Some more Taco abuse with a load of red elm from my neighbor's place. There's also a couple of ash rounds in there too. I though red elm was suppose to be easier to split than American elm! This stuff is awful. I can't imagine trying to split this stuff by hand! I sure hope it burns way better than it splits! There's probably another 2 cord of it at his place but I think I may pass on the rest. Ready to stack.
Leave the elm until you have 2 weeks with daytime highs below freezing. Amazing how much better it splits then.
Haven't had red elm around here since I was 12, all died out from dutch elm disease. I loved that stuff. I remember my dad got me another wedge for my hand splitting, he wasn't happy when I buried 4 wedges in one round and there was barely a crack in it. Frozen it splits a lot better. Man, I really miss red elm though....Awesome Score!!!
I prefer not to go center first on most stringy woods, but instead deploy the splitter on thirds. Try it, ya might like it. Then again, it may get you no where fast in that fibrous spaghetti.
I hand split some back in late Spring. See my thread Hand splitting red elm They werent as big as yours though. I guess thats a hydraulic shredder and not a splitter!
Red elm used to be my favorite, go to most plentiful wood to burn. When lived southern mn. If can get it when already dead and bark falling off it processes much better. And smells amazing.
I don't actually know for sure. The leaves say red but it could be another type, I haven't spent much time researching yet. It was a big, living tree so I don't think it was American elm.
This was a red elm that was cut roadside. I scored some of it. Wood was wet so it enhanced the red heartwood. Pic from late May.
