Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: mississippidave on May 23, 2012, 09:50:44 am
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Well, I was in the shed yesterday digging around for some snake skins and came across a sliver of fire killed sassafras that had been up in the rafters for a long time. I decided to see if I could chase a ring on it. It was tiny, full of borer holes, and had some rot on one end as it had been a standing dead fall.
I chased a ring (they were very thin) and to my suprise got under all of the insect and weather damage into some nice clean wood. I scraped a little bendy in the handle bow 54 inches long maybe 30@24 out of it and tillered good. My wife and I shot it about a dozen times and then......CRACK :'(
It lifted a splinter midlimb at a tiny pin knot. Upon further examination, the ring was so thin (but not violated) after sanding near the knot it just tore like paper.
Lessons learned:
1: Sassafras is easy to work and beautiful wood
2: Borers generally stay in the sapwood (at least in the pieces I have)
3: Better back it if the rings are thin
4: Sassafras wont stand the abuse Osage will
I only spent about 3 hours on the little bow but it was a good experience...I set it aside but may try to wrap the splinter with sinew and hide glue. What about rawhide or sinew backing? Probably too late at this point, I'd always be worried about the splinter under there....Anyhow, Cheers, Dave
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Hey dave...ive never tried sassafras yet and i dont have any inclination too,so thanks for trying it out for me ;)
You could wrap that splinter down,and then rawhide back it to save it if you feel like its worth saving...and pass it off to some youngin...otherwise if not then it sounded like 3 hours of fun learning ;)
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Always cool to try something different, Dave! 3 hours isn't bad to chalk it up as learning, I figure.
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Dave: As good as it may seem, I typically shy away from standing dead fall unless maybe, it is osage. If it were me, I would not waste sinew on it. Just my two cents.....
Hope all is well, Dave!
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Better than pullin' a hammy Dave!
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Got that right heehee ;D
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dave i have a thought for ya also i had some yew that was in my shed over 15 years and went ahead made a bow shot it andcrack well got to thinkin got my moisture meter out and man guess what way below it was 5.9 so like ya were sayin thin ring s and stuff but still could it be way under im thinkin if we checked and rehydrated the wood maybe it d have a diff out come just a theroy bro brock