Elm sapling bow (bows)

[Aksel]

Hi all, here is the first bow I have made in a while and first one ever on this forum. Been making bows since 2005 and have experimented with different styles but I always come back to the simple sapling bows inspired by the north European stone age finds such as Holmegård, tybrind Vig, Ring Kloster etc etc.  This is Wych Elm, Ulmus Glabra. 67 inches ntn, 45@28 from a less than 2 inch sapling so it has a very high crown but Wych elm can take it without taking much set or break or chrysal. Sealed with Pine resin varnish and beeswax. Working on a few bows of similar style so might post a few more later

 Cheers!

[JWMALONE]

That's a nice bow, excellent work.

[Pat B]

Very cool character bow, Aksel. I love sapling bows. They are probably closer the ancient bows than what most folks make these days. 

[Springbuck]

DUDE!  Gorgeous.  That type is one of my favorite bows to make.  I use a lot of elm and ash saplings, too, even very small like that and I love doing it.  Yours has that impressive crook in the limb, too!  Looks good.

[ksnow]

Very nice bow. That definitely captures the essence of the early bows. Great to see the old european styles. Are you using tied on nocks for the string? Thank you for posting and I look forward to seeing more of your work.

Kyle

[Swampman]

I love it.  Really nice looking bow.

[Aksel]

Thanks all! Yes nocks are just a piece of leather folded and tied on, keeps tip-weight down, it's practical and possible to change draw-weight and tiller by changing their position if needed. Was re-working a couple of old bows outside in -10 C (14 F) and was shocked when I checked draw weight and they had gained something like 10 lbs! So if hunting in a cold climate, lowering draw weight could be another advantage of tie on nocks. 

[Springbuck]

Aksel, do you think that is just caused by the cold, or the dry air the cold brings.  My bows pick up weight in winter, but I don't think 10 lbs!

[Bayou Ben]

That is awesome. Never could imagine that bows like that can come from a 2" sapling.

[Del the cat]

Cool... well damn freezing from the look of it.
Clean and simple 
Nice pics too
Del

[Aksel]

Springbuck, I suspect it is the cold because the bows gained weight so suddenly when the temperature dropped  but i might be wrong... maybe both?

[mullet]

Cool bow from a challenging piece of wood. Great tiller and profile.

[BowEd]

Good example of a primitive bow.Keeping it simple.Nice work.

[Mark Russell]

That is absolutely stunning in it's clean simplicity.  When working with character like that, do you have to "hope" the string goes through the center of the handle, or can you "tweak" it to do that?

I'm new to this and working on my first bow from an elm sapling (3").  Roughed out, it has a slight "steady" curve from tip to tip (side to side).  I'm trying to figure if steam or heat would work better.

Anyway, that bow is beautiful - great job.

[Pat B]

Mark, get your bow to first brace then decide where the adjustments need to or can be made. In some cases you can't get to first brace, then you can make an adjustment but not until you are at brace will you really be able to tell how the string tracks.