Author Topic: ABOUT ELM  (Read 8164 times)

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Offline Blacktail

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ABOUT ELM
« on: June 07, 2008, 01:18:04 am »
is elm a good bow wood.and is the differant elms that make better bows than others.any info would be great.thanks john

Offline david w.

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Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #1 on: June 07, 2008, 01:22:05 am »
i have heard all elm makes a good bow.  there was a very nice elm bow just posted and i will be starting one soon
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Offline D. Tiller

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Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #2 on: June 07, 2008, 01:26:00 am »
Try a pyramid style elm flatbow. I do believe it will be better than a longbow style with this wood. I'm working on one myself!
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Offline El Destructo

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Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #3 on: June 07, 2008, 01:43:31 am »
All Elms will make a Bow...but some aren't as Good as Others....Siberian Elms (Ulmus pumila)...and Chinese Elm (Ulmus parvifolia) aren't as good as American Elm (Ulmus americana) ...or Slippery Elm (Ulmus rubra) are....but they will all work if you don't over stress the Wood....like already stated...make a Wide Limbed Bow...or Pyramid Style...
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Offline Hillbilly

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Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #4 on: June 07, 2008, 09:27:39 am »
Elms have a wide range of densities, with Siberian being light, fairly weak wood, and winged elm, cedar elm, and rock elm being the heaviest and strongest. All of them are good bow wood (except maybe the Siberian, and it may be-never tried it) just adjust the design to match the density of the type of elm that you're using.
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Offline TRACY

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Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #5 on: June 07, 2008, 09:37:46 am »
Another option is hackberry which is fairly common in the USA and is not prone to the Dutch Elm Disease like red/slippery and american making larger specimens more common.

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Offline shamus

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Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #6 on: June 07, 2008, 12:30:35 pm »
Elm can make a very good bow. 

Offline DanaM

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Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #7 on: June 07, 2008, 05:46:05 pm »
Elm is tough stuff I have a bow named bob, that I beat the heck out of and it still shoots just ask some of the guys at Pappy's,
heck I used it to wipe my feet on, something ya don't see every day ;D
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Offline adb

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Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #8 on: June 07, 2008, 07:53:41 pm »
Elm makes a terrific Holmegaard bow.

Offline Butch Speer

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Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #9 on: June 07, 2008, 09:02:45 pm »
Elm was used to make ELB's. It was called wych elm. There was an article several years ago in PA about the only female bowyer in England. She wrote in the article of using wych elm.
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Offline DanaM

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Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #10 on: June 07, 2008, 09:04:25 pm »
I believe wych elm is a eoropean species my only experience is with american elm and its tough stuff :)
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Offline Dano

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Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #11 on: June 07, 2008, 09:23:12 pm »
Well there's ol' Butch!! Hi ya buddy.
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Offline markinengland

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Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #12 on: June 08, 2008, 05:19:54 am »
I saw a Wych elm bow recently. It was an ELB or warbow. Appearance wise it looked a bit like a yew bow where the coliur of the belly had been a bit washed out by sunlight.
It looked heavier than really was. I was very suprised at how light in the hand it was for the size of it, and how light the draw weight was.
I imagine it could make quite a quick bow if the tips were kept narrow and therefore really light.
I am trying to get my hands on Whych Elm to try out.
I have used Elm in the past and it worked well, if very hard to split.
I am working on a hatchet Elm bow now which is odd in that it was very easy to split.
Even here in the Uk we have quite a few diffeent Elm types.
Mark in England

Offline akila

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Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #13 on: June 08, 2008, 05:46:18 am »
elm makes a good bow......so give it a try  and see what happents

Offline Butch Speer

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Re: ABOUT ELM
« Reply #14 on: June 08, 2008, 11:25:26 am »
Hello Dano. Sorry I missed you last year at MoJam. Will definitely be there this year. Hope all is going good for you. See you in July.
God Bless
Butch
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