Stocks Made From Elm....A Question, Please

[Mike Brooks]

I have seen an old mid western built chunk gun built in elm, looked good.

[Sweeney]

No, I trust the board members and this is why I suggested it.  I'll use the elm for furniture or something else and leave the stocks to the hard maples and cherries of the world.  I just hate seeing a nice tree die on my property, I don't burn wood, and I hate the thought of just letting it rot there.  That said, I have 100+ acres of trees and I surely can't use all of them and I haven't convinced myself that it's time to timber yet.

Dead standing timber is an essential part of a forest's ecosystem. They provide food in the form of bugs/insects and nesting for various woodpeckers. Nothing goes 'wasted' out there. I say be happy and keep an eye out for good ole standards - maple, cherry, walnut....

[Gaeckle]

I stocked up a rifle in hackberry, that species is in the elm family. The wood is hard, but stringy. I have a piece of it a halfstock blank. It is an ugly yellowish wood and should be used in making broom handles and such.

I've split elm by hand for the fireplace, it was to say the least a tedious job.

[vulture]

I've seen some cabinets and such made using Chinese Elm, local trash tree, almost as bad as the evil Russian Olive here where we live, don't know who first brought those things into the Basin but he Russian Olive has taken over and covers whole areas now and is one of the most difficult trees to remove, but back to my original statement.  The Chinese Elm in question was cut, cured, and then sawed by a local fellow using a small handy man's saw and the things he produced were really pretty.  The wood has great potential, at least some of it has, and he asked me once why I didn't try using it for a gun stock, I suppose I could get him to cut me a chunk thick enough to get a good blank out of, but I've never built a rifle using a blank, always purchased precarved stocks with the barrel channel and ramrod channel and hole already cut in, maybe I'll rethink this.

[GANGGREEN]

I've seen some cabinets and such made using Chinese Elm, local trash tree, almost as bad as the evil Russian Olive here where we live, don't know who first brought those things into the Basin but he Russian Olive has taken over and covers whole areas now and is one of the most difficult trees to remove, but back to my original statement.  The Chinese Elm in question was cut, cured, and then sawed by a local fellow using a small handy man's saw and the things he produced were really pretty.  The wood has great potential, at least some of it has, and he asked me once why I didn't try using it for a gun stock, I suppose I could get him to cut me a chunk thick enough to get a good blank out of, but I've never built a rifle using a blank, always purchased precarved stocks with the barrel channel and ramrod channel and hole already cut in, maybe I'll rethink this.

There are guys that will inlet it or even profile it for you.  I suspect it may be the first elm that they had ever been asked to inlet, but it might be worth a shot.  I agree with most of the other posters, all other things being equal, use cherry, maple or walnut.  That said, if the elm is free to you and you're curious, why not?

[GANGGREEN]

No, I trust the board members and this is why I suggested it.  I'll use the elm for furniture or something else and leave the stocks to the hard maples and cherries of the world.  I just hate seeing a nice tree die on my property, I don't burn wood, and I hate the thought of just letting it rot there.  That said, I have 100+ acres of trees and I surely can't use all of them and I haven't convinced myself that it's time to timber yet.

Dead standing timber is an essential part of a forest's ecosystem. They provide food in the form of bugs/insects and nesting for various woodpeckers. Nothing goes 'wasted' out there. I say be happy and keep an eye out for good ole standards - maple, cherry, walnut....

Good point.  I'm a full-time wildlife/nature professional and I do understand the value of dead, standing timber.  The elm is something unique and I try to make use of unique things that I find on my own property.  At this point, there are no cavity nesters in it and it's probably of questionable value, but it will provide some nice lumber.  I've also previously taken a spalted/curly maple off my property and I'm in the process of removing a very large American chestnut that's finally succumbed to the blight. 

[stuart cee dub]

Elm did have mainly one commercial use.It was used for ammunition boxes as it was split resistant.Occasionally you see it in old wood panelling.
Maybe a shooting box is a better use?

In my youth ,we too cut lots of American elm down after dutch elm disease came through Minnesota.Removal was mandatory.Very few stalwarts remain.And they seem to get sick eventually.

If it is an American Elm you have on your property and ,it is dead it will harbor the dutch elm beetle and the disease it carries.It should be cut down burned ,chipped , or buried. The critters live in between the bark and the wood.Debarking also takes it out of play. Turning into lumber renders it safe. Chinese Elm is not affected.

Burned quite a bit of Elm too.Spitting the big logs was nearly impossible unless it was quite cold and would still catch and trap the wedges and maul.Everything everyone said about being cross-grained is true.

[Joey R]

Elm makes a great anvil base/stand.

[Jim Kibler]

Wagon wheel hubs are the most notable use for elm.

[Mike Brooks]

Cannon carriage also.

[GANGGREEN]

Wagon wheel hubs are the most notable use for elm.

Interesting.  My father in law (now deceased, God rest his soul), gave my wife and I a lamp that he had made out of a Conestoga wagon wheel hub.  He found it in the bottom of a creek in Lancaster County, PA (where Conestoga actually is) and he pulled it out, cleaned it up and made it into a lamp.  It actually looks pretty cool.  I wonder if it was elm.

[Dale Campbell]

Elm is a wood that resists decay with constant immersion in water (like the wagon hub). Besides wagon hubs, where the resistance to splitting really shows, it was also used in wharves and docks in the days before treated lumber.

[Gaeckle]

Never knew that elm was used in wagon wheel hubs......it sure doesn't burn very well. In the winter we use wood to supplement our heat and reduce our heating bills. I keep all the scraps from rifle projects to use as tinder or starting the fire.....and I've noticed that when I toss in a piece of curly maple there it makes curly smoke!

[Mike Brooks]

Red elm sure burns fine at my place.