Using elm ??

[charliex]

Anyone ever built anything with red or grey elm? If so... How is it to work. Plane / Joint or route etc.
Thanks in advance for any help
Chas

[bthere]

I had a bit that I used in an end table. It reminded me a little of oak for workability, but tended to get a little fuzzy along the machined edges. Scraping cleaned it up. It finished pretty well as I recall.

Sorry, but that's about all I can pull up out of a memory that seems worse every year.

[Russianwolf]

I like using it. As said, it can get alittle fuzzy, but cleans up easily and takes a good finish. I've used both Red and American. I use quite a bit of American because I can get it for about $1/bf

[Knottscott]

Hi Chas - I love the way elm looks. It's beautiful and interesting IMHO. The color and grain contrast are similar to oak, but the grain flows more freely like ash. The bonus is that it has an unusual "ghost" grain or secondary grain for lack of a better term...some folks call it "feathers"....it appears between the primary grain, and is what sets it apart from most other woods. I think hackberry has a similar characteristic.

It's not the easiest stuff to work. "Fuzzing" is a great term to describe the cut edges. It's a really stalky wood. Sharp Whiteside bits, Forrest, and top Freud blades still resulted in fuzzed edges. It does cut pretty easily...it's not like hard maple. It's a bit prone to moving after it's been dimensioned...let it acclimate well first. I initially milled it oversized, let it sit for a few more days and remilled to final size...so far it's held up well.

The unique grain gets lost in the resolution of these pics, but you get an idea:

[Russianwolf]

Dustmight, I think I know what you're talking about in the grain. It almost has an irredescent appearance.

[charliex]

Thanks Gentelman

Thats The info I was looking for. Beautiful table Dustmite, not only the grain but the design. Is it something you designed? I want to build a desk and book case for my daughter (post grad school) and I think that bold grain would go good in her rather BLAH apartment. The only time I have worked with elm was in making firewood when all the elms around here were dying. Even with a chain saw it fuzzed badly.
Chas

[Knottscott]

Hi Chas - Thanks for the plug. Yep, it's my design, but was heavily influenced by a host of others I looked at. Post some pics when you're done, and let us know how the elm worked for you.