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Hop Hornbeam

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superdav95:
Yup it’s very good bow wood for certain if you can find a straight piece.  It likes to spiral!   It’s a great candidate for boo backing too.  It takes heat treatment well also.  I just don’t go as deep with my heat as I would with hickory especially on a self bow. 

Marc St Louis:
I've made quite a few ELB style bows using HHB.  It's elastic enough to tolerate a rounded cross section.

Pinewood Archer:
So the general consensus is Hop Hornbeam is good so I’ll move onto my next question, is Hickory a better option? The shop I work at has a bunch of Hickory and I have no doubt that given how much is there that isn’t Calico I would have enough to experiment with, I want to go with a round cross section and from my understanding Hickory lends itself well to that.

superdav95:
I personally really like hickory and is in my opinion very underated.  that being said you might get better results with a high crown of rounded cross section of hhb over the hickory.  Ive never tried making a walking staff and a bow at the same time with same stick of hickory before but would think that elm might be another good option if you have some.  its got interlocking grain and is very tough and also takes heat treatment well too.  as far as a regular long bow or a flat bow both hhb and hickory are fine choices. the edge given to hhb for durability and stiffness.  only trouble is finding a good piece.  this is where hickory shines really as its readily avail nice and straight. Then add a thorough heat treatment its hard to beat.  Elm is a lot more work to make into a bow but its very very tough. It also takes heat treatment well. 

bassman211:
Elm .... yes it is my favorite white wood. More work, but with great results.

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