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Ash core.....

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stuckinthemud:
Thanks Mike, the bow looks stunning.  How reflexed was it while the sinew was drying? Don't suppose you have any photos of it 'in build'?  My ash is a bit narrow/high crowned at 40mm diameter, can't decide whether to de-crown it or look around for something a bit wider,  any thoughts?

loon:
Nice slender tips!

mikekeswick:
Del- get stuck in! Have a look and see if there is any maple near you...anything ring porous is a last resort for the core!
Aaron - Thanks and I used Thai water buffalo.
Parnell - Haha! Me too!
Ed - Thanks. I just don't like the fact that is so ring porous, there is a good chance it will delaminate between the layers of latewood, the delam following the earlywood. When you look at our ash end grain the earlywood is almost more pores than wood. One of my first attempts at making a horn bow I used an elm core thinking that elm is tough as old boots, very 'bendable', reasonable steam bending, good gluing etc and it didn't even get to brace before breaking. Also when you look at the breaks on a core they are really quite strange almost like a reverse chrysal? I've broken a few cores and they are all the same. It could however have been a completely different issue than just what type of wood the core is...on my more recent bows I've used a thicker glue when gluing on the first layer of sinew (30%), gradually using less concentrated glue on the 2nd and 3rd layers. I started doing this after contacting Adam in desperation after breaking too many cores.  He told me that the concentrated glue for the first layer is very important along with the prearation of the cores back for sinewing. Eg.fairly deep grooves and multiple thin coats of glue until it looks glossy. Anyway I aim to shoot this bow a lot and really put it through its paces. Even if it lasts I don't think I would use ash for a Turkish bow ;) too much work! This was just a quicky bow to satisfy my curiosity :)
Stuckinthemud - No problem :) I'm afraid I don't have any pictures but the tips would have been about 12 inches apart during seasoning. I didn't want to put this bow under more stress by crossing the tips. Yes you would be better with wider parts. If you are going to make something like my bow then you might be better with quarter sawn ash thus eliminating having earlywood rings running through the core.
Loon - Thanks :)   

stuckinthemud:
Thanks Mike, I'll keep the ash for the D-bow I'd originally intended and find something else - ash is fairly common here, not sure how the die-back is affecting stocks but I haven't spotted any here yet, so shouldn't have too much trouble sourcing some. I do have plenty of apple drying in the shed, most of it is far from perfect but enough there to make a few 5-piece billets, only concern is that is seems to be quite brittle.

loon:
How do you make these finishes so darn nice? They look stunning!..

Also looking forward a lot to the bow with more reflexed tips. I like those slender tips, must be pretty fast..

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