Elm Traditional Tree

Traditional-style trees in elm, each with a turned trunk and pot. They’re around 13cm tall and just under 5cm across at the widest, with slight variations in the design from one tree to the next.

They came from a spindle blank bought from an online supplier, with some interesting grain patterns. It was noticeably lighter than other elm I’ve turned in the past.

Elm has a long history in Britain. Its interlocking grain resists splitting, and it lasts well when kept permanently wet, so hollowed elm trunks were once used as water pipes. Dutch elm disease later killed most of Britain’s mature elms, so the timber is far less common than it used to be.

Finished with chestnut friction polish.