Elm for turning.

[Cecil Arnold]

I've managed to find some hackberry as well as some wood I've tentatively identified as red elm, water elm or slippery elm, depending on which color plate I look at. The logs are of a size that they will have to be trimmed to fit on my PM3520, so before I invest the labor necessary to cut, haul, and saw these heavy, hard suckers I wanted to know how well elm turns and if there are any unexpected problems with it.

[Mark Cothren]

I don't have Red Elm, but I sure enjoy turning the Elm that I have. It turns relatively easy and finishes up very nice. It moves a little when drying, but seems to resist cracks/checks/separations very well.

Hackberry is also a wood that I've turned. It has some very nice grain and colors in it. The wood I have sat on the ground for a few months and mostly all spalted. It also cuts nice and finishes up without much trouble.

I'd say get 'em both, for sure!

[John Hart]

The Elm that I've turned was very well behaved as far as cracks and movement....and had a shimmer to it that you couldn't see until finished. A plain...but very pretty wood.

[Mark Cothren]

Yep, I agree with John on the shimmer. Here's a little Elm bowl I did not too long ago.

[Jeremiah Jordan]

Nice looking bowl there Mark. Now I know John might ban me for saying this but, when I look at a bowl all I can think of is "Holy crap! Look at all of them pen blanks!"

Jeremiah

[Dennis Peacock]

Jeremiah......

That's a big no-no.!!!!! We don't cut up bowls for pen blanks!!!

If you want some pen blanks? PM me your address and tell me what species you want or I'll "surprise" you.!!!! How many ya want....500, 1000?

[Curtis O. Seebeck]

Cecil,

Take the hackberry and let it spalt for a while. It spalts really well and pretty quick. I have been selling spalted hackberry bowl blanks to raise money for our upcoming adoption and it has been really popular. Cut it into bowl blank size and put it in a pile of sawdust. Mkae sure it is moist but not wet. It will spalt in as little as 4 months, depending on the temperature. Here is a picture of a spalted hackberry hollow form one of my customers made from one of my blanks:

[Cecil Arnold]

Thanks everyone for the input. I have a 17 3/4" X 6 1/2" rough elm bowl on the lathe right now and will core it as soon as I can. May consider a block & tackle if I continue to turn things this big, that sucker was heavy. Turned it as fast as I could and still keep things from dancing, which was SLOW, but the curls came off almost like maple once it started to true up.

Mark, what finish did you use, is that Beal?

Curtis, I've started to stop at your place to look at some mesquite, but it's just a little out of the way when we come back from the farm (Gatesville) Would you be interested in swapping out some wood?

[Mark Cothren]

That's sanded thru 600 grit, just a light coat of BLO/TO/MS and then rubbed in a very thin coat of beeswax. I buffed it out with a soft, fairly clean wheel after it sat for a day or two.

[Curtis O. Seebeck]

Cecil,

I may be interested in a swap down the road a ways. Right now I am selling everything I can cut to try and raise money for our upcoming adoption expenses so I really don't have any to spare in a swap. If the adoption plans go as expected, I may be in a different position by March or so. We have a potential adoption from a girl that is due the end of January and it is private adoption so the fees will only be $6,000 instead of $20,000+ that it cost to go through an agency. If this works as we hope then I may truely be interested afterwards. We have already raised $3000 by selling blanks but are only 1/2 teh way there! Give me a shout sometime if you are in the area.

[Earl Eyre]

I have turned American Elm until I'm sick of it! It seems that they are being cut down around town all the time. Huge old trees that just get too big for the neighborhoods. Turns nice, finishes nice, looks nice. As always, you do need sharp tools as it is fairly soft.

Good luck on the "biggie" you are working on.

Earl