White wood(elm) observation

[bushboy]

I usually cut trees as low to the ground as possible,but I have noticed a real difference between upper and lower limb characteristics !my thought now is to disregard the first 2 feet off the stump to try to balance out this anomaly.this is only in theory but if the crowns where closer to uniform it would be easier to balance,because it seem to significantly in the first 2' from flat to somewhat round of trees about 6".thoughts.

[willie]

There is a wood structure known as juvenile wood that differs from normal?wood. It is said to be more prevalent in the crown.

paste       "juvenile wood" site:http://www.primitivearcher.com            into a search

I read somewhere once that some NA osage bows were built from a stave that included the taproot and had the butt at the handle.

[RAU]

Ive never cut an elm but this is I nteresting, I too cut trees close to ground as possible but this has me thinking. Wood right at the ground is is harder for sure right? I guess not a bad thing if only wood a few feet up was the same. When loggers cut big trees pre chainsaw they cut notches for springboards to get above this wood and then proceed to cut the tree up higher off ground.  Something to think about I guess

[DC]

I was taught that they cut off springboards to get above the butt flare. Trees narrower up there. I do think that the grain is twistier down low. That bottom piece was always a PITA to split for firewood.

[simson]

I have watched elm saplings growing out of cut stumps have very very thick rings on the base (because the have so many roots from the cut down mother tree?). So I often had bows with very different rpi on the upper and lower limb. But this never caused a problem unlike it looks uneven ...