# Elm slab



## AndyL (Jun 3, 2011)

This little beauty just arrived  Looking forward to starting work with it, but it needs a couple of weeks indoors to acclimatise first.
It's going to make the tops for a set of end tables for my sister. Regretably she doesn't want the live edge so I'm going to have to trim it off  That'll leave me with some small but beautiful bits of burr, I'll have to think up something to do with those.


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

Nice looking piece of wood!


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

That's going to be pretty nice, Andy. What style table(s)?

David


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## AndyL (Jun 3, 2011)

difalkner said:


> That's going to be pretty nice, Andy. What style table(s)?


They're going to be nesting tables and I've got some 1x3 ash to make some simple frames, something along the lines of the drawing below.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Nice piece of wood Andy. I had a largish fork break off a Siberian elm I have so I took it and cut it into the straightest pieces I could and squared it up. The wood is very nice with a beautiful red color. I'm not sure now why so few people use elm for projects.


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## chiefjd (Nov 1, 2015)

I see a face on it---- KOOL


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## OPG3 (Jan 9, 2011)

That's a fine-looking slab of elm. With careful planning I am sure you will make the most of it!

Otis Guillebeau from Auburn, Georgia


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

look forward to the finished project photos.


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## Mayo.Mick (Sep 27, 2016)

Nice looking slab


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Andy you might be able to trim the live edges wide enough to save and glue up with maybe some narrow straight edged pieces to make some live edge tops or shelves.
Herb


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## AndyL (Jun 3, 2011)

I've cut out my table tops, picture below. Also a couple of the nicer offcuts. I still have a 3ft by 1ft chunk of slab left as well. So I'll need to think up something to do with those.

The tops turned out to have a bit of twist in them, about 1/8" corner to corner on the largest one. I'm not really sure what I can do about that, not a lot I suspect. A bit of cupping could be pulled out with a frame rail underneath, but a twist, not so much. The only way I can think of is to accept the slight twist and scribe the frames to match it.


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## Mayo.Mick (Sep 27, 2016)

Use the offcuts to route a sign maybe? Really nice grain


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Can you hand plane the twist out? Use the planer for the other side. Use a 1x3 or possibly smaller piece to truss You might also use the cutoffs to make more delicate, tapered legs. That is such a beautiful piece of wood.

Here's a demo of flattening twist with a hand plane. 




Here's a video of flattening a twist with a power planer. 




Here is a better video of hand planing. 




With a small piece, you can use plenty of carpet tape to hold the piece in place.


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## AndyL (Jun 3, 2011)

Unfortunately I don't think I have the thickness to do that Tom. I'd need to take 1/8" off both sides, which would leave me with a top 5/8" thick.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Hi, I have a set of near antique nesting tables with very thin tops, and tapered and turned legs that are quite beautiful and stable. There are 2 inch hardwood trusses (frames) on the back and two sides of each of these tables, with an open front for the next table to slide in. Those trusses will help prevent further twisting, especially at 5/8ths thickness.

You might also consider (after removing the twist, creating a second layer below to add strength and thickness, a less expensive piece of the same material could be used for this purpose. Attached is a picture of the tables I have (but in better condition). The legs are delicate, but you could simply use tapered legs. Or straight legs like the other example.

I'm posting this because your stock is really beautiful, and would be perfect for a more special looking set than what your original design shows And the techniques required are really not particularly more complicated. Of course you could use well concealed pocket screws and glue, which would simplify the construction.


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## AndyL (Jun 3, 2011)

Hello again everyone. I've been off the forum for a while, as for one reason or another I haven't found much time for woodworking this year. But I did eventually finish the tables, here are some pictures. The frames are ash and the finish is Danish oil followed by a coat of wax.

The most tedious bit of the project was filling all the little cracks and holes in the highly-figured elm with epoxy. Every time I'd scrape it back and find bubbles or incompletely filled holes, or ones I'd missed. I think I went over each top about 4 times.


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## AndyL (Jun 3, 2011)

Here's the shipping crate I made to ship the tables to my sister. 1x3 rails pocket-screwed to 2x2 legs, hardboard panels, and some tongue-and-groove boards for the top. I figured if I put hinges and catches on it instead of just screwing the top down, maybe she'll find some use for the crate as storage.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Wow, those turned out really nice. I love nested tables, the ones I have my parents bought back in the early 1930s. There are a lot of very old sycamores that were slightly damaged in a forest fire a few miles from here. I sure wish I could harvest them, but they're on public land.


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## old coasty (Aug 15, 2014)

Really great job. The look of the tops is outstanding.


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## Tonto1 (Nov 10, 2016)

> sure wish I could harvest them, but they're on public land


Down here all you do is get a permit to harvest from the state. Not a big deal, it's only good for dead trees down here though. Typically for firewood.


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## Badger2 (Nov 11, 2014)

Hi Andy,
Any more progress on this project. If the live edge is scrap, I would gladly releave you of it and save taking up space! Ho Ho Ho!

Malcolm
PS, where are you in UK?


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## AndyL (Jun 3, 2011)

Hi Malcolm, I already have a few ideas for the leftovers. I need to make a base for a lamp and they could work for that. I'm in Surrey by the way.


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## AndyL (Jun 3, 2011)

Here's the lamp I made from a couple of the offcuts, with an LED array from an old head lamp and a fancy whisky bottle I'd been saving.
It looks pretty neat with all the tiny bubbles that formed inside the bottle when I filled it, but I guess they'll probably disappear over time.


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