Elm for a functional salad bowl?

[Dan Forman]

Does elm, being a rather coarse, porous wood, make a good salad bowl? I was oil sanding a plate last night, and it really drank up the oil, then when I put it on my vac chuck, it sucked oil right through, leaving a little puddle inside the pvc body of the chuck. So I'm wondering how it would behave with salad oil? Will the finish fill the pores when it hardens? I have three large bowls with crotch figure in the bottom like the plate, wondering if they should be reserved for fruit, bread, or other dry items? Thanks.

Dan

[Allan Ferguson]

Try a wood filler on the elm, then poly salad bowl finish. Poly by itself will seal the pores but leaves pores (like an orange skin). If using oil and wax I would use for dry stuff. Pretty wood.

[Dan Forman]

I oil sanded, then gave it a coat of Min-Wax Antique Oil and wiped off. It soaked up a fair quantity of AO. Will give it another couple of coats. Will that do? Doesn't the slurry created by oil sanding act as a wood sealer?

Dan

[tom martin]

Dan I had a 2 piece set of spalted elm drink nearly a quart of AO!216366
I finished the piece in June 2010 and decided to try to sell it in November at a Christmas show. I was at my booth and I kept smelling Antique oil. I sniffed around till I found the culprit. It needed to dry for over a year and a half before the smell was gone!!
If its any consolation it was worth the wait. It is the only piece of elm I've found with red spalting like Box Elder.
Tom

[Dan Forman]

Tom --- Thankfully mine wasn't that thirsty, sound but lots of end grain. Actually it probably could have taken a lot more AO, but I didn't want to saturate it. I guess I'll keep this one and see how it does.

Dan

[Allan Ferguson]

Post it when is is done.

[allen thunem]

i like elm salad bowls. makes beautiful bowls.
try oiling it after you finish turn the bottom. i use mineral oil or walnut oil.
just my two cents

[Jim Burr]

Send it to me Dan...I'll do a field test and let you know!

[Steve Kubien]

I have turned a lot of functional elm bowls and never had a single issue. Like what Allen said, wipe or brush on walnut oil (I use Mahoney's Utility Finish), let it cure and buff it. I would also like to point out that George Lailey, "The Last Bowlturner" used elm in his pole-lathe work almost exclusively.