Guys what's your opinion on Red Elm, thinking about a Great Northern with Red Elm, was told it is one tough wood.
I started with a red elm self bow around 8 years old (16 years ago) from a local bowyer. I put a lot of arrows through it and recently let a young kid borrow it to shoot and he put a lot of arrows through it. Still holding as strong as day one!
I think it makes a great limb!!
Eric
Flat grain red elm makes a very nice limb. It was used a lot for limbs in the 90's before bowyers started using exotic veneers.
It does seem that a fair number of the bowyers that have been building a long time like it as a limb wood a great deal.
I know when I spoke with Herb (Pronghorn Bows) about the bow I am having built. I told him that I wanted a tough as nails take-down that was a smooth shooter.
He never missed a beat Red Elm limbs and a Hickory riser was his answer. He told that Red Elm was his favorite limb wood; light weight, very high sheer strength and it stained and glued perfectly.
I love red elm--have it in one of my favorite longbows, a Talon. Very tough wood with interlocking sort of grain. Pretty too.
Anyone got pictures of red elm limbs or bow?
Red Elm is tough and looks good too! (http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj93/ruger1970/HPIM2024.jpg)d
(http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj93/ruger1970/HPIM2027.jpg)
Makes good looking limb too!
(http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h121/mandoman_2006/DSC01514.jpg)
(http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h121/mandoman_2006/000_1570.jpg)
Westbrook- I think we were loading at the same time :)
Yes we were :wavey:
Eric
Red elm is a beautiful look! Used it on the first of three laminated bows I built six years ago.
Pretty but a bit porus...I used clear glass over it and ended up with a few bubbles..
Pretty and functional. Whats not to love?
I am building myself a new bow for next year. You guessed it, Red Elm limb lams. :bigsmyl: Bob
Red elm is only second to bamboo for me.
I like Red Elm very good!
I just got a new schafer silvertip last week with Red Elm limbs. Its the fast flight model and I love it. Fast, easy to tune and handles perfectly.
I have red elm in two bows and it is a very nice wood. I got the same response from a few bowyers when asking for suggestions in limb woods. With no hesitation red elm. Strong easy to work with and a good looking wood.
That's what the limbs are in the Martin Dream Catcher.
I like it.
It's amazing how the same wood can be different looking on 2 bows. I had a Caribow with cocobolo riser and red elm limbs, absolutely beautiful. I have a ChekMate same combo, totally plain, in my view. Side by side, you'd never guess they were the same. Does make a nice limb though.
Red Elm makes for great limbs. Go for it!
(http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa121/kyTJ/Bows/blacktailmultiview.jpg)
I agree that red elm makes a great limb.
Is red elm any more or less resistant to twisting than actionbo or bamboo?
I have a red elm longhunter by Dan quillian and have shot it a lot its about 70 lbs at my draw and no problems with a lot of use. Its my go to bow.
Red elm made one of the smoothest and fastest longbows that I ever shot.......great wood....
The natural core materials in my bows at this time are either red elm, bamboo, or a combination. Another very good and tough limb natural material is maple.
I personally like red elm more than bamboo itself. It is very light weight like bamboo, but in my opinion it is a tougher material than bamboo is.
I may be adding maple in my line in the future, but if I do I would only use it on the belly side for extra compression strength.
I sometimes wonder what is the ultimate bow...
1. Bamboo on back with elm on the belly (which I personally believe is superior to an all bamboo bow),
2. Red elm all the way through, OR
3. red elm on the back and maple on the belly.
Regardless...one thing you will notice is I put red elm in all three of my "best" choices.
I've always found Red Elm to be a great limbwood. I agree with Macatawa, in that it is somewhat porous, so when gluing it up I always heat the lam with a hair dryer, spread on the glue with my putty knife and then heat the glue slightly, again using the hair dryer. You can watch bubbles form as the glue penetrates the pores and forces out the air. Then a quick pass with the knife takes care of the bubbles. I was taught many years ago that edge grain on the belly and flat grain on the back was the best combination....still generally follow that although can't prove that it's necessary. :-)
Thanks everyone, y'all about sealed the deal with me on Red Elm.
Had a Shrew with Red Elm limbs,really nice bow ,both to look at and shoot.--1Longbow
My Bama Royal has Red Elm cores. The bowyer said that he found Elm to be every bit as smooth as the bamboo I requested. He looked forward to using it a lot in the future.
I don't regret my decision as I do have another bow with bamboo. I find the elm to be just as smooth.
I haven't actually weighed the mass weight of two identically sized laminations, but John at Old Master's Crafters told me that red elm actually weighs less than bamboo. If that is true, and given it high strength...it is no wonder that it is a winner. I tried to do some research on the specific gravity of bamboo and found variable reports...ranging from 0.300-0.400 all the way up to even over 0.600 and more (1.0 would be equal to water). Red elm is around 0.470 0.530. Regardless, it is a light weight wood with good strength.
Like Ric said, red elm is very porus. It also has an interlocking grain which makes it very toughj
It is a most excellent choice as limb wood. Maple , hickor, red elm actionboo all are good limb choices. Howeveer for recurves I choose zebra as best, red elm second, maple tossup. I especially like zebra because it is tough , fairly light and the look is awsome. I like it much better than elm for the look under glass. However that is a personal taste and that can vary. Too me red elm is pretty plain looking unless it is cathedral cut with lots of contrast in the woo. Then it looks great but thst cut seems to be really hard to get. Performance wise I would personally grade red elm and zebra equals. However price wise zebra gets in lots of trouble. It is extremely expensive. about 4 too 5 times as much. God bless you all, Steve
Is there any difference between Red Elm & American Elm ?? Thank You, Adam
I've owned about 20 custom Bows and at least 75% were Red Elm.This wood is a looker and a performer!!
There are 6 species of elm in the eastern US. American (Ulmus americana), slippery (U.rubra), rock (U. thomasii), winged (U. alata), cedar (U. crassifolia) and September(U.serotina). Slippery, cedar and September are all known as red elm. The others, including American, are not usually called red elm. American elm is sometimes referred to as white elm, water elm and gray elm.
Thank You, Ric ...
here's some kennym edge grain elm
(http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj319/kittitiny/Mikespigkaratesawmilltankkiller070-1.jpg)e
I like the Red Elm! It make a purty bow limb :thumbsup: KY :archer:
I love red elm. Like tiger stripes. Heres a Blacktail, but I have had it on Appalations, Silvertips, Robertsons,etc. Awesome wood.
(http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab246/yornoc/redelm001.jpg) (http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab246/yornoc/redelm005.jpg) (http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab246/yornoc/redelm004.jpg)
It is tuff flat grain looks good-takes stain well-lite weight Yeah i like it a lot.
Ric - Do you know the exact species most "red elm" lams are ground from? If it is the Slippery "red" elm, folks may want to stock up because a blight of "Dutch Elm disease" is sweeping the nation and may not be long before the elm tree goes the way of the Chestnut. The bug is already here in Ohio and it's killing all the elms stated from a recent newspaper article.
They claim the elms will be gone for generations, much like the Chestnuts.
Zbone, I wish I had a specific anwser for you but I don't. You're right in that Dutch Elm disease has been and is, a real problem and has greatly reduced the elm population in numerous parts of the country. Another disease that elm are suseptable to is Elm phloem necrosis....more nasty stuff. Both diseases can attack all of the elms. American elm and Slippery elm are considered "soft" elms, with the others considered hard elms. All elms, according to my info anyway, have excellent bending properties.
I believe my Silver Creek which is an longbow has red Elm stained limbs very tough! My Bama Royal has Red Elm Limb cores! Dutch Elm wiped out most of the Elm here in No Mi, cut a lot of it down to burn for fire wood the stuff was so hard when standing,it was real hard on chainsaw blades!
Ric,
If you are worried about Dutch Elm disease, you can pack that elm up and send it to me. I wouldn't want you to get sick. :biglaugh:
Lee, I wish I had some elm up here in Montana to worry about, but it's not a native species. However, if you have any extra down there in Mississippi, I'd be willing to store it for you and I'd even pay the shipping. :-)
My new BamaBows Elite Classic has red elm limbs. When I requested yew from Nate the bowyer he said he uses English yew. I wanted Pacific. He said go with red elm. I don't have a lot of experience with different limb woods, but this bow is beautiful and most importantly a shooter.
(http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab246/yornoc/bows/blacktail006.jpg) (http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab246/yornoc/bows/blacktail004.jpg) (http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab246/yornoc/redelm001.jpg)
I call it the timber rattlesnake of the tree world. Great grain, tiger striped pattern.
I have a Crow Creek Dalton with red elm limbs. When I ordered it I told Elmer I just wanted something tough and he suggested red elm. I haven't been disappointed.
I've got red elm in the core of my Bama Royal as well. I like it better than boo in the core.
Sorry guys, I am not much of a drinker. I had a few beers and replied twice.
Guess I gotta go find out what other stupid things I did.