English elm

[Den Socling]

Since most elm around here are dead before reaching maturity, I don't have any experience with drying the stuff. I see from what I read that it is prone to warp. I'm trying to dry the stuff in New Zealand and it certainly is prone to warp. While there, I picked up a piece of quartersawn elm and brought it back to study. It's mighty strange stuff.



This was quartersawn to avoid warp and dried in a DH kiln.





I read that the stuff grows with a spiral twist that changes direction. Looking at the face of this board, it appears that longitudinal cells change direction so sharply that 'end grain' appears on the face. Those of you who know wood better than me - is that what yo see?

[Tom]

Den, are you talking about the dark spots in the picture?

Since they cross linear growth rings, I would suspect them to be fungal staining or rot before thinking them to be end-grain.  'Course I'm no expert and only guessing.  There's lots of stuff that happens in a kiln that I don't know about.  :D

The broken and cracked areas look like the board was dropped.  I see that when the tree was dropped across another tree or the board was mishandled later.

[SwampDonkey]

Most softwoods up here grow that way. They swirl left for a few years, then start the other way, but there is a few years where it's straight and then it spirals right. Old growth softwood, and I notice the same with our rock maple, have a very pronounced right spiral. You'll notice quite twist in the maple and it begins to lean in that twisty growth. I've seen some old fir,and 90 years is old, but it was real twisting stuff. It was dead with the bark off it by then. Seen 3 or 4 on the woodlot left as stubs. Some people call those old spirally red spruce wind shake, but it's the grain.



Here's one of those old twisty maples.

[Den Socling]

Here is a picture that shows more area.



My theory is that where the 'end grain' has been cut, it dumps water and ends up with the cracks.

As you can see, Tom, the cracks are very localized.

[SwampDonkey]

Pretty funky stuff Den.  ;D

[Den Socling]

You should see it in a vacuum kiln! It dumps water with very little heat. When I finally made a trip over there and picked up this piece, my eyes crossed from staring.    :D

[Tom]

You might be right there, Den.  It sure is pretty though.  I have seen that  here in sycamore and pine.  It's a "sheen" on the board, 'course I don't know about the cracks maybe that is end grain separating.  It almost looks like the checkerboard pattern of dry rot. 

[SwampDonkey]

I have found green elm very wet, the water just weeps out of the stuff. Hit the end grain with a hammer and get squirt with elm juice in the eye.  : :D :D

[aom]

congratulations, english elm or red elm as we sometimes call it here in Wales is one of my favourite timbers, but it twists, warps etc terribly, the splits you are having are actually end grain. english elm is noted for its cross grained effect, if you peel a log and look on the outer surface sometimes the grain goes straight up then spiral in one direction, then spiral in another direction, all within an inch or two. theeffect of which is the varied ribbon effect on your quarter sawn board, hence some of the fibres run parralel to the plank and others practically across the board. if you had a tangential sawn board the grain would look like a whole load of swirls, beautiful. The industry here in the UK always had problems handling english elm, it was used where toughnes was required, it was rated as the best for cart wheel hubs, and if youve ever tried to split the stuff, you,ll know how hard it is to split. Eventually ERCOL, a large furniture company started to mill the stuff, they air dried it a year per inch thickness and then kilned it, those that tried to kiln it from green had problems, ercol found that by doing it this way they lessoned movements in the finished furniture. I havent seen a piece of english elm in years, as its mostly wych elm I come across, Enjoy it as long as it lasts.

[WDH]

I read that the stuff grows with a spiral twist that changes direction. Looking at the face of this board, it appears that longitudinal cells change direction so sharply that 'end grain' appears on the face. Those of you who know wood better than me - is that what yo see?

That is so weird.  I never knew that spiral grain could be as bad as what you are showing. 

[urbanlumberinc]

Den, I too have sawn and dried some English Elm, and can say it's one of my most and least favorite woods.  I've come to the conclusion that when I saw English elm I'd better not count my chickens before they hatch.  I'd estimate, conservativley, that of all the English Elm I've sawn and dried (which granted, hasn't been all that much by forum standards) maybee 35-40% ended up as usable lumber.  The rest ended up as BTU's ;D