Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: econner on May 23, 2007, 06:52:12 pm
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OK, will western cedar work for a bow? The beautiful "eastern red cedar" that I found is actually western. I haven't heard anything here or in the TBB's about the western variety. Did I waste money, or can this be used by allowing for wider limbs?
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Did you buy lumber or is it a stave? The real question is, is it really cedar? What we refer to as cedar in the west is usually juniper. In Utah we have Rocky Mountain Juniper or Utah Juniper. Both make good bows if you can find a piece big enough to make a bow. ERC is actually a juniper not a cedar. ;D Justin
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You can make arrows out of Western cedar,But you are wasteing your time making a bow.As in KA BLOOIE!
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Never worked it myself but had a friend try some at the selfbow challenge a couple of years ago
and both blew on the tillering board at about 10 inches.So I would be careful with it. :)
Pappy
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Eastern red cedar is Juniper.
Western red cedar is Thuja.
I have a theoretical flatbow design for WRC 35#@29.5" that is 78" (198cm) and 3.1"(80mm) wide after thin handle.
I assume you are not intrested, so I will not post it here.
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jkekoni,why woud you say that,I am always interested in something I haven't seen before,love to see it.As I stated I haven't seen one that don't mean it hasn't been done or it won't work. :)
Pappy
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Here it goes!
[attachment deleted by admin]
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And the tiller should look like this.
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Hi,
Poopey. Cedar will make a perfectly serviceable bow, but you have to back it. I've done several with hickory and maple backings, and they are fine bows. I agree that it will not make much of a self bow, but there are much better options for that. Find a nice quarter sawn board with straifgt grain and no knots (yes, it is possible), and you're away.
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The design above is based on commercial wood data and some rules of thumb, combined with
simulation model.
The rules of thumb apply well on typical hardwoods, but I am somewhat cautious how well they apply on softwoods,
however I do not think they should be far off.
I have build one bow with the above design program:
It was bulletwood and considerably smaller that what i suggested for WRC.
(something to do with the fact that Bulletwood weigths about 3 times that of WRC).
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abd3112.
We are talking about Western Red Cedar<Thuja plicata>, it is Thuja and lost of lighter than Eastern red cedar<Juniperus virginiana>( which is juniper).
Everyone knows ERC makes fine backed bows with reasonable dimenssions.
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Very nice looking bow and the tiller is dead on.
Pappy
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I have had problems with western cedar delaminating between the growth rings, sometimes on the first bend every ring will seperate. Not much shear strength between the rings. On the plus not, I made a kid a w c bow about 5 years ago and he is still shooting it. Steve
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What work Ive done on WRC, is that it has to be mostly sapwood and sinewbacked , the juniper I used in Tx. is way better bowwood, I know you say WRC is a juniper and it well might be, but its not the same thing I had in tx.That stuff down there was tough , you couldnt hardly break a limb of it. I loved it for bowwood , but as most of you know I sinew back everything. The center of this WRC is purple not Redish brown like the Tx. junipers. Trapper