Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: bassman on May 28, 2020, 03:53:50 pm
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Here are some paper Birch bows I have made in the last 6 months. With repeated heat treating this wood can make a relatively good bow.These bows shoot 100 plus poundage at 10 gpp, and some exceed that by 10 fps. or more.
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A lovely group of low set bows. Well done.
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Thanks Hamish. The pics don't show it , but some have a little reflex. Bad pic. It took repeated heat treat to hold the set to a minimum. That was the hardest part for me. Not thought of as a premium bow wood, so I am satisfied with the results. Use it if you have it in your area. It does work to a certain degree as a bow wood.
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one for each day of the week... :) nice job. :OK
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Good looking bows, Bob. Nice representation of paper birch as a bow wood.
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Thanks Bob, and Steve. I cut some small trees last fall just to play around with Birch through the boring winter days. Any how if you have some handy ,and it is nice stuff try your hand at it. I wanted to try fire hardening one,but never got around to it. Good building ,and stay safe. Steve thanks again on fire hardening info.
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If I made bows at that rate I’d be further along on this journey. This is some inspiration.
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Nice pile of bows.
How about letting us see more, braced, fd, details, ...
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Always like seeing bows from less commonly used woods. If I find some birch I’ll try it out.
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Requested by simon
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More Picks
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They look really good when drawn too.
Its good to see some good bows made from the less familiar types of bow woods. I love yew and osage still, but much respect to a guy like bassman who goes the extra mile to get the most out of these woods.
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They're even nicer bent. Great job :D
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My draw is short of 26 inches by a little. Bows are 1- 1/2 to 1-3/4 inches wide coming off the fades, and straight taper to 1/2 to 5/8 inch at the tips.60,60,57 inches long tip to tip. . All bows shot through a chrony with a 425 gr arrow.57 inch 45lb bow shot 156 fps. 60 inch 37lb bow shot 143fps. 60 inch 44lb bow shot 154 fps. Static release. Bows are shot with either 9 or 10 strands of B55 Dacron. With a 10 strand low stretch string the chrony numbers would move up 4 to 6 fps. Hope this gives you a better idea of what you are looking at. Thanks to all.Bob.
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Good looking bows, Bob. Nice representation of paper birch as a bow wood.
I would second that, PaSteve.
Bassman, Birch as a bow wood is underrated, as your bows show that designs that allow you to keep half the limb a good bit stiffer than the working bend (ala. mollegebet) are entirely doable, even in shorter lengths.
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110 fps plus bow weight, good job bassman. I'd say you got a lot out of that wood.
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Those bows look really nice Bob! You have been busy!
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Beautiful bows there!
Never thought on birch as bow wood. You make me hungry, I will cut some next winter and see what I get. Would like to know the exact species (lat. name).
Again, you did an awesome job!
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If it is as he said, paper birch, then the Latin name is betula papryrifera.
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I like birch too!
Great job on those bassman
like em :OK
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The bark peeled off like sheets of paper so I assumed it was paper Birch ,or White Birch. May be they are both the same. I don't know for sure. Guys on Primitive archery claim that Yellow Birch is the Best Birch to build a bow out of. I cut mine down near a coal dump . I used to play their as boy. I knew it was some kind of birch,so figured I would take a shot at making some bows from it.
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The bark peeled off like sheets of paper so I assumed it was paper Birch
most all birches have trees that can be very papery. trees found in different varieties can have tight bark also. I think the name "paper" could not be a very good way to distinguish species.
white birch in the eastern us looks rather different in bark color from yellow. and I think you are correct that it might be a better bow wood. white and paper can be chalky white and have whit branches also. yellow can tend towards copperey. leaves on the yellow are different ,too.
I use a sub variety of white birch, and it is hard to compare as a bow wood without having both on hand. I have compared notes with some bowyers from Finland and Sweden, and I am told european birch is considered to be inferior to the american, but again, it was not mentioned which one in america, and the same is often repeated here about birch as a bowwood being inferior, I just try to find the densest birch I can
The slower growing birch I have I collected from better drained soil in mountainous areas is better than what I find in the lowlands. Looking at the article in wikipedia, I see both birches growing in the eastern US in coal country, and only at higher elevations the further south you go with some good pics of each.
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Well willie at the time I was just hunting Birch period.I found a little grove of trees that was leaning over on an angle, and the trunks averaged 4 to 5 inches in diameter. The trunks were pretty clean, so that is what I cut ,and used.As far as mass none of the bows above weighed more than 16 ozs. finished with a leather grip ,and string.thanks for the interesting info.