Author Topic: 80" White Elm Warbow Build-along  (Read 60345 times)

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Offline WillS

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Re: Just starting - 80" White Elm ELB Build-along
« Reply #15 on: January 31, 2014, 11:27:29 am »
If only Joe Gibbs was a member here! Nobody can build white wood warbows like that guy. 

Also, it's a shame you're not a member of the EWBS - there's an entire forum section dedicated to white wood warbows.  There's an excellent build-a-long by Alan Blackham in which he makes a 110lb white elm full compass bow, and a lot of beautifully made elm bows scattered across the forum.  Not much help here I'm afraid, but I can tell you the dimensions of another guys white elm 110lb bow - 35mm wide and 28mm thick in the handle area, tillered full compass of course.  Don't know if that's any help?

Couple of things I picked up from a quick browse just now - keep the wood super dry, toast the belly during tillering and tiller slowly.  None of that is from me personally (as I said I am clueless about elm!) but they're various nuggets of info from Joe.  Best of luck dude!

Offline Del the cat

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Re: Just starting - 80" White Elm ELB Build-along
« Reply #16 on: January 31, 2014, 01:00:01 pm »
Oh, BTW..
Don't switch off the hot air gun and leave it nose down in your clamp. It can melt the innards, they are designed to cool down nose up.
My fancy temperature controlled one died that way  :-[ but I'd got enough temperature daya before it went...
Del
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Offline Cameroo

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Re: Just starting - 80" White Elm ELB Build-along
« Reply #17 on: January 31, 2014, 02:44:23 pm »
Will, thanks for the hints.  I'll convert those measurements and see how they compare with my finished product.  And thanks for the tip with the heat gun Del.

I decided to start the heat treating with the bow clamped to the side of a 2x4 and induce a little reflex while I'm at it with a chunk of wood clamped under the handle area.  Del, as much as I love your idea of correcting the tip alignment at the same time, I just could not bring myself to mounting the bow in the jig I built to do that.  The logistics just didn't seem like it would work out for me.  With the wider caul that would be required, I was too worried about scorching the back, which I have done in the past.  So I came to the conclusion I would correct the alignment with heat applied to a small section of limb after the heat treatment is done.  I understand your logic for avoiding reheating, but I have also read some other notable bowyers say that that is not an issue.  My inexperience doesn't allow me to form my own opinion on the matter :)

Here's a shot of how it's working out so far.  I've got the gun running at 800 degrees F (will go all the way up to 1200 but I don't want to push my luck).  I'm keeping the gun 4" from the belly at all times, blowing for 6-8 minutes, and then advancing about 3 or 4 inches up the limb.  The jig is working out great, it allows me very precise and easy adjustments for the gun position.  The wood is actually getting a little darker than it appears in this picture.  I'll post some close-ups once it's done.  At this rate it's going to be an all day event, but I'd rather let the heat soak in slowly than end up just scorching the surface.



Offline Stoker

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Re: Just starting - 80" White Elm ELB Build-along
« Reply #18 on: January 31, 2014, 04:20:52 pm »
Looking good Cam.. My old drywall shoulders hurt thinking about pulling it... It'll be sweet when she's done..
Thanks Leroy
Bacon is food DUCT tape - Cipriano

Offline Cameroo

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Re: Just starting - 80" White Elm ELB Build-along
« Reply #19 on: February 02, 2014, 10:18:23 pm »
Just a quick update.  Over the last couple days I was able to finish the heat treating, and then bring the tips into alignment using a different form, shown below.  I forgot to take pics, but I had some aluminum foil taped to the sides to block the heat from reaching the back of the bow.  Seemed to work ok.  The second pic shows the bit of reflex that was added during the heat treatment.  Overall I was happy, the tips track straight through the handle again.  I'll set the stave aside now for a few days to let the moisture content equalize again.  Hopefully I didn't dry it out too much.




Offline DuBois

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Re: Just starting - 80" White Elm ELB Build-along
« Reply #20 on: February 02, 2014, 11:57:26 pm »
Hey, this is lookin good. But what do I know? I have been wantin to destroy some elm someday n the near future. Would a 3" sapling elm work for a longbow ok?  Thanks, Marco

Offline Del the cat

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Re: Just starting - 80" White Elm ELB Build-along
« Reply #21 on: February 03, 2014, 03:34:28 am »
Hey, that's lookin' good, nice amount of reflex. Hopefully when she's done she'll be ramrod straight.
Del
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mikekeswick

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Re: Just starting - 80" White Elm ELB Build-along
« Reply #22 on: February 03, 2014, 04:21:46 am »
My stave is 80.5 inch long.
I'll be getting her bending well today.
Yours looks good so far. Maybe next time try inducing your reflex like an elliptical tiller. Eg. Non at the handle and increasing out towards the tips.

Offline toomanyknots

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Re: Just starting - 80" White Elm ELB Build-along
« Reply #23 on: February 03, 2014, 12:41:03 pm »
My stave is 80.5 inch long.
I'll be getting her bending well today.
Yours looks good so far. Maybe next time try inducing your reflex like an elliptical tiller. Eg. Non at the handle and increasing out towards the tips.

Shoot, I got an elm stave too.  :) No, but I probably won't touch it anytime soon, mine is red elm and is from a board a guy gave me. It is all twisted too...  >:( Plus the grain ain't too great....  >:( >:( >:( Er, on second though maybe I don't have one too.  :)
"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline Cameroo

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Re: Just starting - 80" White Elm ELB Build-along
« Reply #24 on: February 08, 2014, 12:51:52 pm »
Not much to see, but thought I'd post a quick update while the coffee brews.  It's been almost a week since heat treating and I just started tillering this morning.  Pretty much ready for low brace, pulling 110 with the long string in this picture.  The tiller obviously needs work.  I think I'll take a little more off within roughly 1 foot each side of the center and see how that looks.  I also want to round the corners off on the shelf on the tiller tree so the bow can do what it wants.  Will update later today.


Offline WillS

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Re: 80" White Elm Warbow Build-along
« Reply #25 on: February 08, 2014, 01:14:26 pm »
Very nice.  Looks good and even I think.  Should be a screamer!

Offline Cameroo

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Re: 80" White Elm Warbow Build-along
« Reply #26 on: February 08, 2014, 06:47:04 pm »
I feel quite foolish posting this, but I figure if someone else can learn from my poor example, why not?

Lesson learned? Don't use cheap nylon cord for a stringer on a 110 lb bow.  I had my tiller string halfway in the groove for the bow's first brace, when the stringer snapped, causing the tiller string to pull a splinter off along the back.  Lucky for me it wasn't fatal.  Time to make an appropriate stringer I guess...  ::)


Offline WillS

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Re: 80" White Elm Warbow Build-along
« Reply #27 on: February 08, 2014, 06:50:50 pm »
Jeepers, that gave me a shiver of a painful memory...  Onwards!  Try 550 Paracord.  Works a charm.

Offline toomanyknots

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Re: 80" White Elm Warbow Build-along
« Reply #28 on: February 08, 2014, 07:01:43 pm »
Close call!
"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline Marc St Louis

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Re: 80" White Elm Warbow Build-along
« Reply #29 on: February 08, 2014, 07:48:37 pm »
You sure that is White Elm?  Looks more like Red to me.  All the White Elm I ever cut had mostly sapwood.

I've made a few warbows out of Elm and if your Elm is good quality then it will tolerate a D section.  I also keet the length to around 75" for a 32" draw

This is one I made for a friend of Jaroslav several years ago.  If I remember right it was around 75" long , maybe a bit more, and pulled 125# @ 32", my scale is a bit off so it might have been more like 135#



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