# Need advise about this Siberian Elm.



## Old Goat (Dec 6, 2009)

I have been cutting on this Siberian Elm at a neighbors home for the last few weeks. I was planning on using all of the wood for firewood and have given most of the upper tree away to other neighbors in town. I got down to the main trunk this last week and found it to be quite solid and made me wonder about making table tops out of the main trunk. 

It measured 15' in circumference at about 30” from the ground and the widest part is just over 5' across with the smaller width coming in around 4'. 

I have cut the main trunk into three 18” slabs, give or take 3”. The last one is still sitting on the ground where it grew, but it has been cut 360°.

Here are my questions. First, is this wood worth the effort to make table slabs out of? If yes then what is the best way to store it until it is dried to minimize checking and splitting? It is loaded with water. I tried to split some of the upper rounds with a wedge and the water comes oozing out. 

Would it be best to cut the slabs into the table widths now leaving enough width to plan and sand later or wait until it has dried and then cut it?

How can I keep the bark on? Most of the bark on Siberian Elms will fall off in two or three years. I wait until this happens before I burn it due to the fact that the bark leaves a lot of ash.

This is a good excuse to get a long bar for my 394XP and 395XP saws. I was thinking 6'. What is the best way to cut a slab this big?

I counted 52 rings. The owner is in his late 70's and claims he planted the tree over 50 years ago. It had the kitchen sink drain field just east of it and most of the rings are thick, but there are several years where they are thin and seem to correlate with the years that the home was not being occupied.


















The saw in this picture is the 394 with a 24" bar. I used a 32" bar on the big stuff.


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## Old Goat (Dec 6, 2009)

More pictures


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## deeker (Dec 6, 2009)

Send some of the logs to me, might have to whittle it down a bit. Can cut up to a 31" log. Finish cuts up to 24", elm makes great trailer decking.

Kevin


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## Can8ianTimber (Dec 7, 2009)

The woodworker in me is very sad to see that beautiful log getting cut up like that. That wood is awsome looking when it is dry. 

Here is a table top I finished for a client out of Siberian Elm















The stuff stinks like barnyard when it is green but amazing looking when dry.


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## excess650 (Dec 8, 2009)

I had milled what I was told to be a red elm this summer. The bark is thick, and has thick, white cambium layer. It smells pretty bad, but seemed to be the bark and not the wood. There are little spikes all over the exterior of the wood that holds the bark in place, so its tough to remove.

If you were thinking of cutting cookies for table tops, good luck! From what I've seen and read of drying cookies, it isn't often successful. The wood splits radially as it dries, and leaves large, gaping splits.


I slab cut the 42" log that I was working with, and have the slabs drying. Even though the tree had been cut 18 months ago, it seemed to be soaking wet. After cutting into slabs and drying for 6 months, it has dried considerably, and is much lighter.


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## Old Goat (Dec 9, 2009)

excess650 said:


> If you were thinking of cutting cookies for table tops, good luck! From what I've seen and read of drying cookies, it isn't often successful. The wood splits radially as it dries, and leaves large, gaping splits.



This is what I thought would happen, but it was worth asking.


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## Old Goat (Dec 9, 2009)

Can8ianTimber said:


> *The woodworker in me is very sad to see that beautiful log getting cut up like that*. That wood is awsome looking when it is dry.
> 
> The stuff stinks like barnyard when it is green but amazing looking when dry.



I seem to be causing a few folks on this form "Milling and Saw Mills" to be less than pleased with my wood cutting adventures, but at least I was thinking about doing something with the elm other than burning it.

Siberian Elm is a pest tree in this area and can cause problems. It sucks up tons of water and will grow everywhere and anywhere. I dig up several seedlings every year out of my garden. 

I don't have the ability to handle this large of a trunk unless I cut it up into the size cookies that I did. 

What is unique about this tree is its age. Most do not live past 40 years and can cause damage to buildings, cars, people, due to the large amount of dead limbs that can and will fall every year. 

I am thinking about a saw mill in the future so maybe some day I will utilize the tons of elm I come across.


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## Can8ianTimber (Dec 9, 2009)

Old Goat said:


> I seem to be causing a few folks on this form "Milling and Saw Mills" to be less than pleased with my wood cutting adventures, but at least I was thinking about doing something with the elm other than burning it.
> 
> Siberian Elm is a pest tree in this area and can cause problems. It sucks up tons of water and will grow everywhere and anywhere. I dig up several seedlings every year out of my garden.
> 
> ...



Hey no problem. I don't ever want to come across as a wood snob, like you have to mill every decent log. Sometimes I have got done with a milling project and reallized that I could have made more money by just cutting the wood up into firewood and selling it.


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## lumberjackchef (Dec 9, 2009)

Hey O.G. don't get discouraged about those slabs just yet here is a picture of some Siberian elm that i milled into cookies many years ago.http://chainsawmaniac.net/CustomWoodburnings.html both of these lamps were made from Sib. elm and are still solid today! I actually worked them when they were 1/2 dry and then finished them that way. I'm not advocating this method but I was just experimenting and it worked well. i had always read the opposite. I was told that they would check and split in half or worse. But I also know now that Elm is very hard to split lengthwise. It has an interlocking grain. Hence this makes it a little less prone to checking than many other species. Don't get me wrong those slabs will most likely check as they dry but the slower you can dry them the better off you'll be. I have used the method mentioned above on other projects and had much success with it. But its not for everyone. Just experiment and have some fun.


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## 1harlowr (Dec 10, 2009)

Love your lamps lumberjackchef. Do you drill the length of the lamp for the cord or inlay it up the back? They look great


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## lumberjackchef (Dec 10, 2009)

1harlowr said:


> Love your lamps lumberjackchef. Do you drill the length of the lamp for the cord or inlay it up the back? They look great



Thanks! I drilled the majority of them and sometimes rout a slot on the base.


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## excess650 (Dec 11, 2009)

Nice job on the lamps! I REALLY like the rich, warm look of that wood, and the radial cracks weren't bad at all.


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## flatpikr (Dec 16, 2009)

*Red Cedar*

Hey-- you think burning S Elm is bad, I heard this guy "O.G" also burns Red Cedar. My Heck!! what some people will do to keep their family warm. Good Gosh. 13 below -- shorts and T-shirts. Save the wood, acclimate, and all will be fine. Scuze for now-- gotta throw some ? cedar on the the fire.


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## billstuewe (Dec 17, 2009)

Go to this thread from a few weeks back and there is more info for you--
http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=115384


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