material for gunnels

[donwells]

I was wondering if anyone had ever used Red Elm to make the gunnels . The reason i ask is that i am originally from the mid west and this wood is relative easy to find out in the timber and it grows very straight and tall. It has good weathering capabilities but it is a dark wood, I do know it is very flexible and can be bent and twisted very easily compared to a lot of other wood and am considering using it on a build i am working on. I have a log that is around 18 foot long and will probably square around 16 inches or so, my brother in law has a mill and is going to saw up for me in 4/4 material so i don't have to use scarf joints. If anyone has used this before please throw out your opinion and whether it was or is worth the consideration to use it. Thanks, Don

[Jim Dodd]

I would first like to Welcome you to the site ! I know you'll find a lot of great info and people here !

If that is what you have, use it. My Preference is still Ash ! It should be just as easy to find in the Mid West !
Good luck !

Jim

[Jim Dodd]

Hi Don

The Red Elm in my area is mostly dead, and though I've never used any of it, you are right it is straight ! Bowyers use it for long bows.

I think it should be fine. You will want it dried, either in a kiln, or air dried, which will take considerable time.

My Wife has the Wells name on her Dads side. Are You from Minnesota ?

Jim

[donwells]

No. I am from west central Illinois just off the river about an hour and half north of St Louis but i live in Alabama now.
This is my second build, the first i made 1/2 scale just to figure out what mistakes i would be running into. I donated it to relay for life to sell tickets on, the one i am building now I have made a few minor boo-boo's but it is coming along and i haven't decided what to do with it as of now. My next one will definitely be mine and it is going to be a Ranger Prospector and hopefully i will have figured out how to avoid the mistakes and have it come out with no problems I have the patterns all drawn out really nice the only problem i am having is getting the stems drawn i absolutely can not figure how to get them to come out fair for me the numbers in the book just don't add up for the stems but all of the other stations are perfect.
We used to use Red Elm to build gates with on the farm It is really tough and does have a lot of flex and bend and that is why i was wondering about it and if anyone had ever tried it on any builds. It is definitely a dark wood so i would want to build a lighter colored canoe so as to have the contrasting colors and it has a good grain pattern.

[Stephen]

Don

The stem measurements in Canoecraft for the Ranger have errors in them. You can find the corrections here: http://web.archive.org/web/201211081136 ... estems.htm

[donwells]

Thanks a lot for that information now it will make some sense when i draw it out. I knew it had to be a mistake in the numbers that came in my book as it always came out whapperjawed when i tried to apply those numbers. Thanks again

[brooks]

Don, The answer to your question about red elm being useful for you gunnels is yes. Its perfect. The grain and strength are very similar. I have made the mistake of taking elm for ash on several occasions. I am at that stage of building the inwales and outwales for my Ranger. I'm using a mahogany but I had to scarf joint to make the length. Building the Ranger has been a rewarding experience for me. I hope you have the same. pete

[Stephen]

it always came out whapperjawed

I just learned a new word.

[donwells]

country hicks have all sorts of descriptive words to describe different situations

It is good to hear about the Red Elm. I don't care for the darker color but i have access to all kinds of these trees back home and they don't cost me anything their long clear trunks make it very easy to get full length runs so i don't have to worry about making the scarf joints for whatever i might want to build. Thanks for confirming my suspicions.