chinese Elm sounds somewhat familiar.

It's not Black Cherry, Pignut Hickory, or Red Elm, that much I can tell ya..

 

[Touch0Gray]

Almost doesn't look like it would fit in the stove!

naw, I could fit 4 of them in the stove. The box is HUGE. 20 x 20 x 16 , the doors open to 20 x 14 (for reference, it is red oak, was dead standing. I have oak wilt killing all my red's)

 

[Touch0Gray]

After going through splitting that thing, I would saw it if I had to, to get it through the door, so I could laugh at it as it burned.

I have dealt with worse. I only split the REALLY easy stuff by hand. I burn 6 or 7 cords a year and I am getting old. I actually built a hand crank jib crane on my old splitter last year and broke down and bought a horizontal/vertical this year. It just hurts to lift 150 pounds (considering I tip the scale at 120)

 

[Woody Stover]

I only split the REALLY easy stuff by hand.

That's where I'm at with it. I don't want to kill myself totally..I might have to process wood for quite a few more years!

 

[Touch0Gray]

That's where I'm at with it. I don't want to kill myself totally..I might have to process wood for quite a few more years!

Best case scenario!

 

[Stelcom66]

I have dealt with worse. I only split the REALLY easy stuff by hand. I burn 6 or 7 cords a year and I am getting old. I actually built a hand crank jib crane on my old splitter last year and broke down and bought a horizontal/vertical this year. It just hurts to lift 150 pounds (considering I tip the scale at 120)

I'm also getting up there (over 60 with touches of gray) and had the pleasure of borrowing a gas splitter from a kind neighbor. After that I've been tempted to buy one. If I did, it would definitely be a horizontal/vertical.

 

[Touch0Gray]

I'm also getting up there (over 60 with touches of gray) and had the pleasure of borrowing a gas splitter from a kind neighbor. After that I've been tempted to buy one. If I did, it would definitely be a horizontal/vertical.

Over 67......and well more than a TOUCH0GRAY..... Kind of, a touch of hair left, lol (all that I have on my head and face is white, not even gray)

 

[blades]

Snow on the mountain here , and Mother Nature is eroding that. lets just say that i predate solid state eletronics by a fair margin. Gas splitter at my shop - do not want to store it under tarp out side at home. So I have been hand splitting( sledge and wedge) a couple rounds 2 or 3 times a week all season ( dead standing stuff that I got last fall). but the Carpal Tunnel is acting up so I threw what was left, dozen or so rounds in the truck and just finished splitting it a bit ago. Course the fallacy here is I took up to the house brought back down and taking back again, 45 miles one way. Unbelievably the splitter started on about the 4th pull after sitting with Ethanol laced gas in it for 2 years. There is around 10 cord out back buried in Mother Natures white confection. Takes couple weeks to dry out in basement when I can get at it.

 

[Touch0Gray]

I am so careful about not putting anything with ethanol in anything other than my truck. Saws, splitter, blowers, mowers... Never use ethanol. Were you aware that putting ethanol in a stihl voids the warranty?

 

[Stelcom66]

Over 67......and well more than a TOUCH0GRAY..... Kind of, a touch of hair left, lol (all that I have on my head and face is white, not even gray)

Hey nothing wrong with that! Looks classy. sophisticated. You got 5 years on me.

And blades - sorry to hear about the Carpal Tunnel. My thing lately is a sore elbow after splitting. Nice to know there's seniors on this site.
Speaking of predating solid state - do these terms sound familiar: 35W4 6V6GT 12AX7?

As for snow, an amazing lack of it here in New England this season. Makes for easier wood cutting/splitting - but it would probably be good for the environment if we got at least some.

 

[Woody Stover]

Snow on the mountain here

A buddy and I rented a place on Little Cedar for a couple years. There are some nice hills, but no mountains that I recall.

 

[Touch0Gray]

Snow on the mountain here , and Mother Nature is eroding that. lets just say that i predate solid state eletronics by a fair margin. Gas splitter at my shop - do not want to store it under tarp out side at home. So I have been hand splitting( sledge and wedge) a couple rounds 2 or 3 times a week all season ( dead standing stuff that I got last fall). but the Carpal Tunnel is acting up so I threw what was left, dozen or so rounds in the truck and just finished splitting it a bit ago. Course the fallacy here is I took up to the house brought back down and taking back again, 45 miles one way. Unbelievably the splitter started on about the 4th pull after sitting with Ethanol laced gas in it for 2 years. There is around 10 cord out back buried in Mother Natures white confection. Takes couple weeks to dry out in basement when I can get at it.

for reference, to the best of my knowledge, the absolute BEST treatment for tendonitis (short of surgery if appropriate) is a TENS unit. I have had one for decades, since before you could buy one over the counter. I HIGHLY recomend trying one; not terribly expensive (way cheaper than ONE trip to the doc and less intrusive than surgery which has it's own down sides)

 

[KJamesJR]

I only have experience with white elm. It was stringy like that. It was also a whole lot of other things I won’t mention. However I think beech and oak can be stringy too. If it’s elm and you’re particularly stubborn and want to burn it... cut it into cookies and leave it at that.

 

[Stelcom66]

I only have experience with white elm. It was stringy like that. It was also a whole lot of other things I won’t mention. However I think beech and oak can be stringy too. If it’s elm and you’re particularly stubborn and want to burn it... cut it into cookies and leave it at that.

Cutting into cookies or any small pieces is what I'll do on stubborn pieces that have been taking some time. Interesting that the stringy rounds I have already don't seem as bad - not sure if a few weeks of drying could already make a difference. I have noticed with split wood for sale elm is rarely mentioned as part of the lot. I was so spoiled with the first tree I had taken down. Even a small axe hit with a maul would split a round about 18" high almost all the way down.