I'll enjoy watching this table take shape. Get me inspired to do more of this kind of work like I did back in my antique shop days. They dropped a dead elm at the shop and I took some of it home. Used it to make a 3-drawer farm table about the same size as yours. My elm has such wild curly grain it was very difficult to work by hand. I haven't seen much of anything made of elm except maybe campfires or mallet heads. Took my "brand new antique" farm table to the friendly competition a few towns over and made $1100 on it. Keep on making curls!
You got my respect, doing all that with elm. I've worked with elm, and while I love the beautiful caramel color and grain, it's a complete bear to plane / chisel / whatever. Be glad you didn't have to cut down and split the tree - it laughs at axes.
My arms, shoulders, and back are killing me watching and thinking about all of that handsawing and planing. I haven't done enough, yet, to build a tolerance/stamina.
Good to see im not the only one who ends up with a half-dozen planes out on the bench lol. What kind of stop were you using when you were planing along the grain on the short pieces
I'm surprised you could get elm of that thickness, I thought Dutch elm disease wiped them out. Also, what are you going to do when your wife finds out you're using one of the dining room chairs for a sawhorse?
We dropped it from a friend's house a few years ago and slabed it ourselves. Contrary to popular belief Elm trees are still out there they're not quite as prevalent as they were at one time. And no that is my shop chair
So how much wood did you plane in a day? I was doing some stock prep this week and did 4 boards, 1 meter each in about 8 hours. How much material did you remove? I ended up removing about 6mm of thickness. I'm trying to gauge how does my work time and quality compare to yours :) I have room for improvement, but I wanna know what should I expect as I get better.
Frank Olinde it is softer like a soft maple, stringy like a hickory and has a really high silcan number so it dulls the blades quickly. Not the best hand tool wood, but it works.
yup some of the pieces are slightly bowed. I would have to take off too much material to flatten them and that will not be an issue for the construction.
Lol then this would not be a Hand tool woodworking channel. Plus. I would not use a table saw for this. I would use a track saw or even a circular saw.
Judging from all the comments on the title, you have a lot of new folks in your audience. Congrats
Lol yup. Got to love it.
It's *NICE* to see someone else do all the hard work.
LOL. That is what I am here for.
Your videos are definitely helping me with my own project! Keep up the videos, they are appreciated!
Thanks My Pleasure!
I'll enjoy watching this table take shape. Get me inspired to do more of this kind of work like I did back in my antique shop days. They dropped a dead elm at the shop and I took some of it home. Used it to make a 3-drawer farm table about the same size as yours. My elm has such wild curly grain it was very difficult to work by hand. I haven't seen much of anything made of elm except maybe campfires or mallet heads. Took my "brand new antique" farm table to the friendly competition a few towns over and made $1100 on it. Keep on making curls!
Thanks. Elm has a bad reputation but it can be a very useful Wood..
That looked like lots of fun! Sorry I couldn’t come and help with some of it.
Lol in my shop there is always a next time.
You got my respect, doing all that with elm. I've worked with elm, and while I love the beautiful caramel color and grain, it's a complete bear to plane / chisel / whatever. Be glad you didn't have to cut down and split the tree - it laughs at axes.
Lol. Most of the limbs we turned into firewood but we had a hydraulic splitter for that.
My arms, shoulders, and back are killing me watching and thinking about all of that handsawing and planing. I haven't done enough, yet, to build a tolerance/stamina.
There is a reason my other hobby is ultra running. It takes a certain kind of stupid mindset.
Nicely done James! 👍👊
Thanks Fred!
Hi there from Portugal,
And I was thinking I was the only one o dimension wood by hand :D
Obrigado(Thanks)
There are other crazy people out there.
Looks good, like how the top turned out excited to see the finished table.
Thanks Jacob.
The double leg vises sure work sweet on the long boards. Looking forward to seeing the next video. Take care buddy
Thanks Thomas!
Great James the Elm is very nice.Lots of Bull work !
It will be fun to play with.
I dont use a table saw any more, but i kept my band saw for just this reason
LOL if I did not have a hand tool only channel I would be in the same boat!
Incredible James...All by hand. Amazing...rr
Thanks man. It is not easy. But it sure is fun!
I haven’t tried elm yet, but I’ve heard it’s a bear to plane because of the grain... well done taming it!
It is not that hard, but it does dull the blade quickly.
Oh gosh you're brave. I'd have pulled out the circular saw after 1/4 of the first cut...
LOL I might have iv I had one with a good motor.
Another awesome video James! I'm curious as to how how you're going to demension the base. I'll be watching!
Thanks. All the joints are half lap and all held together with gravity.
Now that is a lot of sawing.
Yes it is.
Way to go James!!
Thanksan.
Good to see im not the only one who ends up with a half-dozen planes out on the bench lol. What kind of stop were you using when you were planing along the grain on the short pieces
Thanks. That is a traditional planning stop from black bear forge.
I would have used your end vise and a sawhorse then you could do the full length of the long boards.
I could but then I would be planning across the bench. And I really hate doing that.
I'm surprised you could get elm of that thickness, I thought Dutch elm disease wiped them out. Also, what are you going to do when your wife finds out you're using one of the dining room chairs for a sawhorse?
We dropped it from a friend's house a few years ago and slabed it ourselves. Contrary to popular belief Elm trees are still out there they're not quite as prevalent as they were at one time. And no that is my shop chair
How often during this dimensioning process did you have to sharpen you plane irons? Just curious.
About once an hour. So 6-7 times.
So how much wood did you plane in a day? I was doing some stock prep this week and did 4 boards, 1 meter each in about 8 hours.
How much material did you remove? I ended up removing about 6mm of thickness.
I'm trying to gauge how does my work time and quality compare to yours :) I have room for improvement, but I wanna know what should I expect as I get better.
I took off about 1/4" on all these boarda and spent around 8 hours total on them.
What is it like to work with elm? Tough like oak or easier?
Frank Olinde it is softer like a soft maple, stringy like a hickory and has a really high silcan number so it dulls the blades quickly. Not the best hand tool wood, but it works.
Soooooooooo many shavings. That wasnt enough of a work out .... you should go run a 100k 😁
Lol yup. My thought exactly!
Was the camera playing tricks, or is it just me, but some of the elm looked a little bowed at the end of the video
yup some of the pieces are slightly bowed. I would have to take off too much material to flatten them and that will not be an issue for the construction.
At 2:37 I know it's safe but it feels like your blade is working its way to your meat and two veg!
What do you do with all those shavings?
Compost them. I have a huge pile out back.
This video needs better audio. Maybe turn up the bass? 😂
LOL Mr DJ!
its 2018 u need a table saw there's no shame in it
Matt Smith we come here to watch him work... hard!
Lol then this would not be a Hand tool woodworking channel. Plus. I would not use a table saw for this. I would use a track saw or even a circular saw.