November 28, 2015  

Siberian Elm Live Edge Slab Table Top #1

I have been cutting a lot of slabs lately and building a lot of tops. This is the first one that I have finished out of a big double-crotch Siberian elm that I milled in the spring. The top is 36″ at the narrowest and 58″ at the widest. The slab was milled 3″ thick and was flattened and finished with a hand-planed surface at 2″ thick.

For those of you that haven’t heard yet, Siberian elm is one of my favorites. The wood needs nothing added to it to make it beautiful – just a clear top coat (actually four coats of Klearvar) is all it takes. The wood for this top is a delicious medium brown with tons of visual interest, especially where the main trunk splits into three branches.

The wood slab and the steel base (built by Commercial Fabrication) are going to serve as a 42″ bar-height community table in my customers newly remodeled basement.

The first of several Siberian elm slabs to get finished.

The first of several Siberian elm slabs to get finished.

 

A closer look shows all of the character of Siberian elm.

A little bit of finish and a closer look shows the character of Siberian elm.

 

Siberian elm log being processed on Lucas mill with slabbing attachment for logs up to 64" wide.

Siberian elm log being processed on the Lucas mill with slabbing attachment for logs up to 64″ wide.

 

Freshly milled Siberian elm slabs

Freshly milled Siberian elm slabs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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About wunderwoods

Hi! My name is Scott Wunder and I am the owner of WunderWoods Custom Woodworking. We build wine cellars, built-ins and furniture from local woods, here in St. Louis, MO. Recently, I finished a three-year term as the President of the St. Louis Woodworkers Guild, which had me writing a monthly article for our newsletter. I love to write, especially about wood, and found that I still had more to say. Every day I run into something wood related that I realize some of my customers don't know and this seems like a great forum for sharing what I have learned (instead of telling the same story to each person). The main thing to remember is that I try to keep it light and as my wife always reminds people that have just met me, "He is joking."

4 responses to “Siberian Elm Live Edge Slab Table Top #1”

  1. Wes Fordyce says :

    Hi Scott,
    A bit of Siberian Elm background: after theDutch Elm disease killed off many of America’s English elms in the 1940s or 1950s?, tree lovers sought a disease-resistant replacement windbreak, especially with memoirs of the 1930s Dust Bowl still fresh. (Dutch Elm disease was so named because its pathology was discovered by a pair of Dutch women, not because the elms were Dutch or the disease was Dutch.) My grandfather hosted meetings in the 1940s promoting the planting of Siberian elms, which can still be seen around Florissant.
    What no one foresaw was just how weedy these trees are, and how aggressively they spread. The Missouri Dept. of Conservation now says it’s a weed, “Don’t plant it!”
    You probably know this already, I just write it for those who haven’t heard it yet.
    Best, Wes

    Reply
  2. Dan says :

    What did you do for end checking/cracks? Epoxy n wood flour?

    Reply
  3. Barbara A Churilla says :

    Dear Scott, Just finished a photo series of live tree crotches, had a lot of fun doing it and researched your site to help write my explanation of the series of 20. Inverted a crotch from a grey birch and two sycamores as a trio which made them look like three pairs of human pants. Thanks for educating me on the more practical uses of tree crotches.
    Regards, Barbara

    Reply

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