Help with Elm Back Ring

[Northernsport]

Long time lurker, first time poster!

I am from Southern Ontario Canada and usually work with HHB and Hickory, but I am giving Elm a try.
I have made and broke a few bows so this is not my first but I have a question. When I was debarking I was a little careless, I haven’t violated the “main” growth ring but there seems to be lots of smaller layers of cells in between them that may have some slight violations. These are thinner than a frog hair and chasing them is next to impossible. It is at floor tiller but I don’t want to put it on a long string on the tree and raise a splinter. Do you think it will be Okay? Pictures of the thin rings don't show up in this bright white sap wood as they are almost too small unless I turn it sideways in natural light. I don't want to back it if I don't have to.

thanks
Shawn

[sailordad]

ive onl;y worked 2 pieces of elm from here in central minnesota
in my experience the wood is alot like hhb and hickory as it is in intelocking fiber wood
which is also why it is bugger to split,like hhb and hickory
i am not the mostacrefull when it comes to debarking
all my hhb/hick and both those elms had little teeeny tiny nicks in the back but
none had a complete violation of the ring and all worked well
jmho 
and experiences

[toomanyknots]

Hey sailordad, I've never split elm but have split hackberry and have heard they are alot alike. To your knowledge is hackberry an interlocking grain wood, or do you know?

[sailordad]

i have yet to wrk hackberry
but i do have a nice stave of it curing as we speak 
in a year a or so i will find out 

[okie64]

Hey sailordad, I've never split elm but have split hackberry and have heard they are alot alike. To your knowledge is hackberry an interlocking grain wood, or do you know?

The hackberry I've split is nothing like splitting elm. The hackberry split pretty easy but elm and hickory are a beast to split.

[Pappy]

Hackberry is nothing like Elm,most hackberry I have used ,you can chase a ring pretty easy if you need to. Hickory seem to split good unless it grows in a fence row or something like that. The HHB we use is pretty easy to split also,elm is tough Split/or chase a ring and if you didn't violate the ring really bad it will probably be OK,you might want to back it with rawhide or something if you want to be sure.
   Pappy

[crooketarrow]

  I agree it's night and day when it comes to spliting. Forget about following a ring with elm just sand out the bad spots. I've filed elm staves way down and made fine bows all were unbacked. I qiut backing bows a long time back. The way I see it just another unneeded step where something can go wrong down the road. If I think the stave will needed backed I don't use it. I have barnished a couple before. But it you deside to go this route finish the bow stain then barnish last. I'd barnish the stell wool to take the shine off.