This is the first stick chair that I’ve built entirely with red elm. It’s a bit extraordinary that this chair exists because the species (Ulmus rubra) is rarely found in commercial lumberyards around here. Plus, finding enough straight and clear sections of red elm to make the sticks, legs and stretchers is unusual.
But I got lucky. My regular lumberyard got a small load of red elm from a mill in northern Indiana. I bought every bit of it, except for a couple boards with structural defects. (I have just enough of that wood to make a second comb-back in red elm, which is in-process now on my bench.)
Red elm is pretty much a perfect wood for making chairs. It is lighter in weight than red oak, but because of its interlocked grain it is impossible to split. That means that the pieces can be thin and incredibly strong. The downside? It’s a bear to work (but worth it).
Red elm also has incredible luminosity – like ash but with a browner tone.
This comb-back chair is set up for dining or keyboarding, with a back that tilts back about 12°. And a seat that tilts about 6°. It’s an all-around comfortable chair, though I wouldn’t call it a lounge chair.
The seat is 17” off the floor. The overall height is 41”. Like all my chairs, the joints are assembled with hide glue and oak wedges, so the joints are strong but can be easily repaired by future generations. The chair is finished with a home-cooked linseed oil/wax finish that has no dangerous solvents. The finish offers low protection, but it is easy to repair by the owner with no special skills or tools.
Purchasing the Chair
This chair is being sold by silent auction. (I’m sorry but the chair cannot be shipped outside the U.S.) If you wish to buy the chair, send an email to lapdrawing@lostartpress.com before 3 p.m. (Eastern) on Thursday, Aug. 24. In the email please use the subject line “Elm Chair” and include your:
- Bid
- First name and last name
- U.S. shipping address
- Daytime phone number (this is for the trucking quote only)
Shipping options: You are welcome to pick up the chair here in Covington, Ky. I am also happy to deliver the chair personally for free within 100 miles of Cincinnati, Ohio. Or we can ship it to you via LTL. The cost varies (especially these days), but it is usually between $300 and $550.
— Christopher Schwarz
P.S. The next chair for sale will be painted with linseed oil paint and sold for a fixed price at a drawing.
IIRC, elm was a go-to wood for wagon wheel hubs because that interlocking grain meant it wouldn’t split. Also why it’s a total bitch in the firewood pile.
Ulmus rubra, ie. Red Elm or Slippery Elm. Will check with my local sawyer. Nice looking chair! Love the flow of the grain in the arms and seat.
Still have to finish my Gibson chair before I progress to a chair this complicated.
Brad
I really like the back on this one!
Is white elm also good for chairs?
I have not used white elm, I’m afraid.
Hi LAP. What is “luminosity” when referring to wood characteristics? Can you explain that term when referring to wood? Thanks. What a beautiful chair!
The proper word is chatoyance. Some woods, especially figured ones, seem to capture and bend the light a little. Ash and elm both have some chatoyance, though not nearly as much as quilted maple, for example.
Beautiful chair! Love the grain. A question popped randomly into my mind. You said that you always use oak wedges. Any particular reason or characteristics it has to use that species as opposed to others? Just a matter of having a lot of scrap lying around that was turned into wedges? Or do you seek out oak, specifically for some other reason?
Cheers,
Dan
Oak is the most common wood, so it’s easy for almost any woodworker to find. Other species are good for wedges, especially ash, but more difficult to come by.
I have the impression Elm (in general) is very hard to split. Is the Red Elm as hard to split as “regular Elm?” If so … is straight grain less of a concern?
Around here, red elm is regular elm. And yes, it’s impossible to split. I still want straight grain for the legs, stretchers and sticks, however.
Beautiful piece.
That’s a beautiful chair. Good work.
As a high schooler I was asked to break down some rounds of a cut down tree to turn into fire wood. A friends brother was a brick layer who found tons of red oak rounds in neighborhoods he worked in so I helped split cords and cords of red oak after the first gas crisis sent heating oil prices through the roof. Well I brought over my sledge and wedges and maul and got to work on what later turned out to be an old ELM!!! Tree. I’d never heard of interlocked grain, barely knew about Dutch elm disease. Trying to split wood that looked like it was compressed multistrand braids of 1/2″ hemp rope! We failed but never gave up!!!, we rented a powered hydraulic log splitter!!! The memories are so traumatic I’m not even sure we ever finished.
Rake, splay, resultant, and sight line angles. Class could have been rich and rewarding, but no mathematics were used. Pity.