English elm

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ELM, ENGLISH

Ulmus spp.

Ulmus procera and Ulmus campestris of the family Ulmaceae

See "elm, misc" for more discussion of the elm species and names (which are a mess) AND to see a sample of the "feathering" that makes elm relatively easy to identify.

my samples:
NOTE: these pics were all taken in very bright incandescent lighting ("soft white" at 2700K)
colors will vary under other lighting conditions

quartersawn English elm slab and closeup. HUGE enlargements are present and as you can see, this piece has some really nice ray flakes.

English elm slab and closeup. HUGE enlargements are present

both sides of a sample plank of English elm / Ulmus procera --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of English elm / Ulmus procera --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

English elm sample plank and end grain

end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a little strip of English elm sent to me by John Fuher while we were trying to ID it. I fine-sanded one side which is why the first pic above looks more smooth (particularly in the enlargements) than the second. --- HUGE enlargements are present. I took closeups (below) because this piece really shows the "feathering" quite nicely.

face grain closeups of the piece directly above --- HUGE enlargements are present.

English elm slab pair and four closeups, shot in the showroom of Urban Hardwoods in Seattle, WA. These are about 6 feet long. The store has some really amazing pieces of wood (mostly large slabs) that are either available for use or already made into tables, benches, etc. All of their wood is salvaged in and around Seattle. Their pieces go for very high prices but are beautifully worked. I don't recall their being any finish on these slabs but I may be wrong. If there was, it didn't change the color much if at all. As you can see in the last closeup, this piece has some terrific ray flakes in one area. HUGE enlargements are present.

English elm bowl (more like a platter really) and a closeup that I shot in a wood store. I am particularly pleased by the clarity of the fine grain detail in the 2nd enlargement of the closeup. I normally put made objects on the bottom of the wood pages but this one shows the grain detail of this flat cut piece so well that I felt it belongs up here with the raw wood pics. There must have been a finish on this piece but it didn't change the color at all.

web pics:

end grain listed as European mountain elm

planks all from the same vendor, all moistened for the pics, and all listed as English elm / Ulmus procera

slabs, all from the same vendor and all listed as English elm / Ulmus procera

crotchs, mositened for the pic and listed as English elm, Ulmus procera

crotch listed as English elm and shown with wet and dry sections

English elm crotch

listed as "pippy" English elm, this is really just English elm burl of the kind normally sold as Carpathian elm burl. It has been moistened for the pic (upper right corner is still dry for comparison)

English elm burl of the sort normally sold as Carpathian elm burl

English elm pin burl

three views of an English elm lidded "bowl" (some would call it a "pot") turned by John Fuher, whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. The orange tint is due to an unfortunate orange backdrop that John used behind the bowl. I cropped the bowl out of the backdrop but could not do anything about the reflections, so the color should be brownish throughout, not orange. HUGE enlargements are present and do a great job of showing fine grain details thanks to John's excellent photography

English elm bowl, turned and photographed by Eric Smoot who tells me the color is quite accurate. Thanks for the pic, Eric.

9" diameter English elm (Ulmus procera) bowl by Steve Earis who tells me the clunky look is because if was one of his first. I know the feeling exactly, as my own first bowl was very thick. New turners usually do not trust either the wood or themselves ... both come with experience and as one can see from numerous other bowls on this site, Steve is now quite an accomplished turner. Both levels of enlargement are available, so you can really see the grain.

English elm platter