Elm - any good for woodworking?

Yes, it is a very decent hardwood, traditionally used for chair seats.

-- Bondo Gaposis

Did some reading on it just now. Any feedback on flat sawn vs. quartersawn?

Flat sawn is too “squirrely” for me. Quarter sawn looks almost like snake skin to me. It’s fine in small doses.

If you want to see some nice examples, there are some Amish furniture companies out there using it.

Trailway makes some pretty nice dining room. I don’t think there on line though. Daniels Amish uses it I think. They are on line.

Personally I wouldn’t be all that thrilled, but that’s just preference.

The elm furniture I have seen in Amish stores looks great. Nice color. I have orders to friends to save me any decent logs they get. Not sure on quarter compared to flat sawn.

Going by memory, elm has interlocked grain and resists splitting very well so it works well in chairs, mallets, wheels, anything that takes abuse.

-- Rick M, http://thewoodknack.blogspot.com/

+1 – bondo

Lots of elm showing up at the sawyer due to the dutch elm disease. I have used it occasionally and it works fairly well and finishes nicely as well.

He also mentioned there will be a lot more ash resulting from the emerald ash borer.

-- Earl "I'm a pessamist - generally that increases the chance that things will turn out better than expected"

The spiral grain in elm makes drying flatsawn lumber a challenge. Flatsawn elm tends to warp and twist, and the lossof quality in drying can be significant. Quartersawn is much more stable and easier to dry flatter. If I saw it, I tend to saw it a mite thick so that I can deal with the warp and twist.

-- Danny Located in Perry, GA. Forester. Wood-Mizer LT40HD35 Sawmill. Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln. hamsleyhardwood.com