Red Elm Sapwood Question

[jhutch65]

Hi All!

I have been lurking and reading for a few months now and have picked up a wealth of knowledge here!  I thank all of you for being so free and open with sharing your individual expertise and knowledge. 

I now come to this forum with a question.  I have a piece of red elm, 72" long with about 1/2 - 3/8" of sapwood and 1"+ heartwood.  I am undecided as to making a flat-bow type configuration (fades about 1-1/2" or so) or possibly an ELB configuration.  I know it may be different depending on which configuration I decide upon, but what would be a good recommended thickness of the sapwood?  I can easily chase a ring down to 1/4" and maybe a little less, but not having worked this wood before, I want to make sure that I keep enough sapwood to be useful.

This is not my first bow, I have made 3 ELB's from Hickory, one flatbow from Ash with a Hickory back, an Osage/boo bow and a kids bow from of Walnut with a Hickory back.  All of these previous bows have been board bows and this red elm is my first attempt at one from a split stave.

Any assistance in this would be greatly appreciated!

John

[Pat B]

With elm, like other white woods, the wood under the bark is your best bet for a back. Unless the back ring is damaged, go with it. I guess you could remove most of the sapwood so you have a ring or 2 and a heartwood belly.

[M-P]

Hi,  My only experience with red elm was a stave obtained in trade from Hammertime.  You might send him a PM and ask him for more info.  Elm in general has a reputation for being hard to very hard to split.  ( A well deserved reputation based on my one experience collecting an american elm.)  Chasing a ring is likely to be very frustrating!  I would just use the sapwood 'as is'.   That worked for me.      Ron

[John K]

What Pat said. I like Red Elm for a bow !

[jhutch65]

Thanks for the input all.  Will chase a ring down a bit and go from there.  WIll post pics when I get it to a point where it looks more than a carved up stave!

[coyote pup]

The first few rings just under the bark are usually pretty thin, at least on younger trees. You may be able to scrape a couple down without much trouble, which would allow you to have a little more heartwood on the belly.