This Is elm, right?

[Dandan]

Hi all,
Following on from this: quite-the-barn-find-t121636.html where I inadvertantly stumbled upon a lifetime supply of slabbed wood, things have moved on a little.
Unfortunately the owner suffered a stroke at the start of June, and as part of preparing his house for him to return from hospital (ground floor living from now on) his daughter asked me to make a simple windowsill for the kitchen, and suggested I could use the stored wood.
This has given me a chance to have a better look at the timber and I wanted you guys to just confirm that it's definitely english elm. What i've read seems to indicate as much, but as there's a chance I might get to use a fair amount of it in the future, it would be good to be sure.

Aside from what the pictures show, it's not hugely dense, slightly lighter than white oak, and it has a lovely warm brown colour, the sawdust is also like coffee grounds.
It works very well, my hand planes are distinctly amateur levels of sharp and they went through it beautifully.
You might spot the odd worm hole in the pictures, but they do seem to only be in the sapwood which is a relief. On that subject is there an accepted method of treating wormy wood to kill the little darlings?
They have been stored very well and all seem to be very straight which is good to know.







End grain under a magnifier:

 

[marcros]

It looks like elm to me. I notice a smell of cat wee, for want of a better description when cutting it.

 

[That would work]

100% yes elm. When it's fresh cut it smells kind of tangy.

 

[Dandan]

It didn't smell of anything when cut by hand, but then it has been drying for 30+ years. There was more odour when cut with a circular saw but i'm not sure tangy was the word, may have just been a bit of burning due to friction

 

[thetyreman]

das ist Ulme

 

[MikeG.]

das ist Ulme

Si, eso es olmo.

 

[Fitzroy]

There is good news and bad news.

The bad: Unfortunately those two worm holes mean it is all unusable and needs to be disposed of via an authorised company.

The good: I’m such a company and will come and remove it all free of charge as a gesture of goodwill to a fellow forum member.

Any future posts from me making stuff out of beautiful elm will be purely coincidental

Fitz.

 

[Max Power]

Definitely Elm, I use it all the time for wheel hubs, is there a large amount and do you want to sell any ?

 

[Lons]

Yep a nice find I have some I've had for a long time saved for projects to come. Here's a 3 legged stool with an elm top made for my granddaughter a few years ago.

 

[Bedrock]

I agree that it is elm, but I too would worry about the woodworm. I have used it from time to time for chair seats, and it is a beautiful timber. The grain is generally all over the place which lends to it's attraction, but I would check with a hand plane before you buy or commit to a project, as my experience is that if is has been stored for a long time, it could well be rock hard. I was given a slab of what I think was Wych Elm, many years ago. Although at that time I did not know what I know now, I could not get anywhere with a hand plane, nor with an electric planer which I hired. The woodworm got the best of it.
Apparently, it was used since at least Roman times for water pipes and gutters as it is resistant to rot, hence the coffin use.
Have also used it for replacement chisel handles as the interlocking grain means that it will resist splitting, but still looks good, and a bit more interesting than Box. Look forward to hearing how you get on. Just noticed your earlier reference to having tried hand planing. Sounds as though it may be good to go, subject to the woodworm.