Red elm, what's it good for?

[Okrafarmer]

I've not tried it but old timers say not to try splitting across the chunk like most other woods but to split slabs off the edge.

You have to do that with sweetgum, too. SG is notoriously hard to split, even though it is a relatively soft hardwood. It has interlocked grain. A woodsplitter does the job.

Cfarm, Peterson's guide shows a blob of slippery elm in central Maine, around Skowhegan and vicinity, for what it's worth. Peterson's has been wrong before.

[WDH]

There are exceptionally fine slippery elm (red elm) in the swamps and bottomlands around here.  However, it just goes for palletwood. 

[5quarter]

Okra... Red elm is also called slippery elm here.

[wesdor]

We had a couple of red elm here on the farm and the lumber looked nice. 

Couple of questions:  Is red elm susceptible to the dutch elm disease? 

If not, is it possible to purchase seedlings anywhere?  I would like to plan to few next spring if they had a good chance to survive.

[Okrafarmer]

I hope I can develop a market for the elm that's here, as it's brought in. We do have it around here, especially the winged elm. I cut one down once, and found  a rock in the middle of the stump. Good old MS 290 cut right through the rock. It was an inch or two in size.

[1woodguy]

About thirty years ago we were pushing trees down and we cut up afew red elms that were frozen and they split about the same as red oak until the sun warmed them up then a maul bounced on them

[thecfarm]

Okrafarmer,my Maine book only mentions that slippery elm,Ulmus rubra has been recorded in Franklin and York counties,but these records are historical,it stated. I'm in Franklin and York is down by the coast,NH border. But Skowhegan is only 45 minutes away too. Close enough. The book does state that "If it still occurs naturally in the state,it is undoubtedly quite rare."
American elm,Ulmus americana occurs through out the state.

[Axe Handle Hound]

I hope I can develop a market for the elm that's here, as it's brought in. We do have it around here, especially the winged elm. I cut one down once, and found  a rock in the middle of the stump. Good old MS 290 cut right through the rock. It was an inch or two in size.

I think it must have been pretty popular for furniture back in the day, in fact given the number of antiques I see that have at least some elm in them.  That being the case, the idea that it can be used for lumber is not out of the question.  The commercial mill up the road regularly has it in stock for about $2 per foot.  I don't know if they sell a whole lot of it, but I'd buy a truckload of red elm before a truckload of red oak anyday.  The elm has way more visual appeal in my opinion.  The photo below shows the top of a Mission style nightstand I built out of red elm. The picture really doesn't do justice to the depth of color in the wood when you view it in person.


    

[Okrafarmer]

Just to clarify, I want to develop markets for every species in my area-- a very ambitious project, I realize. I really like it when wood sells itself-- meaning, when I take somebody into my wood storage area, they see a piece of wood, and say-- "Wow, what's that? I've got to have it!"

[Bibbyman]

I've not seen as much shake and shell in red elm as I have in these logs.



 

Here are some parts from the log I pictured on the mill.  I was the best of the lot and some fell aprart and others have a lot of shake in them.



 

Here is an end view of parts from the other logs that were worse.

We cut 2x3 x 40" blocking out of it and pitched the worst parts.  I just hope our customer does not complain.  :'(

[Okrafarmer]

That's too bad, Bibby.

[WDH]

I see pieces of elm in older "oak" furniture all the time. 

Bibby, that stuff is pretty ratty.

[tyb525]

I have noticed sometimes the standing dead elm will have shake pretty bad, also stinks pretty bad, I think it is caused by decay rather than the wind.

[Okrafarmer]

Could be.

[shelbycharger400]

Bibby... ur right
Went to buddys house this morning, 24 in at the butt. first 20 feet looks good with not a lot of taper, no branches either. Not an elm, its a red oak.   Didn't spent too much time looking, but its darker wood so im thinking its a black or blackjack. definately not pinkish like pin. definately not the typical "red" of northern red oak.
And its going to be fun to get even my short mill in their. People that owned it before him cut off stumps a few inches above the ground and everything upgrew about 4 feet. To top it off, its down in a "fish bowl" nothing level or flat. 

  

For a reference, my 2 critters (kids) are about 4 ft tall.

[Bibbyman]

Looks like a good place for it! To stay, that is.