Help me analyze a break.

[J05H]

I just found this. I don't know if it means anything but I thought I'd post it just in case. The earlywood is kind of powdery for some reason.

[PatM]

Definitely decayed. Elm should be able to fold back on itself without breaking in half. I've bend tested a lot of it and never been able to actually snap a piece.
 It looks very similar to wood I have cut for firewood that has been fighting Dutch Elm disease for a year and then cut when the leaves have shown it has given up the ghost.

[J05H]

Well that makes me feel a little better, but I still learned from it. I need to get my tiller right a lot sooner. Thanks everyone for the help.

[dwardo]

I can bend our elm 45 easily and it will not fail in tension. It will crush much more easily
I would want my cash back.

[dwardo]

[autologus]

It looks way too dry to me.

Grady

[PatM]

Elm doesn't really get too dry. It's a lot like sinew that way.

[autologus]

That is good to know Pat, I have not used Elm yet but I have 3 6-8" Elm trees flagged beside my house that are going to be cut down soon.  I keep my wood in my shop that is kept at 40 - 45% RH.

Grady

[mikekeswick]

It is not bending enough out of the fades and it's not Osage.

Elm is tougher than osage in tension or at least on a par. Elm is almost indestructable in tension......i've tried!

[mikekeswick]

Just seen your third picture. The earlywood should not look like that.....
Don't worry at 2 inch wide it should have easily held together - I doubt very much wether it was your tiller that was at fault.

[Badger]

  Besides what looks like spalting it also looks like this type of red elm that is extremely light and weak. Can you weight the bow if you still have all the pieces? I know a lot of guys like red elm but I won't even full with it anymore.

[J05H]

Sorry, I don't have enough of it to weigh, but what I still have does seem kinda light.

Thank you all for helping me figure this one out. I have another elm stave and I now feel much more prepared to tackle it. I'll be able to tell if its degraded like this one before I waste too much time on it. It should be better, because it supposed to have been cut from a different tree at a different time, and I have gotten several other staves from this guy that have all worked out fine.

[mikekeswick]

Yes do some bend tests on scrap pieces. You can even make a mini bow out of it - like 12 inch long. If you make it to scale it will act exactly the same as a full sized bow.

[J05H]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Mini-bows can be very informative. They are also a lot of fun. Check out this little red oak I made last year.
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,43264.0.html