Elm trilam bow

[Clevelandbowyer88]

I recently found a dozen or so American elm saplings on our property that range to as wide as 3". 3 of which are over 4" in diameter. My plan is to plant a few more but I want to harvest ore or two for some selfbow staves and make some board that I can turn into so bow laminates. I haven't heard of a whole lot of people using elm for laminates so I'd like to hear if anyone has, also I know some speacies of bow wood have better sapwood vs heartwood. I'm also not sure if I should cut the bigger ones or the smaller saplings. Thanks in advance.

[Pat B]

Cut elm this time of year and just peel the bark to expose the back. I've made a few elm selfbows and was very pleased with hot it worked and worked out. One bow was a 60" static recurve pulling 56#@26". Elm lover a heat treated belly.

[Clevelandbowyer88]

Thanks, I was thinking about using a tri-laminate design on one and a selfbow on the other. I've heard elm is hard to spilt, so I think I'm leaning more towards the laminate.

[Pat B]

With a 3" log, if it is straight and doesn't grow spiraled you can saw the stave in half and build 2 bows. With fresh wood I like to bind the 2 halves back together with small pieces of wood between to allow for good air circulation and give them a few months to dry.