Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => HowTo's and Build-a-longs => Topic started by: arthur_the_great on January 21, 2012, 03:54:40 pm
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first of all hello from Spring Branch, TX
now for the question
anyone know what are the good trees in the area to make bows from?
thanks for any information
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Sorry to say, you are in a bow wood desert. Nope, can't do a thing with osage, hickory, etc. In fact, you should cut all the osage and hickory you can find down there, split it, and ship it to me. By clearing the land maybe you can grow some pine or something. >:D
There's a couple guys down your way that are going to chip in soon. They will offer you advice, tips on picking good trees, heck - they may even offer you the opportunity to pick thru their piles of wood. Resist the temptation, it's too addictive. Run while you can! ;D
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so not only am i surrounded evil mountain cedar (AKA ashe juniper) there is no usable bow wood!
what about the area around stockdale, TX we should be moving there by the end of the year
(the reason mountain cedar is evil is because every winter and some of the spring the pollen nocks me on my behind and once it put my aunt in the hospital!)
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I'm pretty sure there is good bow wood in your area. Do you get out of town and into the country? Are you familiar with what osage orange looks like (also called bo-dark, bois d'arc, hedge, hedgeapple, etc)? The fruit is this ugly lime green thing the size of an orange or grapefruit with a very fissured surface. And no, ya don't eat it, it's only for little green men.
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i live out in the country
I think i know Osage orange looks not quite sure though
but there is a tree that i think fits the description but never saw any fruit
lots of thorns though it's very crooked
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Welcome!
Just a prediction - In a year's time, you will not only be spotting osage trees at a mile's distance, you will be knocking on doors asking if they want that useless, thorny beast removed. ;)
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:laugh:
I hope so postman :)
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Lets see, it's very crooked, and has thorns. Yep, that's osage. The wood will be a yellow-orange color with a thin ring of white sapwood just under the bark. The hard part is finding one that has a straight section long enough to make a bow from. Look at the bark and try to find one that doesn't have any twist to it. And the thicker the growth rings the better. You want thick dark rings and thin lighter colored rings. When you cut one, seal the ends with glue, shellac, or polyurethane as soon as you can. I seal the ends as soon as the tree hits the gound. Then you get to the fun part, splitting it and removing the bark and sapwood.
Hickory is also another good bow wood as JW mentioned. Especially if you are in a dry climate like texas.
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I'm not sure osage goes that far south, Crooked and thorny also matches mesquite and I'm real sure that grows down there. If the heartwood is brown it's mesquite, it it's yellow it's osage. Are there pecan trees down there? You can build bows from that for sure. Otherwise I'm hosting an osage tree cutting up by Dallas in 2 weeks if you can get here.
George
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I'm not going to be ready to do osage bow for a little while i still haven't made one bow yet (unless you one from pvc)
I'm sure that the tree is osage we had to some branchs they were up against the house wall they were bright yellow almost whight
what would be awesome is if i could all cedar in the area
it make up just over half the trees in the area about half of whats left is one type of oak or another
the rest is minor amounts about a dozen different trees
one of the threads in the bows board its labeled First Bow someone made a juniper bow its been posted in today so its fairly recent
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Howdy, Jackcrafty has posted several bows made from Ashe juniper, including a fairly heavy weight warbow. If you can find a straight piece of juniper you're in. Check out jackcrafty's posts or even send him a pm.
Now those twisty osage orange trees have their proponents too. Ron
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It might be best to start with osage and then try so-called second string woods. Osage will take a lot of abuse and still bend without blowing up. There is a saying on here that sums it up, "Don't take much osage to make a bow."
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Hard for me to say, but JW is right. Osage is a lot easier to get a bow out of than juniper, especially for a new bowyer. Pat B is making a real nice bow out of an osage sapling and is using the sapwood. That would be a good way to start if you can find one. Also, watch Craig's List. You might find somebody cutting fence posts that will sell you an osage post good for 2-4 bows for less than $10. You can get juniper the same way. I tillered my first hickory bow this weekend and I liked the wood a lot. If you can find some pecan or hickory it makes a great bow and San Antonio might be dry enough for it to shoot well. Sometimes local hardwood stores will have hickory boards too.
George
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Hard for me to say, but JW is right.
Equally hard for me to live with the fact that I have taken a position that George would agree with. But that's life. :P
You should take him up on his offer to go woodcutting in two weeks, even if it is just to meet the woman that has tolerated him for so long she's officially a saint and also makes him biscuits and gravy (scones and sausage sauce for your Brits).
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Arthur, you should try hickory or pecan(basically the same tree) if you want to cut your own. Use osage/bodark if you can get it. A lot of posts I've read on here are bows of elm which I know you also have locally.
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i'm interested in juniper because it grows like a weed out here almost everyone is allergic to it with varying degrees and i dont get out much
dont think that my parents are going up to dallas any time soon so i cant take him up on his offer id love but cant sorry :'(
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OK. If you're going to use juniper, look for a clump of them and go to the center to try and find one about 2"-3" in diameter with almost no branches. Then cut it and clamp it to a board or workbench to keep it from warping as it dries. Patrick (jackcrafty) is an expert on juniper bows. Hopefully he'll be along to help. I have a pole like that I haven't made into a bow yet, so I've helped about all I can.
If you and your parents get up to Dallas, PM me and I'll give you an osage stave.
George
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Howdy, I've felt a little overwhelmed by all the votes for anything but juniper. I have not worked with Ashe juniper, but I have made and like bows of ERC. rocky mountain and western juniper. I'm also a believer in "using what you have", especially if that means the difference between getting started, instead of putting things off while waiting for the "better"wood.
I hope Arthur finds a great stave and is successful on his first bow. Realistically most of us break a bow or two (or more) when we are first starting.
I still say go for it. The hard part will be finding a straight, knot free stave. If Ashe is anything like the junipers I've harvested. the best trees will be found in areas where shade makes them struggle to reach the light. The center of a dense grove, or the bottom of a north facing bank are places that have worked for me. Another possibility is a a horizontal branch from a tree growing out in the open. Sometimes the lower branches are quite straight and long. The worst that can happen is that Arthur has to walk around the country side looking for the right tree. And if he has a tree ID guide, he might find one of the yellow trees, too. Ron
Ron
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Arthur sent me PM and I gave him some advice about using juniper.
Personally, ashe juniper is one of my favorites and I'm glad I live where people consider it trash wood. ;D
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my little sister just broke the stave i cut down and dried and roughed out and ready to start tillering :'(
now I'm gonna have to start looking for another tree to cut down that will be awhile :(
i guess in the mean time if my dads going to home depot I'll tag along and search through the red oak 1x2s cause i found a few good tutorials on using them to make bows
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Well if your little sister was able to break the stave there was probably flaw in it of some kind. It's a bummer though! Good luck with the oak board, but keep looking for another tree. Ron
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Well if your little sister was able to break the stave there was probably flaw in it of some kind. It's a bummer though! Good luck with the oak board, but keep looking for another tree. Ron
Or else your sister was reeeaaallllyyyy mad at you!
The oak/hickory board bow is a great way to get started. Shoot, after a couple hunnert bows I still crank out board bows once in a while.