Anyone mill and dry ELM?

[Kudzu]

Elm stinks??  This has no smell at all.

OK, someone suggested this might be Persimmon. Bark matches for sure. Leaves, what are left fit. I have no idea if a Persimmon could be this large? But is is a very old tree.
From what I read when I get to the large end and start cutting I should see some really dark heartwood if it is. I may be seeing a hint of that in that limb?

[Stwood_]

Either persimmon (a really old one) or possibly hickory looking at the bark.

[Kudzu]

Either persimmon (a really old one) or possibly hickory looking at the bark.

Leaves are wrong for a Hickory.  Lot of Shag Bark Hickory, oaks and Beech around here. Have a huge hollow Beech I have to take down. It might fall on the house someday.

The more I read the more I am convinced it is a Persimmon. Had no idea they got this big and I live in a rural area.  The only ones I have seen were much smaller.  I wonder if the fruit is so high up that I never see it? Of course I am sure the squirrels feast on them too.

I thing it must be 75-100 years old. That 8" limb was 50 years and that is out of the very top.

You can get any scale in this photo but the root ball is 6+ feet in the air. Base of the trunk is at least 30"

Should make for some interesting lumber.

[Stwood_]

Looking back at the sapwood color, it could very well be persimmon.
We have persimmons here, but I've never seen/milled one over 12" that I remember.
There is always that odd tree.

[Eurekan]

Had a dead American elm on my block. Stood there for 3-4 years dead till it finally was cut down. Hard as nails but machined beautifully. Made hammer handles and ax handles. Has a totally different feel from hickory.

[Kudzu]

I think we have an ID.  Really studying the details and it appears this  is actually a Bitternut Hickory. A sharp eyed gentleman on another forum lead to look at this and fits the description and drawings near perfect.

It is actually a little disappointing. Don't have a lot of use for hickory and there is a lot of it is that is millable. Unless the sawer has people wanting it I will probably mill a little and cut up most of it for firewood.

[jteneyck]

Yikes! John. Looks like that band was a tad bit dull...

Ed

Maybe, but it'll also do that even with a sharp blade if the guides aren't equidistant above and below the blade.  As the tires wear the blade creeps up towards the top block on the guides and that can cause a harmonic to happen in the blade.  With the wide distance between the guides, setting up the bandsaw mill is maybe even more critical than a shop bandsaw.  It took me awhile before I understood the subtleties of the machine.  After 8 or 10K board feet of milling now I've gotten pretty good at knowing what to look for to prevent problems.  

John

[EdL]

Interesting..the only time my lumber has ridges that pronounced, is when the band gets dull.

Maybe the lighting makes them look worse than I think.

Ed

[oakey]

bitter nut hickory lumber is very nice i would mill that in a heart beat my last farm had lots of those trees one ended up as our kitchen
from the pictures it very well could be a biter nut leaves would tell a better story they have very small hickory nuts
but in my experience not every tree will have fruit and the ones that do it will not fruit every year
those trees tend to die out before they get large in the area i lived in
but the one i used as a kitchen was huge beautiful wood nice dark brown heart wood and light sap wood
very hard and heavy but nice to machine with sharp tools

[TomFromStLouis]

You've got plenty of nice firewood with those branches. That first cut log and even the second cut looks to me like prime material and should be boards IMO. 

The bark is definitely NOT persimmon, once you know persimmon bark it is hard to get it wrong.