Elm help

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srt

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Hi all i have recently been working with oak and find it a very hard wood, i like the look of elm and was wondering how hard it is compared to oak?
 
Elm is also a hard timber, and considerably harder to work than oak, because the grain is often very interlocked, which means you are going against the grain whichever way you plane! It can finish beautifully, though, so is worth the effort. I've not used it much, and not for some years, but I did once make an elm nest of tables and they looked PDG to me. Lots of sanding and filling of grain to get a smooth finish.
S
 
Steve Maskery":11esg553 said:
Elm is also a hard timber, and considerably harder to work than oak, because the grain is often very interlocked, which means you are going against the grain whichever way you plane! It can finish beautifully, though, so is worth the effort. I've not used it much, and not for some years, but I did once make an elm nest of tables and they looked PDG to me. Lots of sanding and filling of grain to get a smooth finish.
S

Cheers Steve i like the finish you get from oak but its so hard on tools and nothing stays sharp for long :| are there any other hard woods that you would recommend?
 
Well there is a reason why they are called Hardwoods...!
Cherry works very nicely, maple is very hard, walnut is quite soft, as is mahogany. It all depends on what you want to do.
S
 
I have a general rule that if it's hard work, check that your tools are sharp. Could it be that you are not getting your tools as sharp as they could be? A really sharp plane leave a lovely finish on oak.

Chris
 
Mr T":2uuzhola said:
I have a general rule that if it's hard work, check that your tools are sharp. Could it be that you are not getting your tools as sharp as they could be? A really sharp plane leave a lovely finish on oak.

Chris
Spot on here...these timbers are easy to use, but your tools need to be really sharp and well tuned. Elm, after oak is one...

cabibet011small.jpg


of my favourite timbers - Rob
 
Mr T":2x6om57h said:
I have a general rule that if it's hard work, check that your tools are sharp. Could it be that you are not getting your tools as sharp as they could be? A really sharp plane leave a lovely finish on oak.

Chris

Very true Chris there is an art to sharpening and iam yet to master it the main culprate is the mortice bit for my morticer :x
 
If you like the look of oak, try using sweet chestnut. It has all the characteristics of oak but is lighter in weight and more stable.

Les
 
I like this little story about oak and chestnut. I don't know if it's true or apochryphal, but it makes me smile.

A timber merchant died and his sons arranged the funeral. They hired the local Funeral Directors and ordered an oak coffin. The funeral went ahead, but when the sons got the bill for an oak coffin, they complained that they had actually received a chestnut coffin, which, of course, should have been cheaper.

The rather annoyed undertaker pointed out that that timber had been sold to him as oak by the deceased...
 
=D> made me chuckle. I always give the wood a good sniff now, after being confused between the two in the past.
 
Trouble is, there is hardly any difference in price now of oak and sweet chestnut.

But chestnut is slightly easier to work.

Les
 
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