American Elm for Turning

[Steve Eure]

I just received an American Elm tree from my father. This tree has a stump that is 32" in diameter and around 4' high. I had some of the logs sawn into 4/4 lumber (201 bf) and am air drying with plenty of weight on top to help control the bowing and cupping of this type of lumber. I have approximately that much that is still logs varying from 6" to 12" diameter. Would this be a good candidate for turning. I realize that elm is not a very fragrant wood, but the smell goes away once dried. I have heard that it was a prized wood long ago because of its strength and was used for furniture, wagon wheels and tools. It certainly has a beautiful reddish brown color. What do ya'll think?
Thanks, Steve

[William C Rogers]

I love turning elm, one of my favorite woods to turn. It doesn't crack very much.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

I got some 4in x 4in elm at the local saw mill. They were making pallets and skids out of it. Turns nice. Grain is very large. meaning wide spaces between rings. A little porous. I still have some small pieces left.

[Dennis Ford]

It is a very good wood for turning, not so much for cabinet making. It is crack and split resistant but does move quite a bit when drying. Good for once turned items with warping adding to the character and for twice turned bowls when you need it to be round.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

We say ELM, but don’t forget there are at least 8 species of Elm growing here, 6 native and then Siberian and Chinese Elm, and they are not alike, other than the interlocking grain.

There’s soft and hard Elm, some info here to safe my fingers and keyboard :)

Elm wood turns quite nice, the cambium layer in green wet Elm can be stringy, but otherwise there is no problem with turning.

The hard Rock Elm does shrink quite a lot from wet to dry, but is stable after that as is the case with all the Elm species.

Chines Elm bark sets it apart from the other Elms
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Siberian has the rough bark and is seldom a nice logging tree, more a weed tree, though the wood is one of the nicest for turning.
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Native Elm info.
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Some pictures of Elm I turned
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[John K Jordan]

I like turning elm. The stump/butt log often has some of the best wood in the tree, especially as you get nearer or even under the ground. Have to be careful for embedded barbed wire, staples, and nails from about 12" to 5' even for trees cut way out in the woods since there might have been a farm there in the past. I sawed through a 1/2" steel rod recently. :eek:

That's funny about it not being "a very fragrant wood"!

Since I mostly turn dry wood I would also cut it up and dry, 16/4, 12/4, and 8/4. (Be sure to seal the endgrain, of course.) When sawing I like to cut slabs and sticker them to dry some, then resaw into spindle and bowl blanks to dry the rest of the way, cutting away any cracks and bad warping. When processing on the shop bandsaw I just cut into a variety of useful turning blanks sizes and stack for drying on wire shelves in the shop. Smaller spindle blanks dry fairly quickly regardless of the species.

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JKJ

[Leo Van Der Loo]

It is a very good wood for turning, not so much for cabinet making. It is crack and split resistant but does move quite a bit when drying. Good for once turned items with warping adding to the character and for twice turned bowls when you need it to be round.

Dennis what I found is that the wood is stable after it has dried, and yes to have a rond bowl (that we cannot see to be oval ;)) then the dried from wet wood bowl should be turned for a second time, especially the very hard and tough Rock Elm moves a lot, the White not so much

[tom lucas]

Haven't turned it, but it makes a pretty toolbox.378063

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Haven't turned it, but it makes a pretty toolbox.378063

WOW nice work Thom :)