Ring Shake?

[PeterPro]

Hey Tree Heads... So I recently came upon a 60+" DBH hybrid (maybe english) elm. The tree had numerous vertical seems in the 6"-15" upper canopy limbs. From the aerial inspection it seemed like old frost cracks or wind damage...(the seams were completely closed and callused over. Sort of like the ribs formations on old London Planes). Which I was always told was interior frost cracks.
After removing the limbs, wherever the seams were located, horizontal cracks were exposed and the wood fell apart. Ring shake seemed evident.
Does anyone know about this ring shake and can it cause visible seams (vertical cracks against the grain) and interior cracks (horizontality along the ray cells).
I hope this makes sense as it dificult to descibe. The tree is completely healthy and has shown these seams for years now (according to the homeowner) although they have been growing callus and "appearing" to worsen. Thanks I can send pictures to whomever is interested and has seen this before.

 

[scubadude1188]

I know that ring shake in forestry happens if you have a tree with repressed growth then after a thinning is unrestricted and grows very fast. As far as I know its more of an issue with milling the wood then structural issues with the standing tree. There is an argument though that ring shake is all a myth.

 

[Fernhorn]

I have run a sawmill for about 14 years now and I've seen it
occur in trees that are exposed to alot of wind. The trees in my area I've seen it occur most in are hickory, and hemlock. The shake causes the boards to basicly fall apart running with the grain of the board. And when the board falls apart the break is usually a rounded crack resembling the rings. It sucks to say the least to spend alot of effort sawing toothpicks so I've tried to learn to spot logs that have signs of shake- they make good spliting firewood.

 

[KTSmith]

Ring shake, the delamination of wood around part or all of the stem circumference is usually from small, repeated wounds. The classic demonstration of this by Alex Shigo was with sapsucker injury in eastern hemlock. The simple version of the story is here: http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/3825
Essentially the small wounds from bird peck induce the formation of barrier zones that are strong with respect to resisting the outward spread of infection but are weak with respect to resistance from shear stresses. Those stresses are heightened by wind loading.
However, I don't see ring shake described in the symptoms listed by PeterPro. I have no idea what interior frost cracks are!