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I am going to be recieving and building some furniture pieces with some reclaimed Elm. The stuff is in large beams and is over 100 years old. I got a sample and it is truly beautiful. I resawed a small piece and the tap is fabulous. Has anyone built with Elm before? Any feedback?

I haven't built a guitar with Elm....but the couple projects I have attempted with Elm have not been real positive. I found that working with it was similar to cottonwood. Moisture content needs to be below 7% to have any workability. If it is more than that...it feathers and is impossible to sand with any good results.
Old growth and age will be in your favor.
It's worth a try.
Kent Bailey

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Thanks for the reply. This will be my first time working with the stuff. It is definately very dry although I haven't put a meter to it. The piece I sanded buffed to a beautiful luster quickly and easily. I think you may be right about the old growth and age. I'll see how the bigger pieces are when they come in.

Do it! Some of that old Elm is beautiful stuff.

If you don't really want to try it out... resaw me a set... I will try it out.

Thanks

John

Hey Truckjohn, if the big pieces come in and look viable, I'll contact you.