Main Discussion Area > Bows

Which type of rings are stronger?

(1/3) > >>

Easternarcher:
A guy offering to set aside some elm logs asked me if tight rings were best on elm or more open rings as young growth trees.  I couldn't give him an answer.

What's the scoop on this? What about B. locust and hornbeam which he is also offering to save for me.

I suppose it's different for selfbows as opposed to backed bows right?

Badger:
Easter, on locust and osage i prefer wider rings, on whitewoods I have no opinion and have seen both narrow and wide ringed bows perform well. Ash I prefer wider most of the time but no solid opinions. Steve

snedeker:
I've wondered about that issue two in white woods.  I am looking around at some white oak trees.  Ones near me on some rough sandy soiled ridge country are very thin ringed, but I see lumber cut from rich soils with pretty thick w. oak rings.  Some discussions of lumber I have seen mention that shagbark hickory is heavier and harder when thick ringed.

Dave

Pat B:
I've made bows with both hickory and elm with thin rings and they came out great. I prefer rings about 1/8" to 3/16" think on osage, locust, mulberry, etc. but I have made very nice bows with thin ringed osage. The osage ELB that won BOM in Feb. of 06 has very thin rings and made a beautiful ELB that shoots like a champ.  ;D   Pat

Justin Snyder:
I don't know enough to say one way or another. I will say though that you can have too thick of rings. In some of the really thick rings, the spring growth is a little thicker. It still seems thin in comparison to the late growth, but it is not as thin as I would like. I made an osage bow with thick rings and only had 2 good layers left in the bow.  It should have had 3, but the thickness caused tillering to get the 3rd ring so thin that the spring growth caused a problem and had to come off.  This bow came in under weight.  I guess what I am saying is if the spring growth is not super thin, I don't care how thick or thin the summer growth is.  ;D  Justin

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page