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Thread: Siberian Elm

  1. #1

    Siberian Elm

    Has anyone had experience with Siberian Elm? A large tree came down next door in a storm and I'm wondering if it's worth harvesting?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Colorado Springs
    Posts
    982
    I cut one down this summer. It has a nice contrast between heart and sap woods. It's fairly easy to work. You need to control drying or it will check. I lost a lot because I didn't have time to prepare it. I posted a platter last spring and I think Leo has posted a few pieces.
    "Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert Heinlein

    "[H]e had at home a lathe, and amused himself by turning napkin rings, with which he filled up his house, with the jealousy of an artist and the egotism of a bourgeois."
    Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Houston, TX
    Posts
    49
    It has a rather unpleasant smell.

  4. #4
    Turns very well and has a nice color.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    central New York
    Posts
    79
    Generally has a very sharp contrast between early wood and late wood, so the grain lines stand out very nicely on turned objects.
    you can never have too much pepperoni on your pizza or own too many clamps.

  6. #6
    I love it. Very pretty graining and easy to work. I found that it is severely different than Chinese Elm. No stink and softer wood.
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    No, it's not thin enough yet.
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  7. #7
    Thanks guys, I'll go get some free wood and give it a try.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Harvey, Michigan
    Posts
    20,801
    Great wood! Get all you can! Looking forward to seeing what you turn from it!
    Steve

    “You never know what you got til it's gone!”
    Please don’t let that happen!
    Become a financial Contributor today!

  9. #9
    After the storm we had there is truckloads of it.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Atikokan, Rainy River district, Ontario
    Posts
    3,540
    Quote Originally Posted by Art Everett View Post
    After the storm we had there is truckloads of it.
    I have turned a big truckload of Siberian Elm Art, with freezing rain and early snow storms these trees would loose a lot to all their limbs, as the tree doesn’t seem to know when to stop growing the leaves will stay on long after all other trees have shed their leaves, add to that it is a tree with a lot of fine twigs on the branches and limbs and you can load an awful load of ice on these twigs, same with the early heavy wet snow.

    So lots of free wood and experience with that wood, I also had two big Siberian Elms right behind my house, and got a lot of trimming to do, we had to take one down and also removed a big one for a neighbor, so lots of Siberian Elm wood turned.

    Turning it green can be a bit of a challenge in that the cambium under the bark is stringy and hard to cut smooth, later when dry there is no problem cutting the wood at all, not very hard and it often has very nice grain, it can almost look like Walnut.

    If you do a forum search with just “Siberian” as the word you will find quite a few posts and pictures of the Siberian Elm wood turnings, some of mine as well.

    A couple pictures here.

    3 Siberian Elm bowls.jpg Natural Edge Siberian Elm.jpg Siberian Elm bowl.jpg Siberian Elm rough turned.jpg Neighbors Siberian Elm .jpg Trimming Siberian Elm.jpg
    Have fun and take care

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