Hophornbeam haul... man this stuff is tough!

[Slackbunny]

I got off work early in the afternoon today, so I figured it was as good a day as any to cut down this good sized hophornbeam tree, at least I'm pretty sure its hophornbeam. Little did I know its never a good day to try and go toe to toe with one of these guys. Tough tough tough wood, and heavy as heck. Anyway here are a few pics of my activities today.

These are pics of the full sized log just after I got it out of the woods



It was way too heavy to drag at this point, so I cut it into two pieces to make it more manageable. It actually cut quite well to my surprise, but that is a pretty good hand saw too.



When I got the two pieces back to the shop I peeled the bark which came off very easily. On the straighter piece with no limbs, it actually came off in only two pieces. Slippery as hell after the bark comes off though. Then I cut out the pieces of log that I was after using the miter saw.  One log was actually too big for this saw and I had to finish the cut with a hand saw.



Once I was done cutting I had one 7ft very nice looking log, another 7ft mediocre log with some limbs, and one other log that is probably going to be firewood, but I can't bring myself to surrender it quite yet. So I still had some energy left and decided to split the best looking log. This was a far more ambitious project than I had originally anticipated. This wood is tough as fricken nails, and it had me sweatin I tell ya. I ended up having to take the reciprocating saw to it in order to get the fibers to let go. It was too heavy for me to manipulate safely on the bandsaw or I would have used that to cut those stringy fibers. So after the first one split so hard, I decided to leave the rest for another day, cause I am beat. Anyway, this is the final product of my afternoon's work:



The two on the left are split from the best log, and they split straight as an arrow. I will probably split them again to get four staves or more total from that log. The log in the middle is probably firewood, but I might find a bow in it yet. The one on the right is fairly limby but I might be able to sneak a stave or two from it. I also snagged a few smaller branches to make some sapling bows for my GF's little cousins. I'm pretty happy as this is probably the best bow wood that grows naturally in these parts. But I think it will be a while before I tangle with another ironwood.

[toomanyknots]

Definitely looks like it to me. It splits it's self apart really fast if you don't get it split into staves, for me it has.

[Slackbunny]

Definitely looks like it to me. It splits it's self apart really fast if you don't get it split into staves, for me it has.

I'll make sure to split the rest of it up tomorrow then.

[osage outlaw]

Nice haul.  I really like HHB.  Looks like some good pieces with very little twist.  Good work on getting the bark off.  It is a pain to remove once it sets up.

[toomanyknots]

  It is a pain to remove once it sets up.

I second that. Where are you located? Is the bark still peeling off easy? If it is, I might just go get me some too,  .

[hammerstone]

better seal those ends and backs soon as possible. few years ago my brother brought me five six in.diameter logs of hhb straight as hell and no knots .i peeled em and left em alone for a week. they all checked so deep i couldnt use any of em. does make decent firewood though.

[soy]

Almost looks like white elm no heart wood, thick growth  rings, and the bark is kinda thick...hope im wrong

[tattoo dave]

That bark looks a lot like one I'm thinking about cutting down. I thought it was elm, but I guess I was wrong. You wouldn't happen to have a pic of the leaves would ya? I love that stuff though, doesn't take a lot to make a good bow.

Tattoo Dave

[lostarrow]

Hop Hornbeam is diffuse porous (like maple) . Hard to tell from the pics but the bark looks like it. Crazy hard wood but works well with good sharp tools. Do yourself a favour and buy a good quality pruning saw with a folding blade. You can stick it in your pocket and carry it around all day. It makes very quick work of small trees like the one you got there. You can usually pick one up for around $20. If you take a slice off the face and realize chasing a growth ring would be impossible , it's likely HHB. We have tonnes of the stuff around London  ,Ontario,and it grows to about 18" in diameter. But where I'm from up North,it's a lot more scarce and only grows to about 5"-6" Dia. and a tree that size could have 75 growth rings or more.Good luck with your endeavors,it makes a nice bow.

[Pappy]

Ya that's HHB, Good looking log, it is probably one of my favorite white woods. I wouldn't split it to small till it stabilizes a bit,it will twist on you if you make the stave's to small to start off and like was said ,seal the end  for sure and back just to be safe.
   Pappy

[Slackbunny]

alright, thanks for the tips guys. I sealed the ends last night but I might go seal the backs up too just in case. Its definitely HHB, nothing else around here is nearly that heavy and nasty.

Oh, and I'm from New Brunswick Canada. We sit just on the eastern shoulder of Maine.

[TRACY]

Looks like it's good and straight w/o any twist at all. Seal and leave as halves or they'll try to twist up off the table.

Tracy

[toomanyknots]

.i peeled em and left em alone for a week. they all checked so deep i couldnt use any of em.

Last time I cut hhb, it was a sapling. I peeled the bark on the thing, went to use the bathroom (which took maybe 2 minutes at the most), and when I came back the thing had blown up from the inside out with checks. I used to think the stuff was a type of elm for some reason before I figured out it was hhb.

[toomanyknots]

That bark looks a lot like one I'm thinking about cutting down. I thought it was elm, but I guess I was wrong. You wouldn't happen to have a pic of the leaves would ya? I love that stuff though, doesn't take a lot to make a good bow.

Tattoo Dave

Ha, I used to think it was an elm called "cork elm".

[turtle]

That bark looks a lot like one I'm thinking about cutting down. I thought it was elm, but I guess I was wrong. You wouldn't happen to have a pic of the leaves would ya? I love that stuff though, doesn't take a lot to make a good bow.

Tattoo Dave

Ha, I used to think it was an elm called "cork elm".

Gun doc pointed out some hhb to me while at the clasic this year. I realised we have it all over the place where i live. I always thought it was some type of elm. Been meaning to go cut a couple but havnt got around to it yet.