Author Topic: wytch elm - would you straighten this?  (Read 784 times)

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Offline stuckinthemud

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wytch elm - would you straighten this?
« on: August 29, 2022, 03:56:13 pm »
This is a little side project, a wytch elm short bow.  I have cut in the tapers , and it bends  nicely across my knee for an inch or so, but hasn't gone on the tillering tree yet. There is a nasty set of pin knots in the centre of both limbs, and at each set of knots the limbs kink into deflex.  I have sllightly reflexed the tips to counter this and the nocks are currently ahead of the back of the handle.In this limb, the knots are right in the side.  I am over the width I planned to use but there is no way of coming inside the knot that I can see.  How would you deal with this?  Should I heat treat or straighten the limb.  My instinct is not to but this is the first time I have worked with wytch elm so I am grateful for your thoughts. First picture is the belly, second is the side view.