Just cut a couple slabs of Elm. What am I in for?

[Bob Glenn]

Son-in-law had an elm tree cut down this spring. He said it had been dead for about a year. I asked that the first three feet be saved. It is about 24 inched in diameter. The bark was off and the outside of the tree has started to check. We cut the butt off and ended up with a section about two feet long. We then sawed out two slabs two or three inches thick. Man that is some tough stuff!

So I am thinking I'll start off with a scrub plane to knock it down into a couple billets for chair seats, then hog out the saddle of the seat with a gutter adze before it dries too much. It has retain good moisture content about an inch in from the bark. I may also use some of it to turn double baluster legs for the chair.

Any one had any experience working with elm? The only thing I know about it is that you can't split it very well. Bob

[Frederick Skelly]

I have some. I cut it into 2 foot lengths and sealed the ends pretty well, then let it air dry 3 years. It was very hard after it dried and was difficult to cut into slabs on my mid-size bandsaw. And it had a lot of checking/splitting throughout - like all throughout. Clearly my drying technique leaves much to be desired. I will find a way to use it up but I won't take any more of it. Hope your experience is much better than mine was.
Fred

Edit: It was tough to plane too, no matter how sharp my plane iron was.

[Steve Eure]

I had one my Dad gave me and had it cut into lumber. Stickered and still drying. If not dried properly, I was told it would twist and cup badly. So far I haven't had much of an issue with it. I saved several small logs that the sawyer said were too small for his mill and I cut them into bowl blanks. I have green turned some and put them into shavings to dry. Some checked, come didn't. I probably got a 75% success rate as far as checking goes. They turn easily and after drying and re-turning, make beautiful bowls. Very durable, light weight and hard.

[Christopher Charles]

Hi Bob,

I've used quite a bit. My Roubo base is out of elm and I've used it for the bases of a couple of desks and other projects because i had a friend with a mill who gave me quite a bit. He didn't like working with it because of the smell. It is interlocked and will tear out easily, but I have not found that to be a fatal issue. The length of the slabs may give you issue; i've always taken several inches of the slabs I used b/c of checking. All of mine were well dried; I have heard it can twist quite a bit as it dries, though your bole should be less trouble than, say, limb wood.

Hope that helps.
C

[Stew Denton]

Hi Bob,

I have thought about using elm some, since somewhat common it around town, although we really don't have a lot of trees of any kind around here, so had looked into the characteristics. I looked on the Wood Database, and looked at all of the elms listed.

According to that site, elms can be broken down into two categories, hard elms and soft elms. Species of both types are found in your area.

The species of hard elm produce lumber that is considerably harder, heavier, and stronger than the soft elm species.

All of the elm species listed have interlocking grain. As a result the database list the following cocerning workability, they are: hard to work, and prone to tear out. Additionally they have poor dimensional stability, and the interlocking grain can cause a planed surface to be "Fuzzy." Thus sharp tools are very important. The interlocking grain makes elm have a reputation of being almost impossible to split, as you mentioned.

However, they do take stain well, and finish nicely. The rock elm (a hard elm found in your area) is very strong, polishes beautifully, and finishes very nicely, and at one time because of those characteristics, it was in high demand as a furniture wood.

I thought it might make good mallet heads due to the interlocking grain, and asked that question on this site. Sure enough, one of the guys had made a mallet head from it, and it had held up well, even after many years of use.

Regards,

Stew

[Ted Phillips]

I worked with some elm recently on two separate projects. The stuff I got was kiln dried - and it still twisted and cupped while it was stickered in my shop. Beautiful wood with a very interesting grain, but like others had mentioned, it is a bear to plane. Sharp tools help a lot.

[Ron Lindner]

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Don’t know how much difference but I have built a couple boxes from Chinese Elm that I cut down. It is a pain to work with hand tools and I used some power tools.

[Dave Anderson NH]

The interlocking grain of elm is one of the key features which made it the wood of choice for generations of wainwrights when turning and boring wheel hubs. Maybe someone who is interested can research the historical record for proper drying techniques or find out from places like Colonial Williamsburg or Old Sturbridge Village and other like re-enactor sites.

[Bill McDermott]

Last time I used Elm was in the late 1970's, when they big ones were coming down left and right, due to the Dutch Elm blight.
However, whenever I smell fresh cut Elm, it takes me right back to that old table project. The aroma is as distinctive as Grandma's Feather Rolls. Not at all unpleasant (to me). The table is still in use. It's a very durable hardwood.

[michael langman]

I have a few smaller elms on my property and had one cut down that was leaning towards the house. I plan to make some mallets, and use some as splitting blocks, for support when I split wood for the wood stove.

[Bruce Haugen]

I don’t know what brand of elm you have, but I made a small table top from red elm. It has a spectacular grain and finished well. It appears to be very stable, but I got it KD.