bsearcey said:It is not walnut or hickory or locust if the leaves shown come from the same tree. All three of those have pinnately compound leaves.
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Hackberry does have a serrated leaf like that, but the bark is all wrong and the heartwood can be dark in hackberry, but not like this piece.
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Mulberry doesn't have a leaf like that and the bark is off.
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The leaf IMO is classic Elm with the one side of the base of the leaf margins being a little lower than the other side and the serrated edges. From the description on the DOF website the bark sounds right for both the slippery elm and the american elm. Check the underside of the leaf. Slippery elm should feel fuzzy.
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The only thing that doesn't fit for me is the way the PO said it split. Could just be lucky and got an elm with a straight grain.
I don't get Elm here-does it smell like cow manure when split? He said this wood does...
I'm kind of thinking like you guys that it IS something other than what we've been guessing. Nice looking wood, though....