Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Kegan on July 23, 2008, 09:28:53 pm
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What steps should be taken to make sure a whitewood ELB doesn't turn out to be a dud? I'm refering to a 6', 28" draw bow. Would making it slightly wider and tempering the belly be enough?
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I like working with hickory- shagbark and mockernut. I recently finished a ELB 72" nock to nock - 52lb @ 27". It is 7/8" at the handle - 1 1/4"wide 4" from the center of the handle - tapers to 3/8" at the tips. no hand shock. I've shot over 100 arrows so far and it still returns to about 1/2" reflex. Give it a try - white wood is a little easier for me to come by and is usually free.
Matt
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Kegan, Humidity is a factor as well..Most (all) whitewoods like dry air both when crafted and where they are shot..I just picked up some Hickory at Mojam for a friend who lives in drier air than me, and both staves picked up an inch of reflex by the time I unpacked them here in S. Cal..
It's easy to see why whitewoods are second fiddle in the humid midwest, but out west its a whole different story..
I plan on bending my next elm longbow into an r/d profile with perhaps an inch of net reflex while tempering the belly..
Rich
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Whitewoods won't make a true ELB. They excel at wider limbed flatbows. If you want a true ELB, yew or osage is king, but I'm sure you know that already!
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If I'm not mistaken, elm and ash were used for ELBs during their hay day. Pat
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Hi,
Give my a day or so and i will post some pics of Ash ELB's that work just great for me........
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OOOpsy... I forgot about ash! My bad.
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I have made quite a few ash elbs. I have tempered all the bellys and the turn out pretty darn good. I would say make the bow longer, wider and more square the you would normally do an elb. On my white woods I really just eae the edges of the section profile as opossed to really D sectioning them. This will help it take minimal set.
SJM
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Thanks everyone. I wasn't intending of making a true replica, but a good bow with similiar shooting characteristics from the wood I have on hand (nothing that dense or elastic).
I was intending to build it 1 3/4" wide limb, 1 3/8" wide handle, 72" long, slightly radiused belly (heat tempered) instead of a deep D, and *hopefully* pulling about 80# or more at 28" (my draw is 27.5"). Made from shagbark hickory, hornbeam, or as a last resort, elm (elm would probably only be about 70#).
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But thank you very much adb3112 for telling us that only ash, osage and yew make ELB's,....better call Thimo now and tell him not to send me the 90# ELM elb he just made me.
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Impressive ADB..tell us more... ::)
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cant say that i agree that yew and osage are the kings for elb's.
can only say that my ipe elb shoots real sweet,fast,accurate,no noticable handshock.i would have to say you would need to include ipe into "the kings of elb's"
cant say any thing about the whitewoods either,havent made an elb from anything else yet.come fall and a friend cuts down his huge sugar maple i get a bunch of it for bows. i'll make a point to make an elb from it.
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my very first bow was made from a maple stave. had a slightly crouned belly, and it didnt chryssal. needless to say it wasnt tillered very well, but i just thought id throw that out there.
Phil
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Hmmm,, I made a hard shooting ELB from Hickory. even with the humidity down here.
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NAh, Ha Ediie,.....maybe I should tell this pappy it ain't dead, because the ELB is neither Osage, Yew, or Ash
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d124/NorthShoreLB/Boar%20ELB/HPIM0346.jpg)
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:D I love it! Nowadays,when somebody spouts the "company line" either because of agenda,bias,lack of experience or basic ignorance, there's a slew of experienced, objective bowyers out there to counter this spoon-fed myth...
I remember well known bowyers saying the same line about Ipe, and they had never seen it, much less actually used it..
Welcome to bowmaking reality...some folks blaze trails, others regurgitate what they want to...
Rich..don't look back :o
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There shouldn't even be a "company line", we make our bows , we shoot our bows and we share what we LEARN with others. In the process some of us learn more or un-learn a little... it's a hobby. :)
And I miss Mojam already... :(
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Good to see ya Paul!
Yeah I built a hickory LB first year into this bowyerin thing. Nice and long about an inch and a quarter wide. Had no idea how wet it was now but know now it was NOT nearly dry enough. I also foolishly used a artificial sinew string(nylon) that stretched to beat the band. It was worse than a dog it was a dead dog to be blunt.
I've got some nice long shagbark staves in the garage. Who is up for a white wood longbow challenge? ;D
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Hi Chris,
I think some whitewood Long Bows would be a great idea. I have some elm that I have been waiting to try and an ELB would be a good addition to my wood bow "pile"... Course, after seeing those Yew beauties of John's at Mojam the white wood will be pale in comparison... ;)
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just remember
just cause its pretty,doesnt mean it functions well. ugly bows can out shoot a pretty bow if its made well and shot by the right hands.
tim
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Rich, you said what I wanted too. Remember back, forever, when Jim Ham said you couldn't build bows from kiln- dried wood? Don't look back ,Play and have fun.
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Get it all out there Sailordad, don't hold back. ::)
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Eddie, Ya that "old Leatherwall" mentality needs to be quashed. Some newbie might actually believe it.. I'm sure Jim probably chuckles about that one too..
We both live in areas of great botanical diversity, and I bet the list of longbows made from different species of trees in our areas alone would be in the hundreds.. Heck where I live it does that..but you guys have more large pythons running around to back them with! :o ;D..
Paul If you make a warbow style Elm bow and both temper it and heat it into a subtle r/d profile..It will perform at the hightest level.. All else that matters is keeping the wood very dry. Thimo has been posting a bunch of heavy whitewood longbows on Paleoplanet lately..so he has been the latest relatively new bowyer to be keeping the old myths were they should be..
buried...
Rich
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Hi Rich,
I might try to keep it simple for the first one. I usually make flatbows so the whole ELB concept will be a first for me...I was considering a Maere Heath style till all this came up. Just a plain old style long bow that bends and shoots would suit me fine. :)
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While preparing my mass chapter I made about 50 elbs from every wood I could think of including white woods, tropical woods, osage, yew, red oak and literaly everything I could get my hands on. Admittedly I made them a bit on the fast and not too perfect side but as long as the wood was dry I can't say I could point to any one wood and say it was better than another. These bows went from 35# to about 140#. Elm, hornbeam and maple are amoung my favorites. Steve