- Small pieces are rarely straight.
- If elm isn't perfectly straight and even, they are almost certain to warp.
- It's interlocking grain is hard to work with stone tools.
If this bow fails to come out in a reasonably good way, I will leave elm for a while and use a wood that causes less worries to the mind. Here is the progress, when it has been thinned properly and is bending fairly evenly I will start focusing on making the width the way I want it.