Elm

[1harlowr]

My brother and I took down an elm of my mom's this past weekend. I am wanting to get ideas for a project to use this elm's trunk. Long story short my mom has lived in the same house for over 62 years, this elm was a mature tree for as long as she (or I) can remember. It is at least 4' in diameter from ground to about 7-8' high. Mom is in the final stages of stage 4 colon cancer and I don't want to just cut the trunk into firewood. She will not be here to see any finished product, but my brother would be able to appreciate it. I've never done a thing with elm so what kind of ideas do you fine people have. I think it is a red elm as the center of all live limbs are dark.
Thank you

 

[Manuka Jock]

Harlow ,
You could have a bowl , large or small , made from a piece of it .
It could be turned either wet or dry .
If wet , it could be done for your mother to see and hold .
If you don't personally know a wood-turner , the local club will be able to help you out .

cheers ,
Jock

 

[rmount]

Maybe a garden bench so you can sit and enjoy the scenery as she did. The year before my mum passed away we built her a simple bench so she could watch a small waterfall on our property. That was almost 9 years ago and we still walk back to the bench every few months and remember her.

 

[julian 1973]

Elm rots easily so I would shy away from using it outside. If dried slowly it makes a great wood for furniture. I dried an american elm a few years ago using my solar kiln and it is very stable and is much easier to work than oak.

 

[Daninvan]

I'm sorry about your mom. I wish you all the best in what must be a difficult time for your family.

I would echo what the others have said about the elm, for something quick you could arrange for a bowl to be turned from it while wet. I would not use elm for outside pieces though, but it would make great furniture of any sort for inside. I'm just finishing up a large bookcase out of elm, and it is also popular for Japanese pieces, such as tansu and shoe cabinets.

If she is able, maybe you can ask your mom if there is something she would like to have made from it, maybe something of significance to her?

It sounds like a pretty substantial log so you should get some nice wide planks if you are able to mill the full 4'. FYI depending on the species of elm it can smell pretty rank though.

Good luck!

Dan

 

[isaaccarlson]

FYI depending on the species of elm it can smell pretty rank though.

My uncle used to call that "piss elm". He always got a weird look on his face when he talked about it because he had a bad one once that STUNK and he couldn't forget about it.

I like turning elm BTW. I made an elm honey drizzler that holds almost 1/2 a cup total and the usable portion is 1/4 cup!
I did not do much sanding on it...just wanted to make one I could actually use!

 

[isaaccarlson]

bump

 

[1harlowr]

Thank you for the suggestions. I will keep anything I make as an indoor finished item. I will try and get a few pictures up of the trunk. Thanks and keep the ideas coming.

 

[striperswaper]

live edge table tops?
try a thick cookie table top if you know of a way to prevent/minimize checking
and if you find a way please post
and I know what you guys are going through, sorry to hear that