I agree with you Ed, I don't consider red elm to be a true bow wood. Chinese elm I use the same dimensions that I use with osage. It seems to be the most consistently dense of all the elms I have worked with.
I'll have to try that chinese or possibly american elm here then for self bows.I know there's fellas here who use the red elm as cores on FG bows without any failures.
Ed, it is a great core wood because it is light, you can use any wood for a core because it doesn't do anything. Just a spacer.
Yes I've understood the working surface depth concept for quite some time.I usually gotta laugh though.The FG bows want to look like wood but not really yet.I've scored elm also with a chain saw for splitting to get staves later.
The chinese or american elm here usually has a shorter trunk then the elm.That can be determined by growing locations some but in general that's the way it is here.
Elm is a very prolific propogater here if given a chance.It was used in the past here as wind breaks for farm yards.A fairly fast grower to develope that.Disease[what they call the chinese elm diseease] has gotten many but it still is around.
