Anybody I.D. this wood?

[Macaroon]

I got a few bits of this from some council/highways contractors who cut it about a week ago; there's very little of it and I didn't see it in situ. so didn't get the usual clues as to what it might be..................the pictures don't quite do it justice but I'm sure someone will have a good idea what it is, and perhaps some tips on how long to leave it before working it and anything I'd need to know, I thought it might make a nice pair of scales for a knife? Any input very welcome.................atb, mac

 

[Teepee]

I'm guessing a big Thuja of some sort, maybe a Western Red Cedar(Thuja Placata)

It should smell very piney.

 

[2trapper]

It could be cedar, even if the inner part is usually more regular.

 

[Macaroon]

These pieces are one log cloven (?) and are about 250mm long by 90 - 100mm wide, and as far as I could ascertain from the contractors this is about as big as any of it was - a real shame I didn't see it before or just after they dropped it, eh?

 

[Macaroon]

Oh, and nearly forgot to add - no discernable piney or cedar smell, not much smell at all, in fact................

 

[robin wood]

I don't like guessing IDs from a couple of pics but would say most likely this is elm. Surprisingly slow grown for a roadside/hedgerow sucker the environment must not have been to it's liking.

 

[Ivan...]

Yeah, reasonably educated guess from me, unhealthy wych elm.

Ivan...

 

[Dave Budd]

the wood looks like laburnum to me, but I've never seen it in the tree to know about bark and girth?

 

[Macaroon]

Well now! When I showed this to an 87 yr old neighbour the other day, his response was " I want to call this elm, but it's too slow grown"! If it is indeed slow grown elm would I be right to think it'd make decent scales for a knife? If so, should it be seasoned and then worked? What's the best way to use it? all the best and thanks for the interest, mac.

 

[Ivan...]

Believe it or not it is harder to distinguish, as it has been cross cut , coz one thing is for sure if it had been split by axe, the elm question would have been answered!

 

[Macaroon]

This was split with an axe: The smoother of the two faces was quickly dropped on a belt sander and the other is as the axe left it.

 

[Ivan...]

Well! I am flummoxed, one quick sniff would confirm, in my mind, only greenness and skill/luck with splitting produced the photographic evidence, as it is notoriously difficult to split.

Ivan...

 

[Macaroon]

I've got 3 pieces of about the same dimensions as the piece in the pics, and they all 3 split almost perfectly with a 4lb sharp axe swung strongly by a lad with a good eye.............the wood has almost no scent to it at all, and although green, seems to be very hard and of about the same density/weight as a similar-sized piece of yew.............

 

[dwardo]

Close-up shot of the rings might help, a bit.

 

[Macaroon]

Can't get to it 'till tomorrow now, but I'll certainly do some more shots as close as my 'phone will go.............Since I've joined this forum it's become abundantly clear to me that I need to buy - and learn to use - a decent camera! Thanks very much for all the input, guys, I'll post again tomorrow.................All the best, mac

 

[Ivan...]

Wych elm, can from memory on occasions, split quite well, when green, then all of a sudden you get a stubborn bit, and boy do you struggle to remove the axe, let alone split cleanly, if smelled closely, it should be a little unpleasant, as if dirty although faint unless just split, but without handling is very difficult from pics, and that is not me making excuses, as i do consider myself reasonably knowledgeable when it comes to tree's/wood.

Sorry if that sounded a bit, like i know it all,coz i don't!

Ivan...

 

[Macaroon]

Ivan, your post just comes over as someone trying to be helpful, which is exactly why I posted here - you obviously know a fair bit and if people like you didn't respond, how would people like me ever learn anything?
Thanks very much for your input and keep it coming! All the best, mac

 

[Irish_Rover]

Would an Elm of this size be rare? As in having not contracted the Elm disease. Wytch Elm is less prone to it i think, but large Elms are rare around my parts, normally doing fine up to a certain age/size but when it starts to put on girth and grows out of the juvenile stage it gets blighted with the disease.

 

[Macaroon]

Somebody else here would have a more definitive answer than me, but as I understand it, this is about the size/age where precisely what you describe will start to happen; I've also read somewhere that there is now a glimmer of hope that nature is taking its course and that the elms that are still around are showing signs of resistance to the virus............wouldn't that be nice, eh?

 

[Paulm]

I would guess laburnum http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/laburnum/

Cheers, Paul