Christmas Storm Bow

[El Destructo]

I have been such a wreck thelast two Days with my Son Stranded in the Christmas Blizzard...I could not just sit around...or pace till I wore My Socks out....So I went out into the  Garage and fumbled through my Staves for a piece of Wood that I didn't care if it broke or not.....I found this Piece of Wood that I cut in a Canyon here in the Panhandle two Years ago....no Idea what it is...maybe you can Help me out...

 I laid it out so that the Natural bend in this little Sapling will be an Arrow Shelf of sorts...as you can see I am going to have to heat it a Bit to get the String to line up a bit better than it is right now....but I am leaning towards letting the String ride the left side to reduce Paralax...plus I like Bows that are pushing the edge a bit!!

The Bow is 63 inches NTN....1 inch at the Grip...tapering to 1 3/4" at the Fades....than it stay as close to the Natural width as possible all the way to the last 4 inches ...where I started to taper the Limbs down to the 1/2" Tips....I am shooting for a 55 pound Bow with a 28 inch Draw...but will settle for 26 if thats all I can get from it without stressing it too much....

Whatever this wood is ...it is some really springy Wood...Has beautiful Grain and color too....the Tree grows in small Groves....seeming to spread out every Year from the Clump.... It has fine grained dark Grey Bark...and Berries that turn bright Yellow and Transparent in the Falls....Maybe Hillbilly can help me figure out what it is...and if this one Works...I know where I can get a Life's Worth of it!! Check it out and give Me any input that you have....and I will be updating it as soon as l let it acclimate after heating the Handle and bending the Upper Limb .....and Thank You All for your Prayers and Thoughts when My Son was in Natures Grasp for the Last two Day....God Bless

[rockhound34]

  That looks like osage to me.

[rockhound34]

Mulberry

[El Destructo]

Well Guys....It ain't Osage...has yellow berries....ain't Mulberry either...cause their berries are like a Raspberry...and messy as all get out...these Berries are smooth and turn clear...you can see through them to the seeds inside when they are dry.....

[acker]

The wood looks allot like sambucus to me.It might be "sambucus canadensis aurea" that  has yellow berries.
Sambucus nigra is a good bow wood, good in tension and under pressure made a few good bows out of it but I never worked with the yellow one.
Gruß acker

[El Destructo]

Nope...not Elder either...too Tall ....the Trees in this 1/2 acre clump were all at least 20 foot tall........

Man I just got through heating the Wood till I could not touch it....and I had two 5 Quart Oil Jugs hanging from the Limb while I heated it for 5 minutes to make sure that I got good heat penetration....I left the Jugs hanging until it cooled for an Hour...removed them and the Limb had not moved a centimeter....any Suggestions??

[Swamp Bow]

Man I just got through heating the Wood till I could not touch it....and I had two 5 Quart Oil Jugs hanging from the Limb while I heated it for 5 minutes to make sure that I got good heat penetration....I left the Jugs hanging until it cooled for an Hour...removed them and the Limb had not moved a centimeter....any Suggestions??

Steam?

Swamp

[sulphur]

Destructo- i have know idea what wood that is.  but i did grow up in the panhandle (pampa) i do have an idea about blizzards.  Be glad you had something to work on, not too many trees in that part of the world.  Now that i live in east tex i do take full advantage of the local osage!!  I also think steam may be your only option.  i don't like steam on seasoned wood, but what else can you do?

[El Destructo]

Damn a Pampa Harvester....alright!! I have no Idea what this Wood is...but I am sure that if You remember traveling the Road from Papa to McLean...and seeing the Clumps of Trees that the Cattle hung out under...the ones with all of the Bottom Branches knocked off by the Cattle....thats the kind of Tree it was...most of the pastures from McLean to Shamrock have at least one Clump of these growing in it too.... Where in East Texas did You move to?? And is it nice and Green with Trees and Water....... If so....I am sooooo Jealous!!

[sailordad]

Mike i hae absolutely no idea on what type of wood that is
but itlooks like yo have it bending nice and even right now
i think i would let that one be a democrat since its leaning a little to the left

[El Destructo]

                                    Now thats Funny....Even though it's Political.............

[sulphur]

mostly i remember the elm and pecan trees.  i moved just east of dallas (sulphur springs) when i got married. I remember lost of low brush and stunted trees all leaning to the northeast because of the constant 50 mph winds.  if it works it works though.   "Go Harvesters

[dismount]

El D, I grew up cattle farming in N. Ok. Everyone had those tight clumps and all the cattle hung around them. They never grew any where else except in the grove. None of the other farmers knew what they are either. Most of them farmers didn't give a crap about what kind of trees they were. I thougth they were cool.  I've been checking the threads the whole time with my butt drawd up between my shoulder blades waiting for your son to get home. Congrats!   Phil

[George Tsoukalas]

I was figuring on osage or mulberry.  So if it is not that then I don't know. But I do know that bow is sure nice! Jawge

[hawkbow]

 looks like a real nice bow to me.. look forward to seeing it with some blood on it.. Hawk