Opinions wanted on Stave...

[Tombow]

Elm (Texas) stave with a lot of reflex, very straight otherwise. Any suggestions? Has anyone made a heavily reflexed bow like this one will be? I'm a novice so any opinions welcomed.
Thanks much, Tom

[George Tsoukalas]

Yes, but I haven't made many elm bows. Reflexed bows show a very high early draw weight. They store energy for longer periods so don't misread the stave's potential and think it is too heavy early on. They can be a challenge to tiller. The back will be under a lot of stress so make sure it is glass smooth with no ring violations. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/

[nugget]

Ditto on that. Be very careful on the back of the bow. Go slow with the tiller and exercise the limbs often.

[El Destructo]

Well I can tell you from Experience...You ain't going to get Texas Elm ...Glass Smooth....too many dips...waves...and stickers coming out of the Sap Wood to make it smooth without violating Rings

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[Tombow]

Yes the elm is a challenge, but what the heck; just another piece of wood to break!
Thanks for the insights, I'll take my time with it and see what happens. I have a piece of property with some elm woods on it so there's a lot to work with.
Tom

[JackCrafty]

If that's cedar elm it will be very flexible and can handle the extra strain but, in my experience, it will need a backing to be safe (like sinew).  I've had a couple cedar elms blow on me in areas with weak spots. The wood looked fine.... and I removed the bark when the staves were freshly cut.  I'm still trying to figure out if the weak spots were caused by dry weather, fungus, or excessive strain during heat bending.

[Tombow]

Yes Jackcrafty, cedar elm (ulmus crassifolia). I've had them break at knots, mostly. This one has few small knots so hopefully that will not be the case. I'm gonna try it without backing & see what happens. I appreciate all the help from you journeymen.
Tom

[Tombow]

Oh, another thing I'm interested in is: I have much more trouble removing elm bark than splitting it!!!!
How about you guys?
Tom

[sailordad]

i splie and elm limb i got from the neighbor,got the bark off each half as a whole piece.
its not the same type of elm that you have either,just plain ol american elm

[George Tsoukalas]

Good point, El Destructo. Don't sand out the ripples. I was referring to nicks and marks put in by the bowyer. Jawge

[Tombow]

Thanks george, destructo, crafty, nugget, sailordad...this is a great board with fine members...
Tom

[smokeu]

What part of Texas are you in??

[JackCrafty]

As far as cedar elm bark, I make sure to remove the bark right after I cut down the tree.  Of course, that probably doesn't help you if you've got some that has dried with the bark on.

Personally, since I don't have a spokeshave & vise combination, I use a disc sander to remove the bark on stubborn wood (like elm).  That might not help you either since not many people want to spend an hour removing bark from a stave.  Not that it takes me that long.....

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[Tombow]

I live in Ingleside, near Corpus Christi. I have some property near Woodsboro by the Mission River. Lots of Elm, Hackberry and Ousaiche.
Ouisache is my main target now. A few test bows show me that this is marvelously flexible and strong wood....just likes to twist when split Big Time!
Tom

[sailordad]

nice looking stave,if you dont want to deal with all that reflex you could heat some of it out.
ifn you dont want to do that,you could just send that stave to me
that wood looks cool as all get up.
but i would try heating it out if i was you.
live and learn