Thanks for the comments guys ......Dragonfly .. It was not so much a crotch piece as a very knotty ugly lump ! The tree was dead for about 3-4 years before felling and left on the ground for about another year , the pale wood is not as may seem , sapwood and heartwood but this seems to be the way Elm goes early in the decay process , the wood actually gets paler and softer , but not in the same way as Beech does with its dramatic black lines, Spalted is an olde English word for spoiled, usually referring to timber being ruined for normal use ( furniture making ) but now it is deemed desirable by some people ... like us for example ! Shape wise I usually prefer pieces to be top heavy looking ( widest point 2/3 rds up ) rather than the other way round but sometimes do it the other way round but it depends on how I wish to " display " the features / figuring etc in the piece . and yes it is about 1/4 inch thick and quite distorted and an uneven surface as it was turned and finished before fully dry .... Terry ..
