Small Pecan Bowl - Bottom

Elm wood, not Pecan wood.

Leo Van Der Loo said:

Elm wood, not Pecan wood.

Click to expand...

It's Pecan. Processed the log myself.

You must have mixed it up, as what you are showing is Elm wood, it is unmistakable ELM

Leo Van Der Loo said:

You must have mixed it up, as what you are showing is Elm wood, it is unmistakable ELM

Click to expand...

Elm is not a common tree this far south in Texas. It smells like pecan when you cut it, it had long slender leaves, and thick heavily ridged bark. Elms on the other hand have shorter serrated broad leaves and have a distinct unpleasant odor when cut that reminds me of urine. While elm also has ridged bark, it is not as thick or heavy as pecan. There is no elm wood in my shop.



This is pecan. There are over 1000 varieties of pecan trees in the world, with at least 18 native subspecies in Texas.

I love the bowl, Monty. Would look beautiful on a table somewhere. That said, I think I agree with Leo that it appears to be Elm. I’ve never actually turned elm before, but have worked with it a bit on flatwork stuff. Believe it or not, I’ve not encountered the urine smell before, like many have experienced (especially with Siberian Elm I hear). But of course, I’ve not worked green Elm.

Your range map is for American elm, but there are other species of elm in Texas that have a different range. I think you are well within the range for cedar elm, which is a very common tree in central Texas. I don't find that the elm I've turned has a particularly strong smell. It looks like the end grain on this bowl may have an ulmiform pore arrangement, characteristic of elm.