Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: DRon knife on February 02, 2012, 12:41:02 pm
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HOWDYYYY!!
I was wondering what ya'll thought about this here wood? I had posted some pics a wile back of a log that some folks thought was Elm. Well I had some time yesterday so I split it. I have heard the Elm was another of those tuff woods to split but this split easy,so it had me wondering if it is Elm? I also debarked it and found the surface to have undulations like Iron wood(gonna make some pretty bows)! Have a stab at it if you please,I don't want to have to sign the bow "mystery wood"...lol!! Thanks for any input,Ron
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I'm going to say hickory on that one. Ron
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I would say you got some splitting to do and some stave to season. Good Job.
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cracker,in one of the pics there is a length of hickory,the two close-ups are of the mystery log.
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looks like hickory to me.either way it looks like you got some decent wood.good luck to you,Steve
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Hickory has hart/sap wood this dose not appear to ???
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since its unknown, ill properly dispose of it, i don't want anyone else to have to ::) ;)
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seems pretty large to haul of in one peice... ill come help split it and help haul it off ;D
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I don't know aout that species but the pignut around here is milky whited all the way through. Ron
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The bark looks like pecan to me. Pecan usually has a tiny core of dark heartwood, but not always. Make a bow out of it and see what it does.
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Thanx for the input,so are you saying this is hickory? I've been wrong before,but I still don't believe its hickory,but here's some more facts...the wood split cleanly,there were no little strands of intertwining wood that usually have be cut to separate the billets as with hickory,the wood is light weight,compared to the other 4 types of hickory I have dealt with(pignut,shell and shagbark and bitternut ),all were very heavy even when dry,these billets are 5" broad 5" deep and 7' long and they weigh 1/2 what a stave of hickory weigh's!! Lastly,when burned it doesn't smell like hickory. I will agree on one point,the bark does resemble sand hickory,but it doesn't grow this far north(mass)..just sayn' :) Ron
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Did you find any leaves? Are you sure it is a hardwood?
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The bark does look a bit baffling. I'm not used to seeing more than two kinds of hickory up here though.
Keep in mind Hickory will crossbreed where its ranges are shared or overlap so you can end up with specimens that can't be definitively placed as one type.
When you get a family of trees where one has some of the smoothest bark and others the roughest I would think anything is possible.
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No Bevan,I was going to find some other evidence,leaves,buds,seeds ect... when I get a chance. I'm not sure if its hard wood or not :-\ I am hopeful that its Elm,When I read about Elm it said cordage could be made from the cambium,so I tried and it makes EXCELLENT cordage,just two strands with a Flemish twist was nearly unbreakable!! I was hoping that the wavy top wood would be a big clue to its genus..Its very distinct!
Good point Pat,I was unaware of cross breeding(big surprise huh..lol) !! Someone from PA has to be an Elm ringer,I think Pappy and a couple other heavy hitters from PA were fairly sure it was Elm(as sure as u can be from a photo any way)...I will Get more evidence! I have found shell and shagbark ,pignut and the elusive bitternut all in my back 40...well 150 but who's counting!Thanks,Ron
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half as light as hickory... i suppose it could be elm with that bark. dont know what else it could be then.
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looking at your pics some more... i bet dollars to pesos it's pecan. pecan splits clean and sometimes it is marketed right alongside hickory... If it is pecan, it will make a fine bow. Pecan resembles hickory but it is a little lighter in weight. I have built two bows from pecan saplings so far and both have been screamers.... steam bends well.
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If it split cleanly, you can most definitely rule out elm! Is it ring porous or diffuse porous? Josh
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i dont know josh. elm is one of those that can split like butter or give you a hernia beating on a wedge. lots of grain variation especially between different elm species.
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Well I certainly can't claim to have tried every elm species in existence . However , every species that I have tried, has the interlocking grain that makes it so difficult to split. This interlocking grain is also part of what makes elm as tough as it is, sort of its claim to fame. Just curious, what sort of elm are you splitting like butter? Josh
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Looking at the back where the bark was pulled it looks more like hic.than elm. Maby pecan like was suggested by someone. When elm was mentioned at first it was because the bark resembles elm but the end was painted.I would like to herein what it is for shure for my own sanity ;D
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I still don't know what it is,but I do know its no bow/hard wood! I ether ruined it by letting it stay outdoors to long or its some kind of balsa type wood :(good cordage from the bark tho...! I'm going to cut another log of it and see if i ruined it or if its just some light weight,brittle wood...oh,and grab some leaves too!!
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I cant get a good focus on the pics so I have stayed out of this till now .
The words being used to describe this sound like your describing a soft maple to me!
Guy