American Elm

[Bernie Weishapl]

Had a gentleman stop by today and he is a tree trimmer/removal service here in town. He told me he heard I did wood working and wanted to know if I wanted some American Elm. He says he has lots of good 10" to 12" thick logs 4' to 5' long. I have been doing research on google, etc. and have found quite a few discriptions like this one. It said, "Wood machines well, Seasons well with medium shrinkage, take screws & nails good, finishes good but is not very stable in service. What do they mean by not very stable in service or why is it not very stable in service might be a better question? Thanks.

Bernie

[Jay Knepper]

I've used one batch of Elm. It had very nice, prominant grain, but it also had a strong tendency to warp along the length of the boards. I made some Shaker step stools out of it, and they have held up beautifully for their 4 or so years.

In the batch I had at least one would be hard pressed to make anything but small pieces out of it because of it's tendency to warping.

[Dan Gill]

There was an article about American Elm in Popular Woodworking about 1 1/2 or 2 years ago. It's making a comeback with strains that are resistant to Dutch Elm Disease.

When we were in Colonial Williamsburg a few years back we stopped at the wheelwright's shop. They made (and still make) all the wheel hubs out of American elm. The grain is tight, twisted, and interlocked. That makes it very resistant to splitting (which you'll know if you ever try to use some for firewood). I also know that it's used by chair makers who split it rather than saw it into boards.

Still, I'd look into the wood.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Dan our kids are in Richmond. We stop by the wheelwrights shop also. Keen place to visit.

Also have been doing more searching on Elm. I found some info today that said the same thing. Resists splitting easy to finish but will warp a lot. Anyway may take a look at some and see how it reacts when being dried.

Bernie

[scott spencer]

Hi Bernie - I've been working with some red elm recently. The grain is extraordinary IMO. It cuts well buts seems prone to alot of "fuzz" on crosscuts and routing across the grain. I did find that it moved a bit after I initially planed it down. I think it'll move less if you let it acclimate a while, mill it to rough dimensions, let it acclimate a few more days, then do final milling.

[Mike Parzych]

I suspect it's red elm you've got. It's one of the few subspecies of elm that was resistant to Dutch elm disease. I got some recently, and it's beautiful wood when finished with BLO and then the top fiish of your choice. But it WILL warp like crazy logintudinally on some boards. Most of the stuff I got stayed straight, but a couple went way out of flat.

But in the long run I'd still try it - the grain and color are so outstanding it's worth the shot.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Mike I don't know if this would be Red Elm. The extension agent said the trees are dieing from Dutch Elm diease. My granddad and my dad called them Chinese Elms. Does it make any difference how the logs are cut, quartersawn, etc.? Thanks again.

[scott spencer]

Here's some file pics that look just like the red elm I've been working with.

[Dan Oelke]

There is a list of species of elm and *some* identifying information at this site. Note they call red elm slippery elm.

http://www.elmcare.com/about_elms/species/elm_species.htm

Chinese elm is pretty much resistant to dutch elm so if it died from that it probably isn't chinese elm. I don't know anything about how Chinese elm wood is - but I can tell you that the tree's don't really look like an "elm" to me. The leaves are the same shape - but MUCH smaller, and the long stringy branches give them a very different shape. They also are horrible in a lawn as they are always dropping small branches.