Wych Elm bow

[dwardo]

Hey all,

Are there any bowyers out there who can say if its possible to make a bow from un seasoned wych elm ? I guess i may be best to leave it to season for a while but i am far too impatient I do have another ash stave to keep me going but i would like to start on the wych elm bow whilst i have some time. It was felled this weekend and split on site. It was a real shame there was only one good stave as the heart wood had twisted

Advice appreciated thanks...

 

[Verdegris]

Is it possible? Yes. Wise? No. I would be less concerned about breakage than the bow would tend to follow the string quite a bit and would likely set in that curvature.

 

[Robbo]

let it season for a bit or it will take too much set.

if you rough it out to just over the desired dimensions for the bow it will season faster, just dont try and start tillering it until its seasoned.

Andy

 

[dwardo]

Thanks for the info guys

I have roughed it out to aprox dimensions so ill leave it in the spare room to dry out. I will just have to get on with another ash bow until its dried enough. Any pointers on how to know when its dry enough to get on with ?

The other reason for getting a move on is my friend keeps stealing my bow when we are out bushcrafting lol. The last one i made from ash was given a good test this weekend and it performed wonderfully even if our archery skills were lacking to say the least

 

[robin wood]

Yep I would go with that too. I have rushed them and regretted it. If you do as Robbo says and get it just a bit over finished dimensions then you should be able to bring it indoors and dry it quite quickly. I would advise leaving it a bit over length and sealing the end grain with gloss paint, wax, or whatever in case you get any small end checks. Also don't taper the ends down too much at this stage if it twists a bit as it dries you can still get a straight bow out of the stave if you have not tapered the ends down.
PS I am not a bowyer...just make a few to play with.

 

[robin wood]

To know when its dry you can weigh it now and again every few days. plot the weights on a graph and you will see it gradually stabilising, ie loosing less and less weight. When its pretty much stabilised you are ready to go. Other good indications are how it sounds, dry wood resonates or rings when you tap it on something more than green wood.

 

[dwardo]

Great stuff, i dont have any scales but ill wait untill is "sounds" dry

Just going to start roughing out the ash stave that i have left so if the wych elm one takes a while to dry atleast ill have something for my mate to shoot. Cant get enough of bow building at the min its a great way to get away from the missus`s TV progs although my arm may fall off soon due to all that axe aswinging

Any ideas on a rough drying time for the stave ? weeks/months etc

 

[mariobab]

If I remember correct,the oldest bow,found in Denmark was made of elm.And in our history some claim that one of our historical leader Domagoj(pessimus Sclavorum dux)armed his pirates with elm bows.And in Irish history,elm bow is mentioned as capable to send arrow through fist thick castle door.I`ve never tried elm,for it is very rare here due to fungi disease.
And as I remember,elm was known for easily dull edged tools.Wish you luck with that bow,keep us posted.

 

[Robbo]

The item found in the Danish bog is known as the Holmgard bow and it may be as much as 9000 years old,

And its a very efficent design when made correctly, the design was used for around 4000 years so it has to be good.

Andy

 

[dwardo]

Finally finished and she shoots great

I still need to tweak the tiller a little and move the string over a fraction but the action is lovely. Oh and its a nighmare to get a good pic of a bow so here goes..

cheers,

Oh and on my dodgy fishing scales its pulling around 40lbs

 

[Lush]

Well done. 40 lbs sounds good too. I see you have kept the ends strong. Nice brace height you have achieved!

 

[dwardo]

Thanks Lush

I have taken a little weight off the tips as it hand quite a bit of hand shock. I have also smoothed it all out a bit as its now pretty much finished.

 

[mariobab]

Ain't she sweet?

 

[bent-stick]

Hey all,

Are there any bowyers out there who can say if its possible to make a bow from un seasoned wych elm ? I guess i may be best to leave it to season for a while but i am far too impatient I do have another ash stave to keep me going but i would like to start on the wych elm bow whilst i have some time. It was felled this weekend and split on site. It was a real shame there was only one good stave as the heart wood had twisted

Advice appreciated thanks...

Sorry, I'm back aftre a bit of a sabbatical away from forums (fora?). Elm is currently my favourite bow wood. Not always easy to work and it can take a while to settle. My current competition bow is a bit of leftover elm and it has served well for over a year of shooting with very little set. It's not the heaviest (30lbs or so) but it is fine for field archery.

Some notable bows in elm have been have been found in the anaerobic bogs in denmark. The most complete are the Holmegaard and the Tybrind Vigg. Both were bottleneck bows with a distinct transition from flat to almost round about 4/5s along the limb. I made a couple of 'spirit of holmegaard' bows last year pulling 45 and 50lbs from elm but they were both commissions and have gone to good homes...I really wanted the owners to change their minds and let me keep them

Also the traditional british longbow comes from wales (with the tudors) and some of those were made from elm. There used to be a place (from memory Red Dragon Bows) still turning them out over there but they seem to have disappeared off the net - perhaps lack of material.

I use coppiced poles about 4" round and with the help of a trusty bandsaw can usually get a couple of bows from each. Because they haven't really broken the canopy they stay disease free. They are b*ggers to split as they twist and the grain is very interlockedwhich gives the wood its strength and resistance to lifting in the back. I try to stick to axe and knife but some of the tricky bits of grain need tackling with a rasp - even scrapers fuzz it up. Every pole I have is different, I think they cross easily and you get hybrids so I can't always tell what I've got until I start working it.

Nice work there dwardo.

 

[dwardo]

Thanks Bentstick.

I have just finished one from Goat willow (salix caprea) which turned out well and shoots in the late 40`s. It has taken an inch or so of set but shoots straight and fast, well as straight and fast as i shoot lol. I have also just roughed out a stave from sycamore which is full of large knots which will make it a challenge ???

 

[WoodWildling]

they're beautiful *sighs wistfully* I used too shoot when i was younger. should go back to it really - this has been very inspiring

 

[BigShot]

Very intresting thread and some nice bows with it. I'm planning to have a crack at a flatbow soon. (As seen in that old Popular Mechanics article - I downloaded it somewhere, can't remember where though)


One quick question - and anyone tell me what is meant by following the string?
I've heard it mentioned a few times but can't for the life of me figure out what it means.

Cheers folks.

 

[dwardo]

Hi, String follow means that when the bow is unstrung it still keeps some of its "strung" shape. This means the wood has compressed and is unable to relax back into its prior unstrung shape ?? clear as mud lol

 

[ForgeCorvus]

The wych elm one at the start of all this is less likely to follow as its a 'Reflex/Deflex' shape (ie it dips in at the handle), how you do that Dwardo?

Some cracking sticks here......makes me envious

Theres lots of good advice (and some bow patterns) in "The Traditional Archer's Handbook"
http://www.quicks.com/ stock it, get the 3rd edition (or whatever the latest one is)

 

[dwardo]

The wych elm one at the start of all this is less likely to follow as its a 'Reflex/Deflex' shape (ie it dips in at the handle), how you do that Dwardo?

Some cracking sticks here......makes me envious

Theres lots of good advice (and some bow patterns) in "The Traditional Archer's Handbook"
http://www.quicks.com/ stock it, get the 3rd edition (or whatever the latest one is)

I was lucky enough to have a slightly deflexed stave, just a shame the bow was quite a low draw weight :\ I have since made 2 more from ash which turned out very well but alas i forgot to take photos before they went to their well deserved homes

I have just been given a yew branch which has more knots and kinks that i dont know what but ill give it a go !

I am lucky enough to have access to all the ash and wych elm i need i just have to fell and stave it. Wych elm is a pig as it seems to look straight and knot free until you fell and split it

Will post some more pics soon when i get going again as i now have 2 ash 1 grey alder and one very bent yew