Surfacing a Beautiful Elm Slab for Live Edge Furniture
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- Опубліковано 6 жов 2024
- Tonight we are surfacing a beautiful elm slab for some live edge furniture that will live in our house. It is hard to find elm of this size anymore do to the Dutch Elm disease that has made its way through the northeast. There are no shortage of elm trees, but there is a shortage of large elm trees so if you are able to get your hands on one you ought to treasure it. Historically elm was used quite a bit for building things that needed strength and if you've ever worked with it you would see why. On another note we are finally moving towards all of those woodworking and blacksmithing videos that we have talked about for so long. Hope you folks enjoy it and I'll see you on the next one.
tradesmanoffgri...
In 1972 we moved to a farm across the river from you (between Kingston and Brockville) and every full grown elm tree on the farm was standing but dead due to dutch elm disease. We heated our farm house with two wood stoves and most of the wood-splitting chores were my responsibility. I was just a kid so splitting elm required a sledge hammer and a wedge. That sure was tough, sinewy wood.
We also lost loads of Elm in the UK due to Dutch Elm. What a magnificent tree that wasn't really appreciated until they were gone.
Beautiful piece of nature
dont stop chatting i enjoy your chatter and keeps us interested.Happy New Year to you and family
Definitely a nice slab.
Nice Demo of technique, thanks. Sticks out - Slabs in, we'll take that. "She" will be pleased when it's finished.
I hope so.
One thing I'll say regarding elm,,, it WILL teach you patience. Some years ago I built a four piece bedroom set for my son. Originally I thought it'd be a ten weekend project. Invested 33 weekends all told. Beautiful wood that simply glows and worth every minute of my time.
You are spot on, nothing quite like it to work with...maybe iron wood.
Osage Orange that is heavily crotched and well seasoned belongs in the "list" as well.
Beautiful slab of wood. 👍👍👍
Dutch Elm disease did a number on them up here too. Emerald Ash Borers are the latest threat to our area. Nice to see you getting your kicks with a new project. Looking forward to whatever is next...
Ok, the coffee got my thumbs up, Now , shall I continue to watch the video. I wish you the best for this 2019, and the years to come.
Coffee is good for the soul.
Good Night Jim we got wiped out here also with Dutch Elm disease also,that's a beautiful piece of timber you wont see many more pieces like that now days ,the barn looks great drying out nicely .paul
If mama ain't happy nobody happy! Gotta keep mama happy.
Damn Skippy!
Jim, the elm I can remember in southern Ontario were huge as well. Beautiful sweeping branches that hung down. The Baltimore Orioles nested exclusively in the hanging branches with nests that they wove. Really miss the trees and the birds. Winter time for us in Texas, don’t miss the snow at all. Happy New Year my friend
Hi Prof, really good video, you look comfortable working in the shop
Elm properties: Hard, if not impossible, to split. Forget the froe.
Used for hubs in wooden wheels. When you think about all the wood that's not in a hub (mortises for spokes, hole for bearings and axle), you'll understand how tough it is.
Glad to see you having the muffs on. Probably no noisier tool in the shop than a router. "Screaming router" is redundant. I have two or three of those 690 bodies. I have the straight base (like yours), the D-handle base, and the plunge base. I really like the D-handle. I have other plunge routers I use more, but the P-C plunge does an adequate job.
At around $20 a pop, get the kids some Peltors (or equivalent). I bought three of them while working with my son on a project-one each for him and his two boys. Later, his three year old came down to help and even she put them on voluntarily. They'll thank me 40 years from now (that's metaphorical, because I'll be 113 by then, and likely unable to hear them).
They have hearing protection and tend to invade when I'm right in the middle of what I'm doing so I don't catch them not wearing them enough.
Great to see barn done, it's still sad. Love the elm it's going to be a beautiful piece. Happy New year to you and your family and to all.
Thank you Anthony.
Its good to see you doing some of the stuff you really enjoy. For so long the focus has been the barn.. the reality is it was only to give you space for these projects. Keep on keeping on.
So when are the Alaskan Chisel videos going to show up?
2 years... of pure bliss right?
Hey Jim, you're right, the sight of a full grown upright arch Elm is a sight to behold. Plus, I think it is beautiful wood. Nice job on that slab, it will be really sharp.
Thanks Tim.
Sure nice to have a chat when you don't have half your body covered with ice and snow from a nor'easter. Looks amazingly more comfy than last year for sure.
Much better AJ, so much better.
Hey Jim! Nice looking slab! That is going to be beautiful! Your wife will love that!! Happy wife...happy life!! Lol!! Congratulations on 2 years!
Thanks Jim! Happy New Year Jim and family! May you be blessed in this coming 2019 year.
Same to you Craig, it looks to be a good year coming up.
Just slabbed an old elm out of the Yard. All is air drying atm in the barn. Will be looking forward to see how yours turns out. Happy New Year Jim.
Bring it on Jim can’t wait to see what happens in the new year 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
Thanks Alex.
Good morning Jim
I will agree with you. That elm is beautiful. I don’t know if I ever saw an elm tree much less any lumber from one
That dust mask is a good idea. I have who knows how many effects from all the abrasive dust I breathed especially planers and sanding.
I figure if I don't start now then down the road it won't be good.
I've done that method a few times - works well but so much mess. Happy New Year!
The mess is good for you.
Really enjoy your channel.
Thank you sir.
Nice sled work there Jim. Such a pity what has happened with our native Eastern Elm. Suggestion: try a bowl bit with the sled. I think you'll find much less sanding vs. A flat/straight bit. Keep warm!
You Dawg... A Peter Wright! 242 lbs. NICE!
-Will
Hey buddy.
Time for a dust collection system build!
That is on the list. How you doing today?
Doing good! Happy New Years to you and your family!
You should notch out a rail for the router jig to ride on to keep more uniform when facing your slabs. Just a thought in case the router tries to jump on you. Then the jig won’t jump. I had two or three different sled type jigs my router could lay in depending on width of stock I was using. Can’t afford a big ass planner so this worked for me.
Hey Bobby. That's not a bad idea.
Great looking Elm slab Jim, should make a beautiful table. Good idea on the router sled for doing larger slabs. I'm going to have to make me one for sure, I have some very wide ash and maple slabs that I need to put a nice level surface on. I didn't think that I could afford a planner that would plane 34" wide. Happy New Year Year to you and your family. Dan.
I split about a quarter cord of elm when I was a teen! Those long, twisted fibers almost killed me! I was saved by the forest ranger next door who saw my misery and brought over his splitter! :-)
I've split more of it than I care to think about by hand.
Jim Must have been a very large router bit.. Great to watch..Also liked your music
Thank you. It was a 1" straight bit.
Nice lookin wood, never seen a Router sled before pretty neet
It works very well and is about the most cost effective way to surface large slabs.
good camera detail; thinking of doing this with olive tree.
Hey Jim
Cant wait to see the PW just want to wish you and yours a happy new year mate
Thanks buddy, same to you.
Nice elm you got there. Now I know where to bring slabs too. 😁 Can't wait to see the anvil along with some blacksmithing. 👍 See you on the next one buddy. Have a good day. 🍻
Nice slab!
Thank you.
Evening Jim.... that's called Progress! It will be nice to see the variety of work you are going to show, I'm a big fan of woodworking so I hope to learn a lot of cool stuff watching you. One thing that you do, that I really like is the variety of camera shots and angles that you offer, really makes for a nice and entertaining video. Keep up the great work!
Thanks John. It's easier in the building than before to get them.
That’s even a bigger mess then the last one ! A mess to be proud of ! Great music too ~
I like messes, or at least making them.
TheTradesmanChannel haha, you and me both ! Happy New Year my friend!
Same to you.
Another good video Jim thank you
Thank you Ron.
Morning Jim. Nice looking slab you've got there. So, it's going to be a banquet, right? Can't wait to see your Peter Wright in action. Could be quite useful in making the hinges. You can punch the bolt holes if you make a square drift, and use carriage bolts.
Hello Thomas.
Thinking about all the sawdust and shavings you will be generating in the future, and as you are up a floor, what about cutting a hole in the floor (too small to fall through ........) to sweep all the wood waste into, then down a chute and into waste bags?
Save a lot of time trying to keep everywhere tidy.
That is a pretty good idea.
Great video Jim. Nice Elm slab buddy. Happy New Year!
Hey Mike, happy New Year.
nice slab, congrats on the anvil find, can't wait to see it in use
Me too. Needs a little work but it is usable as it is.
Elm Trees are really beautiful it's sad you don't have more of them there a lot of people don't understand just because we cut up and use wood as Carpenters doesn't mean we don't appreciate where it all came from it's the people that don't work with their hands the can't understand the importance of trees
Very well said Joe.
Dear Jim,
As your channel is about to commemorate it's two of existence, allow me to wish it a very happy birthday & many more happy returns. The year is not quite at an end yet you're now moving on to doing things you could only dream of a few months ago ( how time flies when you're having fun or in your case had a spell of bad luck). That piece of elm will surely exhibit all of it's finer qualities once you're under way & I am sure will meet with Madam's full approval. There's nothing more rewarding than to see one's own hard labour coming to fruition & you are delivering the results a little bit at a time. Very well done & see you next year my old fruit. Kind regards.
Thank you Dilip.
@@TheTradesmanChannel
Thank you Jim; see you next year & enjoy the next few hours with your loved ones. Kind regards.
Like watching all your video's timber frame or not. Lookin' forward to whatever you post.
Beautiful piece of timber Jim, we don’t have many Elms left here either 🏴🏴🏴🏴
Morning Jim, beautiful elm piece. Michael
Good morning Michael.
Grusse and a happy nieuwjear from Germanie Duitsland
Happy New Year to you as well.
Nice to see a nice slab of Elm being worked Jim. Not often you see it these days. Looking forward to the new vlogs! Love the choice of music as well. Wishing you and family a very Happy New Year. All the very best Jim. Graham 🇬🇧🇬🇧
Thanks Graham.
Jim, good stuff.
Thank you Wayne.
Hey Jim. looking great as usual. seeing you do that makes me want to automate that. fue pulleys and little drive motors and we could sit back and watch it do its thing.
I knew you'd engineer that thing for me. Truth to tell I already have a plan to do just that but it will be an involved build.
Awesome
Hey it's Jose, I was getting worried about you.
I got hooked on hells kitchen , so I have been watching every episode. LMAO. . I am up to season 13. I am taking a break to catch up on all my regular cool youtube videos. Barn looks great.
Really good to hear from you.
I was here with you last winter, and YES! It was a BITCH! LOL Thank God you're having a better time of it this year!
It was miserable last winter.
Nice video as usual thx
Thank you
Here in western Nebraska there are still elm trees everywhere. Most are dying but there are still a large number of living healthy Dutch elm trees around. The largest I have ever seen is right outside my front window, with a trunk diameter that must be close to 7-8’! It’s days are numbered though, and I have been campaigning to obtain the trunk of this awesome tree to make a crosscut section table. How would one go about cutting, stacking, and drying a huge crosscut section of elm to keep it from splitting?
You must have been down Lowville way for that anvil? That weather up that way has been crazy. My niece said they don't have snow now. She said it was in the 40s the other day. I've been kicking the can down the road on buying a router for quite awhile. I guess it's time to bite the bullet !!! Lol
Picked it up in Llyons Falls from an old guy. Weather in the north country has been crazy this year. Get the router.
That elm looks beautiful! Happy new year! Looking forward to 2019 videos! 2019 is going to be a great year! Cheers!
Thank you
I know my grandfather use to cut trees for a living up in aroostook county and he use to tell stories about how big and how many days it would take too cut them and clean up there solid
I love Maine, that's a helluva county up there.
Like Button Hit!!!
Pretty awesome..... I have a couple of black walnut crosscut slabs that I want to make into end tables. Do you have a suggestion to help stop checking?
Thanks Henry Schmidt
Seal the end grains with latex paint, was, or Anchorseal. If you have checks after that, you can put bowties in where the checks are.
Hi Jim - As you probably know I'm a fan of your work but I saw something in this video that I must criticize. A little history first. I worked in the group that controlled any work on radioactive equipment at Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant in New York. One rule we had was if one worker wore protective gear - everyone in the area wore the same gear. You were wearing a half face respirator when surfacing the Elm slab - a good thing. My criticism is your kids came in while dust was flying without them wearing any similar protective devices. If you thought there was a hazard for yourself then the hazard would be the same for them. Just my two cents.
Hey Jim,
With all the wood working you're planning, maybe you can get that sawdust stove finished up and stay warm. You'll have plenty of fuel generated...lol.
I noticed your slead was sliding off the far rail occasionally, could you put a lip on the end of the slead to keep it from sliding off? Just a thought.
Keep up the nice work, looking forward to the next time. Stay safe and warm.
A lip on it is a goid idea and it never even crossed my mind.
while yes a lot of people started watching because of the timber framing i would imagine most of us will stick around to see what other crazy antics you get yourself into lol
You could be right Ben.
When I was still in Maine the construction company I worked for had to change a bridge footing away from a mature Dutch Elm and it was about 3 ft diameter. Hard to find.
Yes they are very hard to find with any size anymore.
You can take a monotonous chore and turn it into a beautiful video. Very nice piece of wood. Even if the timber framing is done I'm sure there will be great things made in this shop for you to share with all of us. :)
That's the fun part of UA-cam, making boring look like fun. I can't tell you how many projects I've done that looked "just awesome" on UA-cam and come to find out they just plain sucked to do.
@@TheTradesmanChannel hahaha. :)
You know Elm is tough stuff. My Dads favorite threat as a kid was Ill take a piss Elm switch to your ass if you don’t straighten up. Old Marines didn’t play when it came to punishment. The secret was knowing how far you could push without actually setting him off. Great content 👍
Brian that is funnier than hell. I like that.
Howdy Jim, loved that jig, thirty years ago in my sign shop i used a router a lot but i wasn't smart enough to make jigs and did a most by hand to route out wood around letters to give the sign a three dimentional look. Later we used film and sandblasted for the same affect. Anyway i used to hate that machine b/c of cyntriphical forces. anyway loved the last years and learned a lot....Happy New Years to you and the family. bob
Must've been a lot of profanity on those signs.
TheTradesmanChannel
Hey 👋 Jim, Very nice 👍 Elm 🌳 Slab you got there. Thanks for the last year teaching as Brother Bob stated. He really did letting in softwood with Router. He’s definitely Old, old School.
Have a Wonderful New Year with the Family and Blessings from Texas Mike (The Sober Canning)
Hello Sober Canning. How's your fiasco going?
TheTradesmanChannel Thanks for asking Jim, I was able to restore 80% of the drain fields before we left for visit Granddaughter, Daughter and Son-in-Law in Mukilteo, WA. Mostly just backfilling and ground work to the Texas wild grasses. Have a blessed and Happy New Year. 🎊
The coffee fill up made my have to p
I was thinking that would happen when I was editing.
You could build your own drum sander !!!
That is another one on the list.
At least u don’t have a snow bank in ur way lol
I see you are all ready enjoying the shop Jim. nice elm slab bet it turns out great . have you gotten the small shed empty yet?
I haven't even made a dent in the small shop yet.
TheTradesmanChannel I'd do it one project at a time and organize as I went.that way you want have to pack and unpack all at once.
Hey Jim very nice piece of Elm. I just made a router sled and got a plunge router for Christmas. What kind of router bit did you use and what was the diameter of it?
I was using a 1" Frued straight bit. I take small passes though to save wear on the router. It's slow but works well.
i live in north west ohio and we had mass quantities of old growth dutch ems. i dont know that there are any left. the desease wiped them out. im an old fart and i remember my grandmothers farm having many large elms. such a shame. i wonder if they will ever be replanted.
They grow back around here but once the bark gets rough the beetles move in.
and i thought i developed that milling technique. well i used it 30 yrs before you did. i mounted my router on the saddle. oh and i took small amounts and waited...black walnut.
I love black walnut.
Looking nice Jim. I make quite a few tables this way, with the router sled. The biggest so far is 4.5m X 500mm. Jarrah (Australian Hard wood). Like your Elm. not nice to work.
I couldn't even imagine the hardwoods you guys have there.
Now call me an old cynic, but I remember back in the mists of the pit of despondency era videos you said you would like to be doing timber framing as an occupation!
..... So this my be the end of Timber Framing Videos
...... For Now ;0)
For now indeed...until the next project that is.
Pretty new to your channel. How do you have all this woodworking and building talent and have plastic furniture? Come on now.
You got me there. Pretty sad isn't it? It is mostly a time thing, between a full time job, a farm and so forth time is at a premium. I'm at the point in life now though where I'm making time for my own home.
The end of an era. Fortunately you picked a good name for your channel. You'd be in an awkward spot if you'd went with something like Epic Timber Framed Barn
That would be an issue. I'll be doing more timber framing in the future though.
Jim, since you got the new anvil, does that mean you might be forging your own door hinges?
That means I will be.
Which bit do you use for that router.
It's a 1" Freud straight bit.
Yeah Elm is great sucks that hit got hit and just about gone from NNY
Have you tried building a jig for an electric planer? Much faster with less sanding.
I have not but I like the sounds of that. Sanding these slabs is a real chore.
Leo over on the Sampson Boat company channel has one. I’ve never seen one till then, and seems to do a good job.
That's a great channel to watch regardless of the specifics.
Great slab ! Stay warm. Is it a swedish anvil?
It's an English anvil, London pattern.
And yes the dutch Elm diease got nothern Illinois real bad.. They cut down hundreds of trees per month
Very sad. Next it will be ash trees.
Is it possible to replant an elm forest on your property?
We actually have quite a few of them but once the bark gets rough it's only a matter of time before the bugs get them.
@@TheTradesmanChannel "Planting trees that are Dutch Elm disease resistant." seems like an answer?
www.precisiontreemn.com/tips/dutch-elm-disease-what-you-need-to-know.html
One of the channels, I've been following "Kris Harbor" planted ? 250 thousand trees on his property, it will be a while, but his kids and grandkids will walk in a forest their fathers created. That's pretty awesome :) Wishing you and your family a supper 2019! Be well.
That is excellent.
probably was but they wouldn't know it cause irish can't spell you know...but i thinking better than skirt dancers :))))
What kills me is siding with live edge, live edge has all the sap wood still on the board and we all know sap wood is not durable, and people go ahead and make siding with it.
You know I've always thought the same thing. Nothing like leaving the bug wood on where the bugs live and the rain falls. Happy New Year.