Elm wood?

[nclonghunter]

I have attempted two bows from what is an Elm, which I believe is Slippery Elm. The woodwas split and about a year old. It is extremely light weight in comparison to Osage, Locust and Hickory. The wood also seems to get fuzzy in some areas when sanded and has a soft feel to it. The tree was about a foot thick at the base when I cut it and it had the characteristic crescent buds for an Elm tree when cut. I am curious if all Elm has these characteristics or maybe just this one I cut. To be honest I am not liking it for bow wood, but many have showed favor in it. The two bows I attempted took a hinge in one limb and I could not correct it without dropping the poundage down to where it's not suitable for a deer hunting weapon. I have some more and will try again, just wondering what others think of Elm?

[Cacatch]

I'm trying to like it, but it's making it hard for me. American White Elm can make a good bow, but it is hell to split and hell to work with. The grain fights you every step of the way.  Red Elm makes a pretty good bow but like you are saying is very light and soft and I don't like those characteristics in bow wood. I recently cut down what I think is Winged Elm and am going to give that a try. But I agree with everything you just said about Elm. Of all the elm staves I've ever tried to make a bow from (probably about 6) only one has survived to shoot satisfactorily and it is a sinew backed american white elm.

CP

[ohma]

i use red elm and love it. if i couldnt get osage i would use elm. red elm takes a heat treating very well and holds it well for me.you need to be carefull with the white wood cause it can and will decay fast if not handled right.i make elm bows to the sams specs as osage and they shoot great.

[ricktrojanowski]

I'm working with Elm for the first time. I really like the way it works, but it did fool me, and I came in way under weight.  I've never done that with any of the other woods I've built bows from.  It seemed to drop weight really fast while exercising it between scraping.   Not sure if possibly it's just that particular stave or not.

[nclonghunter]

Ohma, I wonder if the Red Elm is the only Elm to work. Not saying the others can't be used, but it may be harder than the other Elms. It seems Elm will drop weight quick on wood removal,, so learning to go extra slow may be a lesson learned.

Thanks for the opinions from everyone, I don't feel like I'm the only one that is experiencing the Elm blues..

[Jesse]

I have only worked elm one time but I did notice it is pretty bulky for its draw weight compared to a lot of other woods

[NTD]

My recent elm bow isn't red elm and I sure liked working with it.  I think Timo's pretty happy with his piece of elm...

I think elm might be made for heat treating though

[Hillbilly]

Elm is one of my favorite white woods. Red elm and slippery elm are the same tree, BTW-Ulmus rubra. Winged elm is pretty much the densest, hardest elm. Elm is tough, nearly unbreakable, and doesn't seem to draw moisture as bad as hickory, ash, or some of the other white woods. Never had any more problems with it than any other wood?

[crooketarrow]

   I've used only red and slippery both  I think both are fine with me.. I'm biulding a slippery elm right now for PBS. I've had have no trouble makeing bows up to 60 #'s throught the years and I'm not sure but I think the one now is the 10 th elm bow for me. Some like the soft wood right under the bark some the heart wood I've made both. Don't really see the any difference. But prefer the wood right under the bark for the back. Only really perfer it like this because it's less work. Like I said I really can't tell the difference.

[bucksbuoy]

I know Martin archery makes most of their bows with red elm limbs. I believe it is one of, if not the, fastest bow woods.

[PeteC]

Nclonghunter. It does'nt sound like slippery elm to me.  I've built quite a few bows from Ulmus rubra,and it is a very dense wood.  I have yet to make target mass ,based on Steve Gardners "Mass Principle" when using this wood. There are several light elms that in my opinion,are marginal bow woods. This is the time of year to look for slippery elm.Its buds are large,brown ,and covered with rust colored hairs.Twigs are also hairy.After leafing out ,it has large leaves,very rough on top,with soft hairs on the bottom side.The serrations on the leaf are "double saw toothed",as another identifier. Also, the leaf base is very un-even at the petiole.There are even more IDs if you'll check a tree book. JMHO  God Bless