Anyone know about box wood?

[sleek]

I think its a great candidate for a 5 piece. Its better than osage in compression.

[jameswoodmot]

I’ve worked with Box a lot but not as bows. My gut would be that it will fail unexpectedly in tension.  I’ve got a good stash of it but only use it for tool handles. Unless you want to try and use it if I were you I would sell it and use the proceeds to buy a stave or two of something else. In the U.K. I would guess if you chop those up into turning blanks/ handle blanks/knapping billets there’s at least £100, maybe £200 if your patient, in each stave

[Hamish]

James, you may be right about the profit margin as craft wood rather than bow wood.

I still would advocate for bows, and not cutting it up. Anything in boxwood that is billet length or stave length I couldn't walk past. I would feel the same about someone cutting up bow quality yew staves or planks and using it for furniture and craft items that don't require full length run of grain. There is plenty of short bits of these woods coming from logs that would never provide bow quality material.

Unless there are pins that aren't properly compensated for, or the bow is too narrow I wouldn't be very worried about a break in tension.

.