Author Topic: ABOUT ELM  (Read 8311 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

Offline Blacktail

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,432
ABOUT ELM
« on: June 07, 2008, 01:18:04 am »
is elm a good bow wood.and is the differant elms that make better bows than others.any info would be great.thanks john

Offline david w.

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,823
Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #1 on: June 07, 2008, 01:22:05 am »
i have heard all elm makes a good bow.  there was a very nice elm bow just posted and i will be starting one soon
These pretzels are making me thirsty.

if it dont go fast...chrome it - El Destructo

Offline D. Tiller

  • Member
  • Posts: 3,507
  • Go ahead! Bend that stick! Make my day!!!
    • Whidbey Island Soap Co.
Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #2 on: June 07, 2008, 01:26:00 am »
Try a pyramid style elm flatbow. I do believe it will be better than a longbow style with this wood. I'm working on one myself!
“People are less likely to shoot at you if you smile at them” - Mad Jack Churchill

Offline El Destructo

  • Member
  • Posts: 8,078
  • Longhaired Crippled Hippie Biker And Proud Of It!!
    • Desert Sportz Primitive Archery
Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #3 on: June 07, 2008, 01:43:31 am »
All Elms will make a Bow...but some aren't as Good as Others....Siberian Elms (Ulmus pumila)...and Chinese Elm (Ulmus parvifolia) aren't as good as American Elm (Ulmus americana) ...or Slippery Elm (Ulmus rubra) are....but they will all work if you don't over stress the Wood....like already stated...make a Wide Limbed Bow...or Pyramid Style...
As a species we're fundamentally insane. Put more than two of us in a room, we pick sides and start dreaming up ways to kill one another.Why do you think we invented politics and religion.
Think HEALTHCARE Is Expensive Now,Wait Till It's FREE
Do Or Do Not,There Is No TRY
2024...We Will Overcome

Offline Hillbilly

  • Member
  • Posts: 8,248
  • I like tater tots.
Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #4 on: June 07, 2008, 09:27:39 am »
Elms have a wide range of densities, with Siberian being light, fairly weak wood, and winged elm, cedar elm, and rock elm being the heaviest and strongest. All of them are good bow wood (except maybe the Siberian, and it may be-never tried it) just adjust the design to match the density of the type of elm that you're using.
Smoky Mountains, NC

NeolithicHillbilly@gmail.com

Progress might have been all right once but it's gone on for far too long.

Offline TRACY

  • Member
  • Posts: 4,523
Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #5 on: June 07, 2008, 09:37:46 am »
Another option is hackberry which is fairly common in the USA and is not prone to the Dutch Elm Disease like red/slippery and american making larger specimens more common.

Tracy
It is what it is - make the most of it!    PN500956

Offline shamus

  • Member
  • Posts: 332
Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #6 on: June 07, 2008, 12:30:35 pm »
Elm can make a very good bow. 

Offline DanaM

  • Member
  • Posts: 9,211
Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #7 on: June 07, 2008, 05:46:05 pm »
Elm is tough stuff I have a bow named bob, that I beat the heck out of and it still shoots just ask some of the guys at Pappy's,
heck I used it to wipe my feet on, something ya don't see every day ;D
"Prosperity is a way of living and thinking, and not just money or things. Poverty is a way of living and thinking, and not just a lack of money or things."

Manistique, MI

Offline adb

  • Member
  • Posts: 5,339
Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #8 on: June 07, 2008, 07:53:41 pm »
Elm makes a terrific Holmegaard bow.

Offline Butch Speer

  • Member
  • Posts: 64
  • St. Clair Mo.
Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #9 on: June 07, 2008, 09:02:45 pm »
Elm was used to make ELB's. It was called wych elm. There was an article several years ago in PA about the only female bowyer in England. She wrote in the article of using wych elm.
God Bless
Butch
Nothing is ever lost by courtesy. It is the cheapest of pleasures, costs nothing, and conveys much.
- Erastus Wiman

Offline DanaM

  • Member
  • Posts: 9,211
Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #10 on: June 07, 2008, 09:04:25 pm »
I believe wych elm is a eoropean species my only experience is with american elm and its tough stuff :)
"Prosperity is a way of living and thinking, and not just money or things. Poverty is a way of living and thinking, and not just a lack of money or things."

Manistique, MI

Offline Dano

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,349
Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #11 on: June 07, 2008, 09:23:12 pm »
Well there's ol' Butch!! Hi ya buddy.
"If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy."


Nevada

Offline markinengland

  • Member
  • Posts: 698
Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #12 on: June 08, 2008, 05:19:54 am »
I saw a Wych elm bow recently. It was an ELB or warbow. Appearance wise it looked a bit like a yew bow where the coliur of the belly had been a bit washed out by sunlight.
It looked heavier than really was. I was very suprised at how light in the hand it was for the size of it, and how light the draw weight was.
I imagine it could make quite a quick bow if the tips were kept narrow and therefore really light.
I am trying to get my hands on Whych Elm to try out.
I have used Elm in the past and it worked well, if very hard to split.
I am working on a hatchet Elm bow now which is odd in that it was very easy to split.
Even here in the Uk we have quite a few diffeent Elm types.
Mark in England

Offline akila

  • Member
  • Posts: 399
Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #13 on: June 08, 2008, 05:46:18 am »
elm makes a good bow......so give it a try  and see what happents

Offline Butch Speer

  • Member
  • Posts: 64
  • St. Clair Mo.
Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #14 on: June 08, 2008, 11:25:26 am »
Hello Dano. Sorry I missed you last year at MoJam. Will definitely be there this year. Hope all is going good for you. See you in July.
God Bless
Butch
Nothing is ever lost by courtesy. It is the cheapest of pleasures, costs nothing, and conveys much.
- Erastus Wiman