Paul Kierstead responds:

In article ,
Andy Dingley wrote:

life's
too short and tiresome already to carve an arse-rest in an elm seat
base using a scorp and curved drawknife.

I watched a fellow (David Ambrose I believe) do this using a scorp,
drawknife and shave and he did it *amazingly* fast; I am not entirely
sure it could be done faster with a non-automated power tool. Mind you
he uses Pine for the seat.

Gotta go with Andy on this one. Elm is the reason. A big "No thanks!"

Many other woods are easier, faster in such use. Pine, poplar (pick one), red
oak even if it's knot free, alder, cherry, butternut, walnut, and others.

Elm can be a bitch to work by hand. American elm, if you can find any, is cross
grained, while slippery elm, more readily found, tends to wild grain that is
hard to work.All the elms I've seen fuzz up so finishing is a bit of a PITA,
though when done, they look great. I don't know what kind of elm they've got in
Blighty, but I'd guess it isn't much more fun for hand work.

Charlie Self
"Giving every man a vote has no more made men wise and free than Christianity
has made them good." H. L. Mencken