Does anyone ever use elm

[Bill Eshelman]

I was at a furniture store yesterday and they had some furniture made from elm. It had very nice grain pattern and I instantly knew I had to buy some. Does anyone know how elm is to work with and about how much it goes for 4/4 rough on the east coast? The furniture was all Amish made stuff from Ohio and it was some of the nicest stuff I have seen. Lots of mission style and just good solid stuff for about the same price most stores ask for junk. The store was called Gish's furniture (no affiliation).

Thanks in advance.

Bill E

[Don Baer]

I've never used it or seen it at my local supliers but from what I've just found out I might want to try it in the future. Here's what my research turned up.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD class=SText10>Working properties</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=SText1>Hard and tough, elm still bends easily when steamed, and when dry, holds its shape. Its twisted, interlocking grain makes elm difficult to work with anything but power tools. It also won't split when screwed or nailed, but demands drilling pilot holes. And the wood sands easily to a natural low luster.
Burl veneers tend to be brittle and troublesome to flatten. Try those with flexible backing.
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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD class=SText10>Uses in woodworking</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=SText1>Besides the frequent use of its veneer for paneling, furnituremakers take advantage of elm's ruggedness for hidden furniture parts. You'll often find it in chair and sofa frames, backs, and legs. Yet elm's beautiful wood grain also has fine furniture possibilities.
Elm works well, too, for butcher block tops and cutting boards because it has no odor or taste, and it won't split. When in contact with water, elm resists decay, so many boatbuilders use it for planking.
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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD class=SText10>Cost and availabilitly</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=SText1>Today, most elm lumber goes for manufacturing use and very little finds its way to retail outlets. Where you do find it--usually at small, local sawmills--it costs less than $2 a board foot compared to nearly twice that for oak and walnut. Native elm veneer sells for about $1 per square foot--Carpathian elm burl about double that.
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[Ron Blaise]

Bill:
Just something I copied on "American Elm".

Before the advent of Dutch elm disease, American elm was prized for its use as a street tree. It was fast growing, hardy, tolerant to stress, and appreciated for its characteristic vaselike crown. Beautiful shaded streets in many cities attested to its popularity.
The wood of American elm is moderately heavy, hard, and stiff. It has interlocked grain and is difficult to split, which is an advantage for its use as hockey sticks and where bending is needed. It is used principally for furniture, hardwood dimension, flooring, construction and mining timbers, and sheet metal work. Some elm wood goes into veneer for making boxes, crates, and baskets, and a small quantity is used for pulp and paper manufacture.

[Andy Fox]

A local family-owned sawmill here in central Ohio has 4/4 red elm for 1.75/bf. For comparison, the same place has white oak for 2.00, red oak for 2.50, and cherry for 4.50.

[Dave Mcintire]

Its really stringy, warps a lot, and generally hard to work with. On the good side it take a very nice, kind of polished finish. For the stuff you saw it was probably used because it was cheap. I never saw a mill that offered it, the stuff I had was from a log I took to be sawn.

Give it a try, but don't buy too much.

[Dennis Peacock]

I have some red elm that a buddy of mine milled for me several years ago. It likes to twist and wave at ya, it's harder to work with than red or white oak and it's hard on my tools.

Finishes very well, but requires patience when sanding as it doesn't sand easily.

So....have fun with it if you can find some. :D

[Frank Chaffee]

Bill,
I haven’t turned elm, but I have burned cords and cords of it. Of all the hardwoods I have used for heating in SW Wisconsin, elm is by far the most difficult to split! Must have tight grain, or something.
Frank

[Bill Eshelman]

Well, that is bad news for me. I was hoping it was easy to find, cheap and easy on the blade. I really wish I had a band mill and a kiln......

and a big truck
and a bulldozer
and .........

OK back to reality.

Thanks everyone.

Bill E

[scott spencer]

A local family-owned sawmill here in central Ohio has 4/4 red elm for 1.75/bf. For comparison, the same place has white oak for 2.00, red oak for 2.50, and cherry for 4.50. Those are similar prices to what we have here.

I grabbed some red elm last spring and have done some minor projects with it, and started two nightstands that got set aside. The grain is stunning IMHO....one of my favorites to look at. The grain flows and contrasts like ash, has more of the natural color of oak, and has a fairly unique "ghost" grain (for lack of a better term) between the primary grain....I think hackberry has a similar characteristic. It's not the easiest stuff to work with, but is workable. It can be prone to movement after dimensioning. I find it's best to rough dimension it, let it sit a few days, then mill it again to final dimensions. It's also prone to "fuzzing" on cuts and routed edges even with sharp cutters...very fibrous and tough! The best way to experience it is to try it!

[Mike Parzych]

I got a little once and it's very unique. Unlike the veneer above, the AD stuff I got had some "birdseyes" similar to maple. It seems sometimes people process lumber looking to end up with a very uniform looking product, and end up taking out the interesting parts. I find this also true for hickory.

Red elm was also used to make hockey sticks at one time.

And yes....you can sometimes watch it warp after planing.

[Ted Christiansen]

Bill,

I agree with the others that have said it warps alot. I milled some elm last year - some with my chainsaw/Timberjig and some on the bandsaw. It has been drying since last summer. Most of it has moved/warped quite a bit, more than other species (oak, cherry, walnut, ash).

I havent built anything out of it yet, but will eventually. If you come across some small elm logs and you have a bandsaw I would encourage you to cut a few logs into boards. It makes for interesting (and inexpensive) experimentation with new woods!

Ted

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I do. I use American Rock Elm. I have lots of it on my property.
Dutch Elm is descimating what's left.

It is a fast growing lovely dark wood with exceptional springiness and unlike it's name it's not hard like rocks.

[Alan Turner]

I understand it was used extensively in the English ship building industry of the 18th and 19th century becuase it will bend but not break. I used it once to build a plinth base for a converted ship's armoire. I recall it stank like manure as I milled it up, but it was fine to work with, although a bit stringy. It took a dy stain and shellac well, which is what was needed to match it to the original wood.

[Steve Clardy]

I've got some stashed in my lumber rack somewhere.
I milled it about 15 years ago. Looked pretty at the time.

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

I love the finished product that Elm gives me, but the stink turning it, Ain't good.

Bruce