Embedded Files
Elm is a hardwood and is light brown to dark brown, often with some red streaks.Elm has a distinct grain; rock elm has contrasting light and dark-areas.
Elm is a hardwood and is light brown to dark brown, often with some red streaks.Elm has a distinct grain; rock elm has contrasting light and dark-areas.
Properties
Properties
Average Dried Weight: 35 lbs/ft3 (565 kg/m3)
Elm grain is interlocked (making it very resistant to splitting). With a somewhat coarse, uneven texture.
Elm is susceptible to insect attack. Living trees are susceptible to Dutch elm disease. Elm is rated as non-durable.
Elm (rock elm, American elm) has excellent bending qualities; it's used in all types of furniture, and especially for bentwoods.
Elm is also typically used for Boxes, baskets,hockey sticks, veneer, archery bows, and paper (pulpwood).
Applications:
Applications:
Elm Can be a challenge to work because of interlocked grain.
Planing can cause tearout and/or fuzzy surfaces.
Poor dimensional stability.
Glues, stains, and finishes well.
Responds well to steam bending, and holds nails and screws well.
Steam Bending is a term used to describe heating wood to boiling point to soften it, so you can bend/twist/squash it into new shapes.
The plant-cell-walls in wood are a composite of about 50% Cellulose Fibers (what paper is made from) and 30% Lignin (a natural thermo-plastic). If you heat Lignin to boiling point (100 degrees Centigrade) it softens enough to allow the cellose fibers to move in the wood to enable the whole piece to yield to a new form.
When the wood cools the lignin bonds set again and when the wood dries (below 12% moiture content) the bend becomes permanent.
Sustainability:
Sustainability:
Because Dutch elm disease has destroyed so many trees, elm has become a rare wood. This makes it hard to source and expensive.This wood species is not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Elm is a hardwood therefore a slow growing tree, this means it should be sourced from sustainably managed forests.
Material handling & PPE:
Material handling & PPE:
Wear a dust mask while sanding to avoid dust inhalation which can cause short and long term damage to the lungs.
When steam bending wear protective heat resistant gloves and clothing.
RCA Spotlight
RCA Spotlight
Page updated
Report abuse