Has anyone used elm in a project?

[bugradx2]

I have a large chunk/slab of elm in the shop and I'm debating what to do with it. It's large enough I could easily make a couple cutting boards and still have enough for several pens after that.

With all the dutch elm disease around I hardly ever see one of the trees any more.

 

[Drewby108]

It's a very hard wood, so be aware that a sharp blade is definitely a must. Be prepared to get that blade sharpened, too. My dad milled an elm and cut new boards for his friend's old 56 ford truck bed. The planer and tablesaw needed new blades after that.

Pretty wood, though.

 

[bugradx2]

It's a very hard wood, so be aware that a sharp blade is definitely a must. Be prepared to get that blade sharpened, too. My dad milled an elm and cut new boards for his friend's old 56 ford truck bed. The planer and tablesaw needed new blades after that.

Pretty wood, though.

holy smokes! Thanks

 

[Ted iin Michigan]

Also - best to figure out if it's true American elm. There's an elm we call "Chinese Elm" in my area. I think it's probably some form of import. We have a number of them on our property. It's fast growing but tends to be a bit of a nuisance. After some storm damage, we had to take down most of a tree. I did a couple live edge bowls and they were BEAUTIFUL! Reddish heart wood and a bright pale sap wood. Didn't notice they dulled tooling much more than other wood.

 

[montmill]

We also have red elm and it's darker in color and less stringy. American or white elm is really stringy and hard to split. American Elms tend to be a weed tree but rarely get very big in our woods. It was used at one time for buggy wheels due to the interlocking grain being strong. American elm is pretty plain. Of course as is the case with any tree, there may be unique grain patterns that are nice.

 

[Mortalis]

I have quite a bit of experience working with some old forest Elm. I built an Armoire for my daughter to replace some delapidated pressed board furniture in her bedroom. My father helped farm the fallen limbs (all limbs were at least 12" dia) from an untouched 100 acre forest of multiple types of hardwoods owned by a gentleman who had a resawing business.
All the 'framing' was Elm. I had drill pilot holes for all the nails and screws, the wood was so hard they would bend or break off. Beautiful wood though.
Ive also turned a few elm bowls. Yes, you will need to learn how to sharpen your tools, often!

 

[bugradx2]

I have quite a bit of experience working with some old forest Elm. I built an Armoire for my daughter to replace some delapidated pressed board furniture in her bedroom. My father helped farm the fallen limbs (all limbs were at least 12" dia) from an untouched 100 acre forest of multiple types of hardwoods owned by a gentleman who had a resawing business.
All the 'framing' was Elm. I had drill pilot holes for all the nails and screws, the wood was so hard they would bend or break off. Beautiful wood though.
Ive also turned a few elm bowls. Yes, you will need to learn how to sharpen your tools, often!

gorgeous projects