Red Elm Mirror Frame and box

     Recently I got 120 board feet of Red Elm (slippery elm) that was to be flooring but ended up as misc. shorts at a lumber yard.  I confess I didn't know anything about elm until I got it to my shop. I took it 'cause it was a real good price.
    I now know that is gives more than its fair share of splitters, the cuts will be fuzzy if your tools aren't sharp and that the projects turn out pretty nice, if you like grain.  The mirror frame on the left is destined for sale.

     I made the frame with 12 inch mirror panels and you can see from this photo that the grain is quite pronounced. What isn't as obvious is the colour range from nearly white to reddish.  Someone will love it, or not.  Once I got the wood machined initially,  it was fine to work, and took the Rub On Poly finish quite well.

 This is the left overs.  I used a clear finish on the mirror frame and so thought I would see what happened with a Watco Danish Oil finish on the off cut box.  I like the Danish Oil better.  The brown tone in the Danish Oil  muted the red just a little and made it sort of "walnutish" in colour instead of the old style red mahogany colouring. 

You can see the variation in the grain patterns if you look closely. (one day I'll get to be a better photographer and get a better camera). Shop tools and techniques are more important right now.

Altogether I have been pleased with the results and look of the Red Elm.