Growing up on the family farm we cut a lot of elm. The colder the temp is the easier it splits. They are dirty trees to have in the yard bc they drop tons of little sticks. Beetles eat the leaves and drill tiny parallel holes in the bark in which they lay their eggs, and if left on their own, they will eventually kill the tree.

Ive had enough experience with Elm. When I first started heating with wood I ran out of oak, so i cut dead Elm in the winter, on the stump. Wow, 8 lb mull just bouncing off. I also did the edges like you. Needless to say I still swing a ax at 72 years old, its good for me, just dont bring me any more Elm

@FastHomesteadingMichigan

Ай бұрын

That's awesome! I know a lot say it wears your body down but it is a fantastic workout. You have the technique down after years of experience which is much more important than using brute strength. Not the best burning wood and tough to split, Elm is a pain! I'll likely sell this to offset my arborist tip costs and pay for my x27 and maul. I've got a few cords of oak and maple to use this fall.

Use a splitting wedges and a small sledge. Personally I use a 2.5 pound because I can swing it for hours. Drive one wedge in, then the other to loosen the first, this will rip those rounds apart quickly. Also of note, American Elm doesn't dry out. Years later they are still wet inside. We always referred to it as piss elm because of this. I grew up on a farm with a lot of elm on it, and had to split enough to last the winter.

@FastHomesteadingMichigan

11 сағат бұрын

The rest of this elm may be chainsawed up to make garden beds 😂. The stuff I split and stacked is drying out nice

I've never run across elm here in Georgia. But we have sweet gum, which is almost impossible to split by hand.

@FastHomesteadingMichigan

Ай бұрын

Another one up there with Eucalyptus and Ironwood. Osage orange is tough to split I've heard. Used to have a lot of that back in IL

Well, you certainly have the right maul, the Fiskars Isocore maul. I purchased one, three years ago. I like to keep it around for splitting massive rounds like yours. Hemlock is tough to split like that. It's a softwood but that doesn't mean it's not dense. I'm in the southern Adirondacks of upstate, NY. I love balsam fir and Hemlock for burning in the backyard. Hemlock is very gnarly on the inside and stringy on the outside. I slab it from the outside in and use my Fiskars X25 or Husqvarna S2800 to split the manageable blocks.

@FastHomesteadingMichigan

Ай бұрын

These Fiskars are like night and day compared to others. They are weighted perfect. Even my 5 year old can split with the x27. The maul is great for breaking apart the bigger stuff. Since I get my wood from Chip Drop I gotta deal with what I get. Lots of large base rounds mixed in. Around here in Michigan Oak and Maple are what everyone burns with some occasional Locust. But I'll even burn cottonwood and Sassafras when I want a fast burning fire

Dad always split elm in january when it was below zero out.

@FastHomesteadingMichigan

Ай бұрын

Now that it's warm out I've been wishing for freezing temps 😂

@nooneyouknowhere6148

Ай бұрын

@@FastHomesteadingMichigan elm is incredibly hard to split. When i was a kid i tried to get it to split for me. Dad said it would work much better when it was frozen. I'm just glad i have a hydraulic splitter now.

Nice video! I'm not sure about Elm, but my understanding about Sweet Gum is that the more it dries, the harder it is to split. Due to the tight, and sometimes twisted grain, the more it dries, the tighter and more compressed the grain becomes making it harder to split. I don't know if Elm reacts similarly. Noodle those rounds into quarters and then split them. That will make them a lot easier to split since the heartwood won't be able to compress together to absorb the blows from the maul.

@FastHomesteadingMichigan

Ай бұрын

I've been splitting the edges and it's gotten easier. The heart of the round is still stringy and wet but I've been able to find spots that will split. Slowly chipping away like a bad puzzle.

Save yourself and pick-up a hydraulic splitter, your future self will thank you. I think it was sweet gum that I split very knotty and fibers interlocked; very hard splitting. Best wood was red oak, split like a dream. 5:48

@FastHomesteadingMichigan

Ай бұрын

I've got close to 2 cords of red oak split. It was a pleasure. I haven't bought a splitter just for the cost aspect and I enjoy splitting.

@4quall

Ай бұрын

You're doing it all wrong you guys! You should just make larger fireplaces and wood stoves. Then you can just chuck them in like a yule log 😂

I would rent a hydraulic log splitter. But I guess you like the work out.

@FastHomesteadingMichigan

Ай бұрын

I do. Instead of paying for the gym I have noticeable results and I get something out of it. I try to split at least 30 mins a day.

A lot of people are defeated by wood at County Lock Up

@4quall

Ай бұрын

Did you even bother Karate Chopping it first? 😂

@FastHomesteadingMichigan

Ай бұрын

Karate chop would have been just as effective! Elm is tough