Olive and Elm

About the name

Olive and Elm represent two of the hardwood species of trees that grow on the property we live on in Idaho. Siberian elm and Russian olive, neither of which are native to Idaho, are often considered weedy species here. But Idaho is not blessed with a large variety of hardwoods suitable for woodworking like the eastern US. Although these species are not typically used in woodworking they are useful for woodturning and have given me some spectacular results. 

Siberian elm has a light brown heartwood and yellowish to whitish contrasting sapwood. It is a fairly sturdy wood and It also has a somewhat open grain that takes up a stain and makes for cool patterns on a wizard wand. It is a fast growing large tree that produces lumber large enough to use in large salad bowls or pillar candle stands. 

Russian Olive has a cinnamon brown heartwood and thin yellow sapwood. I have used in primarily for Christmas ornaments and a few other smaller items, It is  typically a smaller tree and is so is hard to get pieces of large straight wood. It also has a substantial difference in hardness between it rings of spring growth and summer growth and so is prone to tear out if not worked carefully with sharp tools.  In my opinion it is a beautiful wood and usually a beautiful tree. 

Other species in the area that are native of introduced that I have tried to harvest/salvage, mill, and turn include silver maple, Norway maple, and box elder maple (including box elder burls and wood brilliantly stained strawberry pink). I have also made small items from small trees including hawthorn and buckthorn (which can have an amazing pumpkin colored heartwood) mountain mahogany, and fruit woods such as apple, plum, and cherry, and some larger items from larger trees such as aspen, willow, and cottonwood as well as from softwoods like Blue spruce and Douglas fir.  I also salvage a lot of wood from other woodworking processes such as cabinetry which will often discard smaller dimension wood that isn't suitable for their larger projects and have been able to get a lot of red alder as well as some sugar maple, oak, hickory, walnut, and mahogany. 

Each species of wood is a unique combination of color, grain, weight, and strength but they also have a unique smell when they are worked. I love to turn cherry wood which smells like cherries when I turn it. Oak reminds me of dill, (Siberian elm sort of reminds me of a wet dog smell) and others i can recognize but can't really compare with anything.