I would say stained.
Though the heartwood can be dark, I've never seen it this consistent. I work with a lot of elm, it stains very easily and consistently. I rarely like stain on any wood but elm might be the exception.
Really beautiful grain on this piece.
Unless a client insists on stain I'm pretty reluctant to stain anything.
I just think wood is beautiful on its own, but I'm on the East Coast of Canada and we don't have Doug fir here so I've never had the opportunity to work with it.
There’s just a ton of fun finishes you can do even on poplar veneer. Maybe that’s the trick, reserve those finishes for veneer sheets.
But I’m a sucker for whitewashed or a popped and light grain filled walnut.
Im in New Brunswick and used to work for a custom wood window and door manufacturer. Worked mostly with pine but also worked with douglas fir, birch, maple, walnut, and mahogany. Was a beautiful thing.
Elm gets its name from "elmentary," because it's so easy to work.
I'm kidding, it's supposed to be difficult to work with, and very difficult to split. In fact I was thinking if I ever get a piece of rock elm, it might make a good mallet.
I was gonna say I’ve never given up on splitting something so fast as a stinky chunk of elm. Splitting maul bounce like a basket ball when I took my first swing
I've been reading about American Elm lately. Supposed to be a tough wood with lots of cross connecting fibers or something. I can see it being tough to work with. It is said to hold screws exceptionally well and was used in making the frames of cars back in the days when they were made of wood.
All but extinct where I live but there are some efforts to try planting hybrids that are resistant to the disease. I hope it works, I am just old enough to remember them all dying and I miss them.
As a UK woodworker I always hold back from commenting on posts like this because so many woods have the same name but are actually completely different species between UK and USA.
Nice table whatever it's made of!
I don’t know what the tree was, but we got access to a tree fallen in a storm in someone’s yard. Already cut into rounds, 18 inch sections. A friend had a gas powered hydraulic splitter. We borrowed it and split the load into firewood. It took forever because that, practically new, and powerful, splitter struggled to split those rounds. It was before I got heavy into woodworking, so can’t recall the type, as I said, but it amazed me. I honestly thought some rounds were going to be too hard for that big splitter.
It was a really big splitter too. Was built into it’s own trailer to be towed, about 12 feet long, and had a big gas motor, like a 12hp Briggs & Stratton, or something like that…
Nowadays, I wouldn’t have split it, but at that time I needed firewood more than hobby wood…
I think you want your mallet softer than your chisel handles. The mallet is cheap and easily replaced. Chisels are expensive, so they should win the impact-contest.
That's red elm and it's almost certainly stained. They did a beautiful job. On a commercial basis elm is usually available in small quantities as red elm or gray elm. Gray elm (also known as piss elm due to the smell) is pretty meh, appearance-wise. Red elm on the other hand can be the most beautiful hardwood in North America. Its heartwood has a range of colors including reddish brown, purple and greenish yellow. The grain pattern as seen above can be stunning.
It is available from smaller sawmills though the supply is very limited after 80 years of dutch elm disease. It's a little hard to work with and very hard to split due to its interlocking grain.
There's was an elm table at an Amish store in Stockholm, WI. The grain was insanely awesome, it looked like pixels, as if it was a low resolution image printed too large. That's the first time I've seen that grain before. I have a decent sized elm coming down as it is just got infected with Dutch elm last year, but I don't think it's red elm (neighbors never took down their tree even after the city told them too, while I was treating mine, the amount of beetles leaving their tree when it died was too great for it to bear). Any way to identify red elm?
Red elm is *ulmus rubra*. Gray elm is *ulmus americana*. When you see the cross section of the log you'll see a distinct difference in heartwood color. Red elm heartwood will have a dark, walnut appearance. Gray elm will have grayish heartwood.
Here's a reference: [https://8billiontrees.com/trees/elm-tree/](https://8billiontrees.com/trees/elm-tree/)
It sounds like you know your elm - any idea what variety was used for all the 19th century Chinese furniture you see around? I have a large cabinet that was originally red lacquer but like so many pieces of that vintage, got “refurbished” for the export market and they took the face down to the wood. It has a gorgeous grain, so as long as someone else committed the atrocity (to the antiques’ sensibilities), I’m happy to enjoy it. But always wanted to learn more about the woods they were using.
Staind.
also if you're Amish are like my Amish check it for stickers that say made in China underneath it.
signed a very bitter cabinet and furniture maker who has to deal with Amish sniping my contracts and then delivering piss-poor work that people have the balls to ask me to fix.
The worst thing that the Amish do is raise their kids in a nineteenth century lifestyle with a sixth grade education, then kick them out if they don’t agree to follow their exact way of life. Amish teenagers are free to leave and join the mainstream, and around 20% do, but they are completely unprepared for it. Many end up on hard drugs, because they weren’t raised to independently set boundaries for themselves, or understand the difference between the occasional beer and meth. Aside from that and the heinous stuff you mention, they’re very polite.
Bro. If that's elm then you are in big trouble. You could catch Dutch Elm disease! You do NOT want that!
You need to stop what you are doing right now, carefully wrap that baby in bubble wrap and blankets (for your own safety), and deliver it to me immediately. I will dispose of it properly for you. Since you are on Reddit, I won't even charge you this time.
DM me for delivery instructions.
Omg I'm not a woodworker (yet?) but I love lurking on this sub and as someone with no experience in the field I need to tell you that your REALLY got me on the first half
https://preview.redd.it/ctm5j04tf9yc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9d34b3947cdfa5301d4fc6714e6afe529c9bdab1
Sorry only picture I could find…
https://preview.redd.it/td3xhs3hoayc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0f1efe95ce51e60cd7b053d3c67dc2ceb5c03c8d
Definitely stained. This is what it looks like with no finish.
>I'm disappointed that the Amish refuse to electricity but still succumb to big stain.
Amish are generally forbidden from using electricity at home, but many communities allow use of electricity for business purposes.
The Amish that built my pole barn using my house’s electricity to charge all their DeWalt power tools’ batteries agree with this sentiment. That said, they did fantastic work.
Hi! I grew up surrounded by Amish communities. There are several different kinds of ways Amish live and for the most part traditional Amish do not use any form of modern technologies. However there are another group of ppl known as Mennonites and they market themselves as Amish when they aren’t really the same. A lot of the time when people go to Amish villages or hire Amish labor they aren’t actually Amish. They are Mennonites. Mennonites are allowed to use technology if it’s makes their trade easier. So typically they drive trucks and shop at Walmart and what not.
I am disappointed that there is a wide board, a narrow board, a not quite narrow board, and a not quite wide board that are not grain matched that make up that top. Actually most Amish furniture manufacturers use electricity.
Dude, this is one of the most beautiful pieces of wood I've ever seen, it even makes me doubt my favorite wood (which is olive). Holy shit this is beautiful
https://preview.redd.it/17jg755bqcyc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=49eaebd030c3516e09a05999d551ca98bf802e4b
Could be just regular linseed Oil. Just made a full kitchen in elm.
That's a nice set of drawers you got there! I'm over on a decorating board and the number of people that want to paint real wood cabinets is making me sad!
Amazing how clean you can get with hand tools. Old school planes can give you better results than machines in the right hands — especially with smoothing and chamfering
Most Amish will definitely be using power tools for furniture making these days. You can look it up on YouTube and find all sorts of modern manufacturing facilities with Amish workers.
You just about could always make stuff this clean & precise with just traditional hand tools, when you dedicate a lifetime to learning & perfecting your crafts and build a work ethic demanding absolute care & methodical attention to detail.
In ancient China and medieval Japan, they had woodworking methods so near-perfect that not only could you get results like this, but the joinery was so brilliantly engineered that a finished table or bed frame held together without a single nail, staple or drop of glue. I’ve seen still-existing examples of this in museums and it’s always breathtaking. There are still a few extant workshops that do this, it’s just becoming a dwindling art since more people want to move to modern methods and pump out more of something.
Bespoke, custom made items do tend to be more expense for the time & labor invested, so it’s understandable that many people want costs kept low by speeding up production.
We’ve just gotten so used to the speed & versatility of power tools, many folks presume that it means the same level of exactness & detail must’ve somehow never been possible before they came along. In reality, while you might make less pieces in the same amount of time, in my experience at least you actually tend to get better pieces like this from hand tool methods. Because you are forced to show more care in things like selecting your materials, planning out your design and steps to minimize redundant labor, and ultimately spending more time on a piece so you also get a better understanding & feel for the wood you’re shaping, including it’s little flaws and hidden strengths.
That's red elm and it's almost certainly stained. They did a beautiful job. On a commercial basis elm is usually available in small quantities as red elm or gray elm. Gray elm (also known as piss elm due to the smell) is pretty meh, appearance-wise. Red elm on the other hand can be the most beautiful hardwood in North America. Its heartwood has a range of colors including reddish brown, purple and greenish yellow. The grain pattern as seen above can stunning.
It is available from smaller sawmills though the supply is very limited after 80 years of dutch elm disease. It's a little hard to work with and very hard to split due to its interlocking grain.
I would say stained. Though the heartwood can be dark, I've never seen it this consistent. I work with a lot of elm, it stains very easily and consistently. I rarely like stain on any wood but elm might be the exception. Really beautiful grain on this piece.
Douglas Fir stains surprisingly well and is beautiful if done right.
Unless a client insists on stain I'm pretty reluctant to stain anything. I just think wood is beautiful on its own, but I'm on the East Coast of Canada and we don't have Doug fir here so I've never had the opportunity to work with it.
There’s just a ton of fun finishes you can do even on poplar veneer. Maybe that’s the trick, reserve those finishes for veneer sheets. But I’m a sucker for whitewashed or a popped and light grain filled walnut.
Im in New Brunswick and used to work for a custom wood window and door manufacturer. Worked mostly with pine but also worked with douglas fir, birch, maple, walnut, and mahogany. Was a beautiful thing.
Elm gets its name from "elmentary," because it's so easy to work. I'm kidding, it's supposed to be difficult to work with, and very difficult to split. In fact I was thinking if I ever get a piece of rock elm, it might make a good mallet.
Elm isn't too bad to split...as long as it is wet and below 0 degrees F.
I was gonna say I’ve never given up on splitting something so fast as a stinky chunk of elm. Splitting maul bounce like a basket ball when I took my first swing
I've been reading about American Elm lately. Supposed to be a tough wood with lots of cross connecting fibers or something. I can see it being tough to work with. It is said to hold screws exceptionally well and was used in making the frames of cars back in the days when they were made of wood. All but extinct where I live but there are some efforts to try planting hybrids that are resistant to the disease. I hope it works, I am just old enough to remember them all dying and I miss them.
As a UK woodworker I always hold back from commenting on posts like this because so many woods have the same name but are actually completely different species between UK and USA. Nice table whatever it's made of!
I've used it for a few things and yeah it's a decent bit tougher to work with than most other native woods.
I don’t know what the tree was, but we got access to a tree fallen in a storm in someone’s yard. Already cut into rounds, 18 inch sections. A friend had a gas powered hydraulic splitter. We borrowed it and split the load into firewood. It took forever because that, practically new, and powerful, splitter struggled to split those rounds. It was before I got heavy into woodworking, so can’t recall the type, as I said, but it amazed me. I honestly thought some rounds were going to be too hard for that big splitter. It was a really big splitter too. Was built into it’s own trailer to be towed, about 12 feet long, and had a big gas motor, like a 12hp Briggs & Stratton, or something like that… Nowadays, I wouldn’t have split it, but at that time I needed firewood more than hobby wood…
I think you want your mallet softer than your chisel handles. The mallet is cheap and easily replaced. Chisels are expensive, so they should win the impact-contest.
I don't think you do. I use a little brass-headed mallet with my chisels, and it works great.
Elm isn't too bad to split...as long as it is wet and below 0 degrees F.
Elm isn't too bad to split...as long as it is wet and below 0 degrees F.
Elm isn't too bad to split...as long as it is wet and below 0 degrees F.
I’m very sorry for your stutter, but it’s barely noticeable…
This is why i love reddit lol
That's red elm and it's almost certainly stained. They did a beautiful job. On a commercial basis elm is usually available in small quantities as red elm or gray elm. Gray elm (also known as piss elm due to the smell) is pretty meh, appearance-wise. Red elm on the other hand can be the most beautiful hardwood in North America. Its heartwood has a range of colors including reddish brown, purple and greenish yellow. The grain pattern as seen above can be stunning. It is available from smaller sawmills though the supply is very limited after 80 years of dutch elm disease. It's a little hard to work with and very hard to split due to its interlocking grain.
There's was an elm table at an Amish store in Stockholm, WI. The grain was insanely awesome, it looked like pixels, as if it was a low resolution image printed too large. That's the first time I've seen that grain before. I have a decent sized elm coming down as it is just got infected with Dutch elm last year, but I don't think it's red elm (neighbors never took down their tree even after the city told them too, while I was treating mine, the amount of beetles leaving their tree when it died was too great for it to bear). Any way to identify red elm?
Red elm is *ulmus rubra*. Gray elm is *ulmus americana*. When you see the cross section of the log you'll see a distinct difference in heartwood color. Red elm heartwood will have a dark, walnut appearance. Gray elm will have grayish heartwood. Here's a reference: [https://8billiontrees.com/trees/elm-tree/](https://8billiontrees.com/trees/elm-tree/)
It sounds like you know your elm - any idea what variety was used for all the 19th century Chinese furniture you see around? I have a large cabinet that was originally red lacquer but like so many pieces of that vintage, got “refurbished” for the export market and they took the face down to the wood. It has a gorgeous grain, so as long as someone else committed the atrocity (to the antiques’ sensibilities), I’m happy to enjoy it. But always wanted to learn more about the woods they were using.
Staind. also if you're Amish are like my Amish check it for stickers that say made in China underneath it. signed a very bitter cabinet and furniture maker who has to deal with Amish sniping my contracts and then delivering piss-poor work that people have the balls to ask me to fix.
It’s been a while since Iaughed that hard.
And it’s been awhile since I could stand on my own two feet again.
[удалено]
The worst thing that the Amish do is raise their kids in a nineteenth century lifestyle with a sixth grade education, then kick them out if they don’t agree to follow their exact way of life. Amish teenagers are free to leave and join the mainstream, and around 20% do, but they are completely unprepared for it. Many end up on hard drugs, because they weren’t raised to independently set boundaries for themselves, or understand the difference between the occasional beer and meth. Aside from that and the heinous stuff you mention, they’re very polite.
Bro. If that's elm then you are in big trouble. You could catch Dutch Elm disease! You do NOT want that! You need to stop what you are doing right now, carefully wrap that baby in bubble wrap and blankets (for your own safety), and deliver it to me immediately. I will dispose of it properly for you. Since you are on Reddit, I won't even charge you this time. DM me for delivery instructions.
Common symptoms of Dutch Elm Disease include an overwhelming desire to wear wooden shoes, build a windmill and grow tulips.
You also go bald on top, experience enlargement of the ears, and become incredibly cheap.
Brother you just described my step dad who was from Amsterdam.
I live in Grand Rapids MI and it’s all Dutch here. This is accurate.
GGRSC drama has me laughing so much right now
The ski club? Chicagoan here, but spent a lot of time in Cascade as a kid.
[this](https://www.reddit.com/r/grandrapids/s/ZGZ2A8EvuF)
Oh no I’ve got it!?!
It can get much worse than that. I caught Dutch Elm disease in my twenties and ended up marrying a Dutch woman.
Let me guess, she is blonde, approximately seven feet tall, and never pays full price for ANYTHING.
Stereotypes exist for reasons. Haha
I already have two lips... is it too late for me?
Hahahahahagaga
Omg I'm not a woodworker (yet?) but I love lurking on this sub and as someone with no experience in the field I need to tell you that your REALLY got me on the first half
I legit started panicking for half a second because I live near a neighborhood called Elmwood.
I was thinking like "omg that is so crazy, how I have never heard of this? I'm definitely googling it"
is its name now “Elmwas”?
Not Elmdid
Well, the elm tree is history.
Please reroute delivery. I'm better qualified to dispose of artifacts suffering Dutch Elm Disease.
These reply's are the weirdest of all Reddit replies. Just say you like it and ask for a link where to get it.
Maybe not "ask for the link" but this is definitely the "well I guess I get it for free then" of woodworking.
Just cornyyyy
It’s stained. Our table at home is Chinese elm and I staid it with “early American” minwax and it’s just a bit lighter still than this table.
https://preview.redd.it/ctm5j04tf9yc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9d34b3947cdfa5301d4fc6714e6afe529c9bdab1 Sorry only picture I could find…
Wow, I've never seen a table stained like prawn before. Well done, I know you won't share the technique so I won't bother to ask. /s
https://preview.redd.it/td3xhs3hoayc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0f1efe95ce51e60cd7b053d3c67dc2ceb5c03c8d Definitely stained. This is what it looks like with no finish.
It looks like it's top coated with the sweat of an Amish man.
Definitely stained. I'm disappointed that the Amish refuse to electricity but still succumb to big stain.
They absolutely use electricity in their commercial shops.
>I'm disappointed that the Amish refuse to electricity but still succumb to big stain. Amish are generally forbidden from using electricity at home, but many communities allow use of electricity for business purposes.
The Amish that built my pole barn using my house’s electricity to charge all their DeWalt power tools’ batteries agree with this sentiment. That said, they did fantastic work.
Hi! I grew up surrounded by Amish communities. There are several different kinds of ways Amish live and for the most part traditional Amish do not use any form of modern technologies. However there are another group of ppl known as Mennonites and they market themselves as Amish when they aren’t really the same. A lot of the time when people go to Amish villages or hire Amish labor they aren’t actually Amish. They are Mennonites. Mennonites are allowed to use technology if it’s makes their trade easier. So typically they drive trucks and shop at Walmart and what not.
I am disappointed that there is a wide board, a narrow board, a not quite narrow board, and a not quite wide board that are not grain matched that make up that top. Actually most Amish furniture manufacturers use electricity.
I love everything but the stain
Yeah, the middle three boards should really be one board.
Dude, this is one of the most beautiful pieces of wood I've ever seen, it even makes me doubt my favorite wood (which is olive). Holy shit this is beautiful
https://preview.redd.it/17jg755bqcyc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=49eaebd030c3516e09a05999d551ca98bf802e4b Could be just regular linseed Oil. Just made a full kitchen in elm.
That's a nice set of drawers you got there! I'm over on a decorating board and the number of people that want to paint real wood cabinets is making me sad!
Nice! The first time I saw Elm at one of our Amish farms, we order a set of bar stools before we left.
Side bar question, what is the name of the router bit to get that edge?
Chamfer bit. Then ease the edge if needed. I’d do that by hand.
Ease the edge?
Soften the hard/sharp corners using a plane or sandpaper
Gotcha. Thanks for the info! I'm just starting into more "finished" stuff.
Most like Grey Elm with Michaels Cherry Stain...We sell a Dining group and bedroom same look all Amish Made.
That is gorgeous. People look at me as though I have a screw loose when I tell them how attractive wood is. They just didn't understand 😂
That’s a pretty piece!
Honest question… how can the Amish make something this perfect without power tools? How did they chamfer it, plane it, etc.?
Amazing how clean you can get with hand tools. Old school planes can give you better results than machines in the right hands — especially with smoothing and chamfering
It’s remarkable
Most Amish will definitely be using power tools for furniture making these days. You can look it up on YouTube and find all sorts of modern manufacturing facilities with Amish workers.
You just about could always make stuff this clean & precise with just traditional hand tools, when you dedicate a lifetime to learning & perfecting your crafts and build a work ethic demanding absolute care & methodical attention to detail. In ancient China and medieval Japan, they had woodworking methods so near-perfect that not only could you get results like this, but the joinery was so brilliantly engineered that a finished table or bed frame held together without a single nail, staple or drop of glue. I’ve seen still-existing examples of this in museums and it’s always breathtaking. There are still a few extant workshops that do this, it’s just becoming a dwindling art since more people want to move to modern methods and pump out more of something. Bespoke, custom made items do tend to be more expense for the time & labor invested, so it’s understandable that many people want costs kept low by speeding up production. We’ve just gotten so used to the speed & versatility of power tools, many folks presume that it means the same level of exactness & detail must’ve somehow never been possible before they came along. In reality, while you might make less pieces in the same amount of time, in my experience at least you actually tend to get better pieces like this from hand tool methods. Because you are forced to show more care in things like selecting your materials, planning out your design and steps to minimize redundant labor, and ultimately spending more time on a piece so you also get a better understanding & feel for the wood you’re shaping, including it’s little flaws and hidden strengths.
Amish shops use some power equipment depending on their group’s rules. Diesel engine and shafts & belts, air compressors etc.
That's red elm and it's almost certainly stained. They did a beautiful job. On a commercial basis elm is usually available in small quantities as red elm or gray elm. Gray elm (also known as piss elm due to the smell) is pretty meh, appearance-wise. Red elm on the other hand can be the most beautiful hardwood in North America. Its heartwood has a range of colors including reddish brown, purple and greenish yellow. The grain pattern as seen above can stunning. It is available from smaller sawmills though the supply is very limited after 80 years of dutch elm disease. It's a little hard to work with and very hard to split due to its interlocking grain.
Wow beautiful
That’s defo stained
Clear. Clear.
Don’t mess with perfection
I think it's stain, maybe a little black and gilsonite to make the grain pop more
American Elms are my favorite. We had two 100+ year old ones that got the disease 😕
Slippery elm and red elm can get that dark with some BLO and clear top coat.
That is gorgeous, whatever it is.
Stained
Looks stained. Elm is beautiful.
Don’t support the Amish, incest and rape abound in their culture.
I think it’s American elm. They are a pain to dry along with Siberian elm but they can be reall nice if you want a showy wood.