How much can elm take?

[KShip85]

I've really got my heart set on making a heavy weight warbow.  No yew to be found near by right now so I have spotted what I believe to be a rock elm tree that had the top taken out by a tornado or straight line wind but left the bottom in tact and still rooted.  My question is what is the top weight anyone has gotten out of elm?  I've seen some nice elm bows on here between 80 and 100 lbs but would like to see if I could get something higher, say 140 or higher.  I've got a hackberry war bow I just finished pulling a little over 100 lbs at 32 inches, but want something more.  Any help would be great, and pictures of elm bows on the high end of the scale would be awesome as well, thanks for the help!

Kip

[radius]

what's your purpose in building such a strong bow?  I've got an 80# yew which would take down a bear or moose...and no french knights on the horizon...

i get it:  you WANT to build one...but why?

[KShip85]

I don't really have too great of a reason other than I'd like to see if I could make one that weight.  Also, I just like the looks of them and would enjoy having something close to an authentic medieval war bow and war arrow set.  I've seen a lot of nice things on here and it seems that at least a good portion of people believe that authentic bows should be in this higher weight category, I think some people even recommending that 180# is closer to actual weight for the period.  I know yew is the standard for such a bow, and that there are those who will say if its not yew it can't be an authentic war bow, but its also my understanding that when yew was scarce elm might have been used in its place.  I will admit that not the least reason for me wanting to do this is simply the fact I'd like to see if I could build up to drawing that weight or higher.  I figure its cheaper and a better learning opportunity for me to try and build one myself rather than buying one from someone.

Kip

[adb]

Did you see the two elm warbows that Marc posted?

[alanesq]

what's your purpose in building such a strong bow?  I've got an 80# yew which would take down a bear or moose...and no french knights on the horizon...

I would guess it is because this is a warbow discussion part of the forum so he is talking about making a warbow ?

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KShip85: I think you will need to find some really good quality wood to make a bow of that draw weight
I have tried many times with ash and once with witch elm but always it fails on the belly with chrysals
I understand with the right wood and skill a heavy bow can be made but its not easy

Ash (and I believe elm as well) work very well on the back of the bow though so what I have done is remove the belly and replace it with some lemonwood - this made a 140lb bow no problem at all :-)

[Marc St Louis]

If what you have is really Rock Elm then I see no problems making a 130 + lbs bow

[KShip85]

Did you see the two elm warbows that Marc posted?

Yeah I did see his posts, they are kinda what got me interested.  But if I remember correctly they were 80 lbs and 100 lbs and so I was just not sure if it could handle 140 or above.  They were both beautiful pieces of craftsmanship.

Marc, thanks for the info I will try to head out and get a positive ID on it tomorrow.  Thanks again!

Kip

[Badger]

   A 140# elm bow will not be under any more stress than a 20# childs bow. Wood will only take so much and no matter how big it is the stresses are always relative to the design. A full arc of the circle war bow is probably the easiest of all bows the calculate out. The inner diameter of the circle has to be less than 1% different than the outer diameter. Probably for elm about 99.2 % of length for the belly side of the bow when full drawn if tillered perfectly into an arc of the circle. Yew has a bit more elasticity but designs would still be very similar. Steve

[Rod]

what's your purpose in building such a strong bow?  I've got an 80# yew which would take down a bear or moose...and no french knights on the horizon...

i get it:  you WANT to build one...but why?

The sensible question is not why ( since as has been pointed out, this thread is about "warbows").
A more relevant question might be why that particular draw-weight and where does it stand in relation to the weight you are accustomed to shoot ?
And what actually represents a low end, an average and a high end draw-weight of the period ?

Rod.

[radius]

i know this is a warbow thread...and i appreciate the challenge of making them...i just wondered "why" he wants to make one.  I realize his post is in the right category...i just wondered "why" he wanted to make one.

[Oorlogsboog]

i know this is a warbow thread...and i appreciate the challenge of making them...i just wondered "why" he wants to make one.  I realize his post is in the right category...i just wondered "why" he wanted to make one.

I.m.o... the most important reason for building a warbow... is wanting to SHOOT it.. 

[nidrinr]

Elm (and ash) can take far more than 100# easy as long as the piece of wood are of good quality. Especially if you use dry heat on the belly.