Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: bobbykelley on February 15, 2015, 06:32:21 pm
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Here's one I finished up. It's Boo backed Red Elm 65" ntn 50ish # @ 25". It's not perfect but it shoots good. Let me know what you think. Thanks.
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cant see the full draw real good, but it sure looks like a fine bow to me, with nice even bends.
rich
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Looks perfect to me. Nice work. I like that color combo on the handle.
Tattoo Dave
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Yeah I think it looks good from here and you said it shoots good so thats the tale of the tape so to speak. Do you have to heat treat the elm before you did the glue up?
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Id sya you nailed it best I can see. I wonder how long the elms so-so compression properties will play nice with the boo? Hopefully a good long time. Did you really thin the boo down before glue up?
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Elm backed with bamboo acts almost like elm backed with elm. It should be crowned on the back and wide in the limbs, or narrow and long. And it should be heat treated. It will take a lot of set with either "backing" if not.
In spite of preaching that gospel, I am surprised to see this done, and successfully. Almost anybody would "know" that bamboo is too strong for elm (and it generally is), and red elm being the lightest, waekest type of elm would be even worse, suppopsedly. But it looks like it holds together and shoots. The couple times I did hickory and red elm, I used perry reflex, and still tillered it in with more set than I was happy with, but the reflexed tips saved me.
I wanna see even better pics if possible, because I be she is beautiful.
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Nice shooter!!!
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Good looking bow. Nice work!
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not to much to see on those small pics, but it does look like a very nice bow( some more close up pics maybe?)
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Yeah I think it looks good from here and you said it shoots good so thats the tale of the tape so to speak. Do you have to heat treat the elm before you did the glue up?
Sidewinder, I did put a little heat to it but not much.
Id sya you nailed it best I can see. I wonder how long the elms so-so compression properties will play nice with the boo? Hopefully a good long time. Did you really thin the boo down before glue up?
PD, I did thin it down but maybe not enough and not the greatest thin job either.
Elm backed with bamboo acts almost like elm backed with elm. It should be crowned on the back and wide in the limbs, or narrow and long. And it should be heat treated. It will take a lot of set with either "backing" if not.
In spite of preaching that gospel, I am surprised to see this done, and successfully. Almost anybody would "know" that bamboo is too strong for elm (and it generally is), and red elm being the lightest, waekest type of elm would be even worse, suppopsedly. But it looks like it holds together and shoots. The couple times I did hickory and red elm, I used perry reflex, and still tillered it in with more set than I was happy with, but the reflexed tips saved me.
I wanna see even better pics if possible, because I be she is beautiful.
Springbuck, well I didn't "know" that you shouldn't put boo on the back of red elm. I did find out that I didn't like red elm very much as it is very weak. It does make for a smooth pull but still weak.
I was bound and determined to get something out of this wood. When I bought the red elm I had 1 staff about 62" and 3 sets billets, the staff broke on me (my poor understanding of the wood), 1 set of billets just turned out too light in pull, and then this one. This one started out 72" by 1 1/2" at fades straight taper to 1/2" n but had a knot in an upper limb that I didn't think I left enough on the sides so I put raw hide on (dog bone thinned) but it was only pulling 25# at 20" and the sap wood was really thick so I pulled the hide off trimmed some sap wood thinned the boo and glued it up. Maybe it's not a good match up for the wood but once I got it glued up I was very careful and only used a scarper and sand paper to finish off the tiller. I will try and take better pics they were done with my phone so I do apologize for the out come. Thank you all for your kind words.
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Good lookin bow, from what I can see. Nicely done
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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.
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Thank you SpringBuck for the info on the wood. I have one left that I have spliced together. This time it's 66" and 1 3/4 wide with the last 10" tapered to 1/2. I chased a ring and did not have any knots (got lucky on this one). I will apply some heat. Should I toast it to blackened or just a little discoloration? Again thank you.
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Thank you SpringBuck for the info on the wood. I have one left that I have spliced together. This time it's 66" and 1 3/4 wide with the last 10" tapered to 1/2. I chased a ring and did not have any knots (got lucky on this one). I will apply some heat. Should I toast it to blackened or just a little discoloration? Again thank you.
Toast it toasty. Dark golden caramelly brown on top of the color of the heartwood. I bet this one will be a shooter, too.
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Nice one!