What to do with this Siberian Elm?

[Pete Copeland]

About a month ago, I guy I work with, who also lives near me, told me he had taken off a large limb from one of his Siberian elms.

I said, I'd like some and brought home two approximately 20" diameter hunks.

I tried turning something out of it right away and found it to be very wet and kind of stinky. Yesterday I turned a bowl. It wasn't sopping wet like before but the finished bowl still has a very distinct and not very nice odor. I call it one part rotting meat and nine parts campfire.

After doing 10 minutes of research on the interwebs I see that Siberian elm is subject to something called wetwood, a bacterial infection.

Sooo.... Two questions:

1) Should I put a finish on the bowl right away or should I let it air out some more? If finishing now, with what? I'm inclined to seal it with shellac to keep the odor inside but I'm ready to hear other thoughts.

2) I have more of this stuff but is this wood safe to handle and turn?

thanks

[allen thunem]

we get lots of the stuff in colorado. yea it stinks but will eventually go away. makes good utilitarian pieces. just use a mineral oil or walnut oil on it. my dos centavos worth

[Scott Hackler]

I have turned a bit of Siberian Elm and don't remember it being stinky. Regular elm around here, has a distinct cat urin smell when wet but not when dry.

I loved the Siberian Elm I got. I will take a bunch more of it home, if I ever come across some in the future.

Now if its got some disease, I dont know if I wouldnt either boil, microwave or Dna soak it. Any of those drying methods SHOULD kill bateria or fungus (I would think)

[David E Keller]

I think they call it piss elm around here, but the stench goes away when the wood is dry. I'd twice turn it to allow for warp and movement and finish after the second turning.

[Jamie Donaldson]

I think all of the elms that I've turned over the years, American, Chinese, and Siberian, have occasionally had a stinker or 2, but loose the stink when dry. I don't turn any wood that is so wet that it spits at me, but if you have already started and have it mounted, put it on spin dry cycle at about 2500 RPM and walk away for about 10 min. unless you have a freshly painted wall and ceiling near the lathe. Then turn to finished size and nuke the remaining moisture away until you can sand and finish.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I agree with the others. My dad always called the elm up here piss elm as David noted. It has a cat urine smell when turned wet. I love the color of the wood when dry and finished. I turn to 10% wall thickness, anchorseal and let dry. Once dry it loses it's smell as others have said and finishes out nicely. They do make great utility bowls.