Unfortunately that isn't always as telling. Most of the wood I'm processing is ash. Granted most of what I've been processing are yard trees, but they are stringy ash trees. Basically as stringy as elm.
I’ve split lots of stringy apple and hickory. I wouldn’t exactly call my experience with elm (or the similar gums) as stringy. Whole different level there. I have to see it to believe it.
Splitting the Dreaded Elm – John's Random Thoughts and Discussions I’ll see your 1 and raise you 1.. (Interweb pic)
I don’t have pics but I cut a ash down 4-5 years ago that was a PITA to split. The grains were twisted. Only time I’ve experienced ash that was hard to split.
I’ve had one ash that was hard to split. It had just died standing and we had bucked it up and dropped it off at our hunting camp where it sat for 6 months. I had to noodle every piece larger than 12” because we couldn’t split it with the maul. I believe it’s the timeframe that did it because I took a load home from the same tree and it split easily by hand that evening. Had I waited another few months up at camp I think it probably would have split fine then also
Definitely! Just my humble opinion, splitting a round of unknown wood open really gives more clues. Smell, looks of the grain, how it splits etc. if you’re having a difficult time IDing a species, pics of the round w/ bark and a pic of a piece split and more than likely the knowledge base here can make the ID. Which is one reason I say split a piece.
Sounds like elm. You're lucky to have a crew that doesn't know you, and is looking out for you. Granted it's probably saving them getting rid of it elsewhere, but still they're taking care of you. It looks like American Elm to me, I prefer Slippery Elm, but it will burn good.
I've posted them before, but let me see. If you're going to compare it to the snotlocker elm knot that you attempted to split, it's not that bad. But when you have straight, no knot trunk and limb ash that fights all the way until the next round pushes it through is far from easy splitting. Easy splitting is the last red oak I processed. The wedge just hits the round, and the entire log splits and the way to the end of the piece.
Yeah, they did take good care of me. I tried to give them some money for their trouble, but they wouldn't have it. They said that they usually just bring the downed trees to the dump, so they're glad to give it to someone who will use it, plus, my house was much closer than the dump.
So, I picked up a couple of rounds of this wood. I can go get some more (& probably will), but just wanted to get an id on it if anyone recognizes it. Thanks.
It can be really difficult to tell the difference between American elm (Ulmus americana) and White Ash (Fraxinus americana). Ulmus (Elm) Fraxinus (ash) for me the bark is a wash in the picks. Too mossy to tell. The end grain looks a little more Elmish to me, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s Ash either. Looks more like ash in the second group of pics and more like elm in the first pics. I’ve had stringy ash and easy splitting elm and vice versa. Either way gooder firewood that I certainly wouldn’t turn away.
So, I just got around to splitting that elm that I got back in early Feb. I’m not enjoying the elm. Very stringy. No straight splits. It’s like I’m shredding a lot of the rounds.
