Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Zedd on June 24, 2019, 08:58:00 pm
-
Quick question...is cucumber tree good as a bow wood? Its supposed to have similar characteristics as poplar, so I am leaning to probably not.
-
Never heard of it before, where does it grow and what is the scientific name?
Hawkdancer
-
Magnolia acuminata, eastern us to southern Ontario. Very large leaves. Got a bunch on my property and is tough on the chain saw. At least when its green.
-
Zedd, we have cucumber trees along with other deciduous magnolias here but I never thought of them as bow wood. That said...you won't know til you try. ;)
-
A useful indicator of a wood's suitability is specific gravity. The specific gravity of magnolia acuminate is 48 or so. The specific gravity of tulip polplar is about 0.40, compared to 0.60 for red oak or 0.70 for hickory. So while the wood may work for light to medium weight bow there are other woods which are more suitable. But as was said, give it shot, it may work for you.
-
A useful indicator of a wood's suitability is specific gravity. The specific gravity of magnolia acuminate is 48 or so. The specific gravity of tulip polplar is about 0.40, compared to 0.60 for red oak or 0.70 for hickory. So while the wood may work for light to medium weight bow there are other woods which are more suitable. But as was said, give it shot, it may work for you.
Yeah, woods low in specific gravity like yew will never work! >:D
Most bowyers now find that within a particular species there is great variation in the S.G. from tree to tree but within the species the denser staves tend to be the better performers. Whether a particular wood is prone to working well or not depends less on S.G. and more on elasticity.
-
I think you have to judge each species on it's own merits. When I'm thinking about this I always think about Maple. Sugar Maple, Vine Maple, Douglas Maple make good bows. Big Leafed,Red(I think),Sycamore don't. They are all Maples(Acer) but thir bow making qualities are all over the map. Just because a man's name is Lennon doesn't mean he can write music.