I just think it's cool when people do stuff anyway, you know?
I work a lot of red elm, because I have a ton of it around,and it's free. it is quite tension strong, but as you found out, pretty weak, but it's capable bow wood.
A couple things I have learned. Width is your buddy with elm. Thin growth rings are not, at least on the back surface. Sometimes a sapling I cut will have thick rings for a few years, then suddenly go to an almost 1:1 ration between summer and winter growth. These staves will pop up chips on the back, (eggshell thin, but too scary to continue). You can chase a ring, but be very careful of levelling tiny knots. It's really strong in tension as I said, but if you knock down even a little pin, the stringy wood will pop slivers. The heartwood isn't much harder or better than sapwood, so use your best layout rather than thinking you have to be married to heartwood throughout the bow. (though heartwood can be just beautiful) It likes heat treating. Not as much as some woods, but it needs all the help in compression it can get, so I do it.
If you can lay hands on it, a maple or ash, or hickory backing weorks, too. thin backing, wide bow, trapped section......
But still, I mean you did it. And they can shoot just sweet because red elm often only hits 0.60-0.62 on the SG. My best red elm bows have been long wide Mollies and long crowned flatbows from small trees.
