Main Discussion Area > English Warbow
english elm compared to american elm
Marc St Louis:
As I said, there are just too many sub-species of Elm and after you've cut enough trees you realize that it's just a waste of time trying to positively identify them, I have cut a lot of Elm. There are some species that are easily identified by looks, like Winged Elm for one but we don't get those up here.
It is relatively easy to chase a ring with Elm, as long as the rings are wide enough. When the rings get thin, and they can get pretty thin, it becomes a nightmare. I don't care for very thin ringed Elm especially when those rings are on the back. When I get Elm like that I will chase a ring till I get one at least 1/8" thick
I'll post some pictures of an Elm Warbow that I recently made that had that problem
markinengland:
English Elm is a different tree to Wych Elm.
English Elm Ulmus procera
Wych Elm Ulmus glabra
These may both be different to what you have in the US.
Jude:
I think that the problem is that elms readily hybridize, so if you have more than one species in a given area, you will get all sorts of crossbreeds. There are several species of asian elms planted as ornamentals, and there has been a lot of purposful crossbreeding with them and american elm in an attempt to breed a Dutch Elm Disease resistant strain.
Badger:
I don't know one elm from another but have found elm to be one of the most predictable well behaved bow woods I have worked with. Very consistent when compared with most other woods.
Red Elm I have made quite a few bow with and find it entirely different from the other elms, lighter wood, and prone to chrysaling. Very fast if the bow survives. Not one of my favorites at all, down low on the list. Steve
Rod:
Trouble is Wych Elm suffered from Dutch Elm disease and I don't see much of it.
Last time I saw any in a yard it was from the Hebrides and was stunted growth and much more character than most of us would like to see in a stave or billet except the most confirmed snaky bow addict.
But if anyone does have access to some good wych elm I would expect them to grab it and make a bow.
rod.
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