Tree ID even though I have a good idea

Got a load of this dropped off today. Tree guy told me what it was just looking to see what you guys have to say.

 

Though the wood looks dark like walnut, I say an old elm tree. Hope its not too much trouble to split.

 

Elm

 

Yep, elm.

 

But what kind of elm? I ran one piece through the 4 way and it split easy

 

Hurry up and do the rest before it realizes what it is.

 

Red Elm I think, far better than Chinese or pizz Elm. I'll take it if ya don't want it.

 

So was your idea right?

Red Elm is one tree that has never come my way from the tree guys although there are some growing here.

 

Yeah, some elm like red will split rather easily and that's what tricked me once into thinking the woven grain of Elm was just a myth. Then I got a huge score of pizz Elm and learned the hard way, now I have Elm-PTSD. I'm still trying to figure out how to tell the easy from the hard Elm. Maybe the darker the heartwood the better?

 

Tree guy told me it was Chinese elm. But could it be red since it split easily

 

Siberian elm

 

yup i say red elm as well. Scored some last month. I hand split it the next day. Split rather easy by hand.
Hand splitting red elm

 

Thanks for linking to your Elm thread buZZsaw BRAD . So maybe when red elm splits easily for me its been fresh cut? Now thinking about it it probably was, but can't remember for sure. I will pay attention to that next time, but its odd because I always assumed the pliable stringy woven grain was made worse by being wet and that is usually the case with stringy Elm. I get the difference now, there's unseasoned wet and there's fresh felled wet . Now can someone tell me why some hard boiled eggs are a hassle to peel? Maybe I need to find a cooking club site haha!

 

Siberian Elm. It looks like the elm leaf beetles have been feasting on the leaves.

 

The last time i scored large green elm (this was American elm)(i wont even attempt to hand split the barkless dead elm i encounter despite the fact it is great firewood) was a roadside fresh cut over ten years ago Urban Woods . At the time i knew it was elm and could give me trouble hand splitting. It was Winter, the wood was frozen, knot free and split like a breeze. Maybe 14-16" rounds. Been my experience with any wood, given the chance to dry on the ends and check it will be a LOT HARDER to hand split. Found that out with some red maple rounds i scored late Winter and had them neatly stacked on edge. It had warmed a bit, dry air and the ends started to check. I went to split them 2-3 weeks later and UGH!, no go with one or two "average" buZZsaw whacks. Now i store them with an end down to stay wet. I dont like to have rounds sit for more than a month and try to process rounds before bringing more wood in. I did that with the Norway maple at my friends the last couple weeks. They were much easier to split last week. Still have several to finish up there. I currently have some dead ash rounds resting on end in my processing area awaiting the Fiskars. They were checking badly and with the rain all week i split a couple the other morning and it makes a huge difference.
Pic of ash rounds end down.
Oh, i crack my eggs before i hard boil them. Worked great for Marcy in the Charlie Brown Easter special!

 

Good tip on the end down storage Buzzsaw! I'll pass on the egg trick haha, but seriously, someone I know who raises chickens for eggs recently told me to boil them with a good teaspoon of baking soda. I still have to try this for myself.