Red Elm Project

[Fmrjarhead49]

Ok fella's,

I appreciate all the help with the handle problem on my osage bow, I was able to work everything worked out and the "Problem Child" has turned out to be a screamer!!!      

 

 

 

[beetlebailey1977]

With it being as straight and as wide as it is I would use the side of the stave and treat it as a fully quarter sawn board using all heart wood.  That way you dont have to take it down to heartwood.  All you have to do is finish the side to be the back of the bow.

[Fmrjarhead49]

I didn't think about that.  This is my first whitewood bow, So your telling me that since the rings are strait that it doesn't matter how the rings ly? So, just cut a 3x3 or 2x2 board out of it and then shape the bow?  Forgive my ignorance man I only know what I have read and my expereinces with osage...Its hard to beleive it is that easy...that would make for a pretty wild looking bow!  It has a little reflex in it do I just heat it and straiten or do I just lay the bow out and cut it out?

[PEARL DRUMS]

I would knife the sapwood off and build it as a traditional self bow. If you want to build a board bow you could go buy a board and go from there. Thats a nice, meaty stave to save until you feel like ring chasing.

[Fmrjarhead49]

That was the approach I was going to take but saving time does have its merits...

Jury's still out, however.  One thing that goes against the board approach for me is, I want to take advantage of the natural reflex in the stave.  Just curious, I was playing with the band saw to try and get a feel for it and I noticed in the thick stuff the blade tends to wonder and the blade seems to not be agressive enough.  The blade that came with it is a 3/8th's wide 8 teeth per inch.  This is obviously not the blade for cutting osage or heavy stuff.  What do I need?  As I mentioned earlier it is a 14" 1hp saw.

[PEARL DRUMS]

If you make the side of that stave your back it wont be relfex anymore.

[Fmrjarhead49]

Yup, I see that.  Thats why I think I'll be going down the rougher road.  Didn't think that is was going to be so easy.  Maybe easier than chasing a ring on the osage that I have been work'n on lately... but not a free pass.  It would look pretty wild though.  I have read about folks building "backward bows" out of small diameter Osage that looked wild.  Anyways, it is an idea and I am listening to them all.  :D

[beetlebailey1977]

I am not an expert by far but you can put as much reflex in it as you want by steaming it after roughing it in and clamping it to a caul to induce the reflex.  Hey look at it this way you have a lot of options as to how to approach making the bow.  Working down the sapwood and chasing the ring is a great way to go.  Plus you will learn from it.  That is the key.

[Fmrjarhead49]

Yessir, I agree completely.  Thats what I meant by "I am listening" to all ideas.  I appreciate your assistance and ideas.  Been out of town the last week haven't been able to touch it.  Hopefully might get to start on it this weekend. Thanks again!

[Ken75]

Pearls you ever chase a ring on elm ? i havent just curious how it would work with interlocking grain

[Fmrjarhead49]

Freaking heat! unbelievable!, been too hot to do anything constructive.  I dont have AC in my shop/garage and with the heat like it is, not much fun working! Even with a bunch of fansgoing it is ike a convection oven in there.  As I write (102 f)!

[beetlebailey1977]

I have not chased a ring on elm but I have tried to drawknife on some winged elm, and man it is a pain and doesn't work.  Had to rasp it.

[SportHunter]

Very interested to see how red elm works out.

[SportHunter]

Very interested to see how red elm works out.

[Fmrjarhead49]

I am working on it, Just curious since this is going to be an ELB was just curious as to recommended demensions?  Do I need to overbuild as with white woods when constructing a flat bow?

[Fmrjarhead49]

OK,here it is,lessons learned on drawknifing and chasing a ring on Red Elm.  first of all it is a royal pain in the ass.  ya'll know that the bows i have made with the exception of the stave I bought from Mike have been immature thin ringed osage that was either cull staves given to me or ignorance on my part when I cut them down when I was all full of it and thought all you had to do wans cut a tree down and get to work.  To tell you the truth there are a lot of simalarities.  You have to be very careful cuz on elm the thick rings are the sponge stuff you feel when chasing a ring on the osage and the thin rings have a very simalar feel as when you strike money on an Osage stave.  When knifing you still feel the same feed back, crunch vs. slick...if that makes any sense.  I am kinda glad that the sap wood was all messed up cuz I never would have learned what I learned chasing the ring on this elm.  I have read that the sap wood on white wood is what provides the spring in the white wood design but since my stave had bad places in stratgic places that required me to remove it.  Since I had no sap wood I determined that i had to do what I ever i could to give the back as much support as I could .... = Chase the ring.  Had I not done this I would not have discovered this,

 

is this a problem?  to me it is beautiful, the natural color of the wood is beautiful but my concern since I am ignorant and new to building bows...is this a weakness?  I think it would be cool to incorporate this into the bow as much as possible...which now brings me to me to another delima...Do I make an American flatbow to incorporate as much of this charater as possible or do I continue with my original plan and make a nice ELB out of it using as much color as I can.  Fellas I am stumped!  since yew is so hard to come by and expensive I reality wanted to make a period correct ELB...but now i am not so sure.  Was thinking of setting up a Poll but I am new to all of this and I am not so sure how to go about that.  Gentlemen, any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Pics to follow:

 

 

 

 

[Fmrjarhead49]

No worries went with the ELB.  Here is the rough out.