Heat-Treated Elm Flatbow

[IdahoMatt]

No that makes your bows a true part of your self.  Just as some others on PA such as Gordon,Bryce (pinecone), and Greg (badlybent).  Their bows are also recognizable not because they are predictable but because they put themselves into the bows.

[Will H]

Always enjoy looking at your bows sir! That one looks smooth as silk thanks for sharing!!

[burchett.donald]

 Love that front profile...I know it's a smoooothie and fast too... Beautiful work and tiller...

[Marc St Louis]

Thank you all

[George Tsoukalas]

Nice! It's another beauty! Jawge

[bowsandroses]

Man that is sweet I'm working on a piece of red elm right now hope it turns out half that sweet.

[dwardo]

When I think elm, recurve, I do a search for your name and elm for inspiration.
I have one very similar now thats at floor tiller.

[Pappy]

Another very nice one,beautiful bow.
 Pappy

[blackhawk]

I guess this ones OK too...    ...almost looks more holmgaardish,or at least some of that styles influences

[ohma2]

Youve probably posted this before , but what species of elm are you cutting up there?

[paoliguy]

Yet another classic! I always like to see a post from Marc St Louis - you just know it's going to be a good one!

[PatM]

Hard to beat one of your elm bows, Marc.
 We have Rock elm, Red Elm and American Elm up here. Mostly American though. I very rarely see Red Elm and Rock Elm. Usually small clusters of them isolated.

[Marc St Louis]

Thanks again guys

I've been making bows in this style, narrow outer tips, since before the Holmegaard became popular years ago.

Yes that question has been asked before ohma and my standard answer is....I can't positively identify all the different types of Elm I have cut.  There are White Elm up here and I have cut some but then there are others that couldn't really be classified into a specific species, and there are many, as I believe they are hybrids.

[PatM]

American Elm is itself a very reluctant hybrid. It doesn't cross well at all according to lab tests. The other Elms mostly  (all?) have the same chromosome count and cross much more readily.
 I know of several areas where the few Red Elm or Rock Elm are growing right next to American elms and I have seen nothing nearby that could be described as intermediate in type.
 Red Elm and Rock Elm have some very distinct differences (twig difference in Red elm and corky branches in Rock Elm) that I have never seen in an American Elm with the exception of extreme "corkiness" of trunk bark in some American Elm.
 I wouldn't be surprised if American Elm doesn't just have quite a bit of individual variation. I notice  bark differences that  strongly indicate the wood difference underneath.
 I should take a few pics of some pieces I have that really illustrate this trait.

[Marc St Louis]

I've seen quite a lot of Elm with different looking bark from thick cork looking bark to very thin bark and everything in between.  Then there's the variations in working properties.  There's only supposed to be 3 species growing up here, White, Slippery and Rock Elm but I can't say I've ever seen a Slippery Elm I could positively identify according to the identifying markers the botanists claim it to have and I can't say I've ever seen or cut a Rock Elm.  I have cut some very dense Elm though but what it was I couldn't tell you.  It didn't have the appearance of Rock Elm and it was quite a bit more dense that White.  I can say positively that Elm is one strange species.