Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Elktracker on February 10, 2011, 04:58:56 pm
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I got these logs from a friend who works at a lumber mill, he said they were ash but didnt know what type. Can anyone tell me what type of ash this is? I have read that smaller logs are better for building bow so im not sure how well these will work as they are around 26" through, they are cut to 8 feet long. There will be some waste because he tried to split them in half with the log loader lol. I have never worked with ash and am wondering what part of the wood to work with? Heart wood? sap wood? do I need to chase a ring ect. I plan on processing these into staves with an Alaskan Saw Mill. Also the rings are not very tight, is this ok? thanks for any help :)
Josh
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If it is ash, you will need to identify how strong it is and how hard the wood is. This is because I have seen big, old ash trees cut down that had wood that was starting to get brash and go bad, even though the tree looked healthy, possibly dying of just old age in other words, or possibly EAB. If it is good, hard wood, it is most likely white ash. But to me, the heartwood in that log looks a lot bigger than any whiteash I've seen. It almost looks like a type of hickory. But if it is ash, you won't need to chase a ring - just debark and take off any corky sapwood layer it might have. The first good, hard ring should be your back. You can also make a heartwood ashbow if you so desire. I don't know that it would be any better though. But white ash, at least all that I've seen, typically does have thick rings, like up to .5" thick so that would be normal.
I'm not sure or not if this is white ash, but that's what you would want out of the native US ashes. Green isn't as good at all for a self-bow.
White ash would have a strong and hard ring. If you put a rasp to it it should not be all that quick or easy to file if it is strong and healthy white ash.
CP
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Note: I modified my previous post :)
CP
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Thank you for the reply cacatch he said it was ash but they get all different hardwoods in so it may not be? I really have no clue? I was planning on just cutting it like a pie but if the heart wood is good for bows I may want to think about cutting it up a bit different? Thanks again for your input and knolledge
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I also noticed the very center of the logs heart is a bit punky?
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No problem. I wish I could tell you for sure if it is ash or not, and what kind, but I am not certain. I'll say this too though - a good white ash log can hold many bows, because a log that size you can split in half, then quarters, then eighths, and even sixteenth's possibly, and even then you can get a bow out of the outer half of the stave, and possibly out of the inner half that you split off (heartwood). Good luck to ya. Hopefully Hillbilly or one of them tree-savvy guys will chime in and say it's white ash for sure and then you can go balls to the wall on it! ;)
CP
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:D thanks
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Yeah, I noticed that too. I recently cut a big old white ash tree that had a bad core in it too. But I went ahead and split mine out into 8ths and I'm not worried about the core at all because the outter wood is nice and hard and the slivers I pulled off when splitting are nice and strong. I think the big ashes just don't last that long and then start to die of old age or EAB when they get about to the size of that one and mine, which was about the same.
I think the best thing to do would be cut a piece off, debark and expose the very first nice hard solid ring, and fingernail test it. Your fingernail shouldn't hardly make a dent in it at all, if it is healthy white ash.
CP
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Elktraker, I make baskets and bows out of white ash, it has no heart wood.The log there looks like it could either be black or green ash,it has a heart wood.
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ok so would you say its fire wood lol
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Elk,
Where was this log cut geographically? It also kind of looks like it could be a pignut hickory with that big reddish heartwood.
CP
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Elk,
Where was this log cut geographically? It also kind of looks like it could be a pignut hickory with that big reddish heartwood.
CP
Oregon and it was within about 100 miles of scapoose
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typically, the only sure fire way of distinguishing ash that I was taught in dendrology was bundle scars....
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Was the log that you know of cut out of a swampy area,if it was,it usually black or green ash.White ash generally grows with the hardwoods.Black walnut also has a white sapwood with a dark heartwood.
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Whats a bundle scar? and im not sure as to where it was cut as far as wet or dry area? thanks again for all the info so far.
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I don't think your log is blue ash because the bark, unlike the other ash trees, ishould be scaly and more shingle-like. That is a lot of core wood.
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I did a little more research. Looks like it could be green ash, although you are almost out of its western range. Green ash is also marketed sometimes as white ash. Looks to me like a lot of potential bow wood. ;)
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Thankyou hrothgar for taking the time to look into it for me! I am going to cut it up into staves I think and just let them dry and see what I can get out of them. Im heading out to the general area this was harvested to get some more wood in a couple weeks. My buddy said he has a BIG Black walnut on his property I can cut down if I want lol, seems like allot of bows and I really dont even know how good it is for bows but its nice looking wood. Thanks again for any help
Josh
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wehn you cut that "ash" into staves
since your unsure exactly what it is
it might be best to leave the staves a bit larger
that way you will have enough wifth in the stave to make sure you can over build or even under build a couple
to see what the wood can handle
it would be a shame to make a bunch of small sized staves and then find out you needed a more for it to handle a hunting weight bow
just a little foor for thought ;)
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Thanks dad good thought will do ;D
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I found my awnser after a bit more searching, its Oregon Ash. http://owic.oregonstate.edu/species/ash.php In the mechanical propertys section of Oregon ash (fraxinus latifolia) page it said the bending strength is rated as intermediate and the hardness and compression strength is good so Im gonna give it a try and see what happens ;) thanks again everyone
Josh
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Good for you! I seem to recall having read that oregon ash was used frequently by indians in its native area for bows. I bet it would make a good sinew-backed weapon.
CP