Thread: Windfall English Elm - worth milling?

Given its a branch and Elm, it's probably not worth the the investment.
Also once you get the chainsaw and mill you may become seriously distracted from your wood work

Not easy to dry t the best of times. Branches make it even harder.

Definitely worth milling ! Its great stuff .
A traditional chair and furniture timber in UK and all over the world. Its known for its toughness back in the day .
Nothing like the toughness some Aussie woods are known for, their Much harder , it was used in UK when something tough was wanted to stand up to some abuse . Parts of wagons like axles I think . They made pipes and pumps from it pre everything else and its known for its great character and great colour and finishing abilities in furniture .

Have a look at this beauty of an Elm table top . Almost 13 feet long and 3 inches thick !! Blimey !

A Superb 18th Century Elm Farmhouse Table | Early Oak at Wysdom Hall

The base is Oak in that one read this for more about it .

A Superb 18th Century Elm Farmhouse Table | Early Oak at Wysdom Hall

I milled a huge one and posted here a while back .

Old Elm tree . Nice wood - Big Job

As you will see I took every straight bit I could . Every branch . Its now ready to start using . Some of those branches I re cut into smaller side table components a year back and they are waiting to go . Nothing at all wrong with branch parts . I cant see the slightest difference . The only thing I can think that might change with branch material is it could bend or cast as its being cut ? Is cast the word for it ? Is that a possible problem from branches ? Nothing like that noticed with mine .
This was the first full tree Ive milled but Ive been buying Elm and using it for plenty of years . I bought it all from the local tree millers . All local cut . The English miss the Elm its been dying off for years over there . There are English websites talking of the great Elms seen growing here in Vic Australia .

For just a branch you need a saw . You could get away with free hand cutting or get an Alaskan mill . That is a lot for just one branch . If you know you will be doing more when it turns up though a saw will be good value . I did the same . And can now pick and choose parts of logs for turning or one off bits of furniture as I'm cutting up other stuff for the fire . . Its a good thing as Im always coming across something that I can use . It pays me to do it for some of the thick Oak I use at times . I just bought some Plane tree logs the other week from the forum market place . Have been sawing the stuff up with the chain saw this week .

I hope Ive convinced you not to let a good traditional furniture wood go to waste .

Rob

PS . Some Elm cabinets I made some time ago.

A small TV cabinet . http://www.robertbrown.com.au/cabine...cabinet002.jpg

A four door cabinet . http://www.robertbrown.com.au/enclos...dresser003.jpg

Originally Posted by lyricnz

Hi team,
Just had a big branch fall off my 100+ year old english elm. Is it worth finally getting a chainsaw, and a milling frame, to cut some of it up for wood projects? Google tells me Elm isn't great. Alternatively, it's either mulch or off into the shed for a couple of years before firewood.

I would love a piece of that if you were getting rid of any, and I am conveniently in the next suburb to you. ��

Unfortunately, I won’t be back in Victoria for a few months....

Elm is one of the great timbers of all time. Beautiful grain, creamy sapwood running into chocolate heartwood, legendary toughness and durability. Seat timber for windsor chairs, Cooks Endeavour was elm and oak...Cherish it. P.S. the bark stick to the wood very well and will dry nicely and can be sanded back to reveal a fine and complex grain. When I was woodworking full time I could never get enough of it, excellent seller.