Any red elm bows out there?

[Mafort]

I have a nice 72” plus long red elm stave. Been seasoning in a garage since 2019. Anyone have any issues with it? What about design ideas?

[BowEd]

What poundage and what length draw you after?

[Black Moshannon]

I made two, a fifty pound 64” D bow and a forty-five pound 60” D bow, both around 1 1/8” width. The wood is light weight and soft and takes heat correction very easy.

[Allyn T]

https://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,69592.0.html

[Mafort]

What poundage and what length draw you after?

Looking for something around 40-45lbs. Something for someone who shoots bows but not frequently.

[BowEd]

For an 8" stiff handled flat bow 64 to 66 inches long 1.5" to 1.75" wide @ 28" draw should get you there with a little wiggle room.5/8" thick at the fade and tapered from there.
The more poundage wanted the wider you go.
PS....There's over 30 different kinds of elm out there.The denser it is the narrower you can make the bow.The red elm around here is about the least dense of them all.

[Mafort]

For an 8" stiff handled flat bow 64 to 66 inches long 1.5" to 1.75" wide @ 28" draw should get you there with a little wiggle room.5/8" thick at the fade and tapered from there.
The more poundage wanted the wider you go.
PS....There's over 30 different kinds of elm out there.The denser it is the narrower you can make the bow.The red elm around here is about the least dense of them all.

That fits the bill with what I’ve got here. Not too dense and brittle under the draw jnife

[organic_archer]

No pictures because I gave them away, but red elm makes a fine bow if it’s a little longer, plenty wide, and heat treated.

I made several from the same tree and there was a big difference in overall set and performance when I went 2” wide or wider. Anything less than that took a boatload of set even when left long. Might have just been peculiarities with that particular tree.

It’s light, so it can make a fast bow. Tears out like crazy so use caution with your draw knife. It rasps so easily I just kept it plenty far from any lines with the knife.