Common Names: American Elm, soft elm, water elm, white elm, Florida elm
Short Description: Elm is a tough hardwood that is durable and split-resistant. It is softer than other hardwood but still offers excellent shock resistance. It has a rich wood grain with bold and beautiful spirals. Elm is ring-porous, which varies from large to very large earlywood pores.
Country of Origin: Eastern to Midwestern United States, Eastern Canada
Color: Light to medium reddish-brown to occasionally pink-brown heartwood; paler but well-defined sapwood
Janka Scale Hardness: 830 lb f (3,690 N)
Average Weight: 35 lbs/ft³ (560 kg/m³)
Common Uses: containers, pallets, furniture, pulpwood, flooring and light construction, sports equipment, tool handles, and woodware
What Is Elm Wood?
Elm is a sturdy soft hardwood with high-stress resistance used for many home pieces of furniture. It is a good wood for building things that bear strength and undergo stress, like a chair or a butcher block. It has a rich and warm color that stands out well when polished. Live edge slabs from elm are also used for rustic pieces and DIY projects.
Where Does Elm Woods Come From?
American Elm (Ulmus americana) is sourced from the deciduous elm tree. They can grow to more than 100 ft tall and 4 ft in diameter and live for about 200 to 300 years. Elms flourish in many types of forests but are particularly abundant in temperate and tropical regions. They are cultivated as ornamentals and as a source of timber when they amass the right size after they have aged.
Recently, elms have been hounded with Dutch elm diseases caused by dark beetles, leading to the development of disease-resistant cultivars for forestry.
Is Elm a Hardwood or Softwood?
Elm has an interesting classification. As a deciduous tree, it is technically considered a hardwood. Elm is softer than many hardwoods but harder than other softwoods, which makes elm wood halfway between soft and hardwood.
How Dense Is Elm Wood?
Elm is moderately heavy and dense with a density of about 34 to 38 lbs/ft³. Soft elms, like American and slippery elms, are not always favored for marine use. They have low tensile strength. Although they are durable and weather well, they are prone to rot and decay. If shipbuilders use elm, they would use hard or rock elm wood rather than soft elm.
Where Do Elm Trees Come From?
American elm thrives in eastern to midwestern North America. They are also naturally occurring in Nova Scotia, Alberta, and Montana. Elm is also found in the south of Florida and central Texas.
How Can I Tell That the Wood I Have Is Real Elm?
Elm is moderately light with prominent figures and growth ring patterns in its grain. Live edge elm slab has a coarse and uneven texture. Dry elm has very little odor compared to the unpleasant smell of freshly cut ones.
FAQs
Is elm a good option for outdoor furniture?
Elm makes good indoor and outdoor furniture because of its grain and resistance to water absorption. Use it to make a bench, end tables, a table top, shelves, bar tops, or mantels. However, it is not resistant to wood decay. You can prolong its life by sealing it on all sides with outdoor wood oil.
Are live edge elm slabs workable?
Elm is difficult to work with using hand tools but is manageable with a machine due to its interlocking grains. Wood fibers can tear away when cut across their grain without a power tool. But, elm tends to steam bend easily and holds its shape. It can hold nails, screws, glue, and stains, then sand to a perfect finish.
How to care for elm?
Protecting elm furniture is as easy as regular dusting or cleaning with a damp and microfiber cloth. You may apply high-quality sealer oil periodically to prevent it from drying and deforming.
Where To Buy Elm
Elm is prevalent in many regions, but it is only sometimes readily available since there are fewer mature trees due to the disease. You can find it in specialty lumber dealers like Alderfer Lumber Company Inc.
Alderfer has an ample supply of gorgeous live edge elm slabs. Just check our website and email us the SKU number for the available cut. At Alderfer, we ensure that woodworkers have enough domestic and exotic timber for their wood projects. If you can’t find what you are looking for, drop us an email, and we will check our inventory for its availability.
