Chris Horn Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 I live in SW Missouri. We have a lot of trees. I have access to a lot of trees. Mostly oak, some maple, hickory, cedar, and a few other odd tree's. However, right in my yard is a several of the ugliest trees (aesthetically speaking) I can think of, next to pin oak, and I am considering removing one large one for a building. An elm, I believe it to be an american elm, but i'm not the best on identification. Is there any use for elm? Can it be turned, or sawn into planks? I do not believe I have ever seen anything around here made of elm, I searched youtube and found a few projects, but they just say "elm" with no explanation. Just curious what anyone else would do with it. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guillaume Breton Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 Elm, at least, here in Canada, is not commercially available not because its not a beautiful wood (its a bit like Ash, open pores, bit shinier) but because the Dutch elm disease, a lot of them had to be cut down. I think they are somewhat protected now and you aren't allow to cut them without some reason/permission. A lot of furniture was made with Elm here in Canada a while ago (maybe 30+ years?) at school, we have access to some Elm still (trees we recycle from the city) and we made nice furniture with it. Its hard to work with on the shaper, it tends to chip, but its pretty nice. here is a small Louis XV end table we made in Elm. can give you an idea of what it looks like http://en.wikipedia....tch_elm_disease Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmac Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 http://lumberjocks.com/projects/9533 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 I have a couple pieces of crotch elm that are beautiful. While I still haven't figured out what I plan to do with these, I do look forward to the build. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guillaume Breton Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 I have a couple pieces of crotch elm that are beautiful. While I still haven't figured out what I plan to do with these, I do look forward to the build. what about you mail them to me ? wow.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CessnaPilotBarry Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 We can't buy it as lumber in my area, due to the disease mentioned above. A few years back, a local furniture chain here in the Northeast US was selling mountains of imported factory furniture advertised as "Solid Elm". As I had never seen elm, I visited the store to take a look at some of the furniture, and the wood looked quite nice, and had a nice solid feel to doors and other moving parts. Of course, they had applied the requisite 400 layers of Chinese factory finish, but underneath it looked like a useful species with lots of possibilities... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Pants Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 I have a couple pieces of crotch elm that are beautiful. While I still haven't figured out what I plan to do with these, I do look forward to the build. Looking at those pieces they scream Nakashima inspired table to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted October 25, 2012 Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 Eh, maybe something in that direction. I'm firmly in the more modern/contemporary camp. (null) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Horn Posted October 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 Awesome. I have never seen it sold either but it is plentiful. I think I will try a few pieces when I cut this thing down. I will let you know how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barron Posted October 26, 2012 Report Share Posted October 26, 2012 Elm has interlocked grain that can make it hard to work. It bends well, and resists splitting. It also has a reputation for large wood movement-lots of twist and not very stable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateswoodworks Posted October 27, 2012 Report Share Posted October 27, 2012 I have made several projects out of Rock Elm and while it can be hard on handtools and isn't the easiest to work with but the end results are worth it in my opinion and besides I like a challenge. The coloring and grain is very attractive. Several years back I bought about 1000 bf of air dried for about 30yrs for $250! I have done quite a bit of lamination with it with great results. When I built our bathroom vanity I I used 8/4 stock and symmetrically matched the grain on all the frame and panels, the problem was much of the stock out of one of the boards was reaction wood, of course I found this out halfway through. resawed all the stock that was being problematic and laminated it back together which provided perfectly straight and stable stock. I have also done a few projects with curved laminations out of my rock elm stockpile. As for finishng, I personally think nothing is better on it than oil followed by shellac to bring out the depth of the grain. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jHop Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 It burns fairly well, providing a lot of heat out of smaller than expected logs. It does crumble when it rots, more so than most woods. Probably due to that interlocked grain structure. (Last year, I camped out for a week at summer camp in a campsite that had a lot of elm that was destroyed by the little emerald bug. Two whole campsites were stripped down to under 10 percent of their previous tree cover. Six acres of wooded lot suddenly exposed to sunlight, and the poison ivy was confused. Portions died out, and portions exploded in growth. Fun week. Their ash trees were affected even more.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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