Hello everybody! These bows were made from two elm trees harvested in 2019 and 2020.
The first one is 63'' long and 45 lb at 27''. The bow was drawn on a stave and the pen ink went one ring deep, which forced me to remove the first growth ring. I decided at this moment to decrown the stave. It got 1/4'' of string follow.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/191294636@N07/albums/72157717706441382The second is decrowned too. It's 50-55lb at 27'' and it's 63'' long. It got 1-2'' of string follow
https://www.flickr.com/photos/191294636@N07/albums/72157717701823881For the third one, I used the ring directly under the bark. I wanted to make a bow with a big knot in it. It was 75'' long and over 100 pounds. Unfortunately, I dropped it on the belt sander during the shaping of the tips. The back was severely damaged. I decided to remove the damaged part and reduce the lenght of the bow, just to see how far I can push elm. The bow is now 57'' long and 1,5'' large. It's 70 pounds at 26'' and has 2'' of string follow. I don't shoot it a lot because it's a bit to heavy to my liking, but I like to show it to people who think that wooden bows are toys.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/191294636@N07/albums/72157717701868851I hope for 2021 to make a bow with no string follow, or even a bit of reflex. Wish you good health to all!
Capitaine Patenaude