« previous next »
Pages: [1] 2

Author Topic: Elm longbow  (Read 7075 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

Offline Scallorn

  • Member
  • Posts: 182
Elm longbow
« on: June 24, 2013, 01:05:01 pm »
I recently completed an elm longbow. It's 65 inches long, and pulls around 50-55#. I modeled it after the Powhatan bows in Allely and Hamm's encyclopedia. This is my first bow, so the the tiller isn't perfect but it shoots and hasn't broken ;D. Makes me happy to have finaly completed one. I'll get some pic'sup as soon as I can.
Logged

Offline toomanyknots

  • Member
  • Posts: 3,132
Re: Elm longbow
« Reply #1 on: June 24, 2013, 08:59:04 pm »
Sounds good, elms a nice wood, :).
Logged
"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline Thesquirrelslinger

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,245
Re: Elm longbow
« Reply #2 on: June 24, 2013, 11:23:04 pm »
Elm is good stuff(plus its really forgiving, I know my tillering isn't as good as I think it is)...
Thats pretty cool.  powhatan bows... hm... (what on earth are those?)
Logged
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"

Offline Scallorn

  • Member
  • Posts: 182
Re: Elm longbow
« Reply #3 on: June 24, 2013, 11:59:36 pm »
Here is the bow. Pic's aren't that great , sorry :(. The outer limb tips are a bit stiffer than what I wanted, but I figured I would quit while I was ahead.
Logged

Offline Scallorn

  • Member
  • Posts: 182
Re: Elm longbow
« Reply #4 on: June 25, 2013, 12:10:00 am »
These are the bows I modeled it after. They were collected from the Powhatan tribe in Virginia in 1665. These are made of mulberry, but other woods like elm and hickory were commonly used. The bows are now kept in a museum in England, so I haven't seen the "real thing", only pictures. The Powhatans weren't the only tribes to use bows like this, most early NA tribes in the eastern US used longbows like this. The second pic' is a Choctaw bow made of hickory that is a similar design. Another bow made of osage orange was found in the spiro mounds site in OK, just north of where I live, it was made of osage.
Logged

Offline Thesquirrelslinger

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,245
Re: Elm longbow
« Reply #5 on: June 25, 2013, 12:23:43 am »
Cool. You could rasp the outer limbs a bit to help tiller... but you already know that.
 hows it shoot? I bet it has some handshock. Maybe narrow the tips? It would do 3 things- help the tiller, reduce handshock, make the bow shoot signifigantly faster(if its like 1" wide to 3/8).

Simple D bows look cool IMO.
Logged
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"

Offline Scallorn

  • Member
  • Posts: 182
Re: Elm longbow
« Reply #6 on: June 25, 2013, 01:01:05 am »
Yeah I might take a rasp to it later. It shoots pretty good, a lot less hand shock than I would've thought. I like D bows too, I make them because that is the most common design throughout the world IMO. This bow was more of a prototype, I have a great piece of hickory roughed out right now, it's 70 inches long. I'm working out all of the bugs on this one, then I'll finish the hickory one and hopefully use it next deer season.
Logged

Offline Pappy

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 32,204
  • if you have to ask you wouldn't understand ,Tenn.
Re: Elm longbow
« Reply #7 on: June 25, 2013, 07:33:24 am »
Looks good to me, :) just how I like um,outer limb a little stiff. I do most that way intentionally.  :) Elm is tough wood. :)
   Pappy
Logged
Clarksville,Tennessee
TwinOaks Bowhunters
Life is Good

Offline burn em up chuck

  • Member
  • Posts: 718
Re: Elm longbow
« Reply #8 on: June 25, 2013, 07:43:50 am »
  thank you for the documentation, I had read somewhere about the similarity to english longbows, but had never seen any pictures. very nice bow, tiller looks good

                                                                                  chuck
Logged
Honored to say I'm a Member of the
         
                 Twin Oaks Bowhunters club

Offline Dvshunter

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,402
Re: Elm longbow
« Reply #9 on: June 25, 2013, 12:04:04 pm »
Congrats on your first bow.  8)
Logged
"There is a natural mystic blowing through the air; if you listen carefully now you will hear." Robert Nesta Marley

Offline Zion

  • Member
  • Posts: 783
  • The blacksmith's mare walks barefoot
Re: Elm longbow
« Reply #10 on: June 25, 2013, 02:27:31 pm »
Nice, elm is an amazing bow wood. Sorry if u mentioned this but do u know what kind of elm it is?
Logged
The secret of life is learning to make your own luck.

Offline Scallorn

  • Member
  • Posts: 182
Re: Elm longbow
« Reply #11 on: June 25, 2013, 02:42:53 pm »
I know its elm, but I'm not sure exctly what species. I know it isn't winged elm because there were      no wings :D maybe slippery elm, but again I'm not sure. I live in NE texs close to the red river if that helps any.
Logged

Offline SLIMBOB

  • Member
  • Posts: 3,759
  • Deplorable Slim
Re: Elm longbow
« Reply #12 on: June 25, 2013, 04:07:01 pm »
In Texas, our 2 most common Elms are Cedar Elm (Ulmus Crassifolia) and American Elm which is a White Elm (Ulmus Americana).  American Elm makes a fine bow wood.  I have never made one from Cedar Elm, but I would think it would make a fine bow as well.  Cedar Elm has been on my list of woods to try.
Logged
Liberty, In God We Trust, E Pluribus Unum.  Distinctly American Values.

Offline Scallorn

  • Member
  • Posts: 182
Re: Elm longbow
« Reply #13 on: June 25, 2013, 05:10:13 pm »
I looked it up, and the tree was american elm. I was very impressed at the tought interlocking grain of the wood, it took me a few hours to hammer a blade through to split it.
Logged

Offline Joec123able

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,769
Re: Elm longbow
« Reply #14 on: June 25, 2013, 05:14:43 pm »
Not bad at all nice job
Logged
I like osage
Pages: [1] 2
« previous next »