shikari

I need to bend red elm for a bow making project,it is 3/4 inch thick by 1.5 inch wide,any advice on the process would be appericiated.
Thanks

johnv51

It will be difficult if not impossible to bend something 3/4" thick. If you rip it into thin strips (1/8" or less) you should be able to glue them up and clamp into a form to get the curve.

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Daren

I have to disagree johnv...I have bent much 3/4" ash for long bow making. I did not chime in before because I have never bent red elm.

Firstly stock selection is important, straight grained and of course knot/defect free.

I am no expert on bow making, just made a few maybe someone else with more experience with chime in. I steam bent my ash and left it in a fixture for a few days to dry. There are many ways to make a steam chamber I found when I was looking into this 4-5 (?) years ago on a quick google search. Mine was like just about like everything else I experiment with was an on the fly/jury rigged deal. I used a section of gutter long enough for the bow blank to fit in, supplied steam by boiling water on my turkey fryer . It worked though, let it steam for 30-45 minutes, take it out and put in the fixture to cool.

Having disagreed with johnv...now I am sorta going to agree . lamination makes for a stronger bow. But if you are trying to make something in the traditional style I guess that would be out. I was making some traditional bows and used solid wood.

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Boardman

If anything, red elm has a propensity for bowing when it's worked - I've had individual pieces go out as much as 1-2" over 18" length - and that was 3/4 material. It's more flexible than most woods, and was used for making hockey sticks back when. I'd guess it would bend well.

nateatcpo

you can also try wetting the elm then elevating one end and placing a weight in the center to get your rough bend...then wet / heat to get it into your jig for final adjustments and setting the correct shape.