A few years back I acquired some beams from an old barn. I cut into one yesterday thinking it was American Elm, but now I am not so sure. A little background: the beams were 3″x9″ of varying length but up to 20′, and the barn was in central Minnesota. I have attached several shots for ID purposes, and then a sample of what I am almost positive is American Elm. There were several slippery elm boards (Ulmus Rubra) in the lot as well, and by the color I would guess that is what this is. The end grain does not look right, though, at least in comparison to Hoadley’s book.
Any insight would be appreciated.
Replies
I'm going to vote for chestnut.
Dick
The board that you have labeled American elm is definitely elm. The lumber industry classified elm into gray and red for lumber purposes. Just like they do for the oaks. The other face grain shot does not look like elm, but the picture is not that clear(probably my stupid dial -up). If it came out of and old barn in MN it could very well be American Chestnut. It is open grained like oak and elm and was used in barns a lot before the blight because they save the white oaks for siding , fence boards and posts. In Michigan we have a few of the old chestnut timbered barns around still. My neighbor has a barn that is 100% walnut ,if that doesn't make you sick.
Thew
I will cast my vote for American Elm, Ulnus americana. The wavy bands of pores in the latewood are a pretty sure indicator of this. Offhand the only other wood I can think of where this is so prominent is hackberry but then the earlywood pores would fade into the latewood more instead of being such a sharp line of demarkation. Slippery elm also does that. The face grain shot also could easily fall into the color range of American Elm which can be anywhere from reddish brown to light brown. Checking the specific gravity could pretty much make it conclusive.
Rich
PS. Nice endgrain photos. Very clear and good detail.
The Professional Termite
Edited 2/12/2007 8:39 pm ET by trialnut
Thanks to all for your input. I will look into Chestnut - I don't think I have ever seen it in person. The wavy bands are what made me think American Elm, but the color was so nice, that I didn't think it could be true!Thew
American Elm has a very distinct odor when it's cut. Thus the common name piss elm. However, I happen to love the odor. To me it smells like olive oil and I can't get enough.
Definitely from the elm family, either a true elm or hackberry. However, the color is not quite right for hackberry. It is definitely not chestnut. The wavy bands in the latewood scream elm. The single band of latewood pores is distinctive. I will have to check, but I believe that is characteristic of american elm, but it may also apply to winged elm. I will look it up.
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