Author Topic: Mullberry Haul  (Read 1346 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Prarie Bowyer

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,599
Mullberry Haul
« on: June 19, 2013, 01:47:51 pm »
Well it has finaly happened!

The bow wood gods have smiled on me.  My neighbor is clearing some wood behind his hous and a mullberry tree is coming down.  Hasen't pointed it out to me but I've been back there and I think I know where it's coming from.  Beam straight and knot free.  Pluss there is another big trunk on the ground for a few months already.

questions:  the one on the gournd.  Think that wood is still viable?  It isn't full length but it is think and I think i can 1/4 saw it and make a bunch of spliceable bellies.

anything I should know about Mullberry before getting neck deep in this?
  My understanding is that it is verry close to Osage.I'd like to quarter saw and rewaw it all down to 1"X2" slats for backed bows.    Thoughts?

Offline DGF

  • Member
  • Posts: 355
Re: Mullberry Haul
« Reply #1 on: June 19, 2013, 01:53:21 pm »
I've yet to build with mullberry but have some seasoning from a yard waste salvage operation. What I've read is use what you would for osage and add 10%. Congrats on the score!

-Dan
Wyoming, MI

Offline Pat B

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 37,461
Re: Mullberry Haul
« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2013, 02:25:13 pm »
Mulberry is somewhat rot resistent so the stuff on the ground should be OK if it hasn't been down too long.
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline toomanyknots

  • Member
  • Posts: 3,132
Re: Mullberry Haul
« Reply #3 on: June 19, 2013, 03:05:30 pm »
Mulberry is one of the couple woods I have a good supply of, so I got a bit of experience with it. Mulberry is a very light wood, lighter than most maples typically, and makes a pretty bow that is light in the hand, my kind of bow wood, :). Unlike most people, I don't find much similarities between it and osage. It can be a bit springy sometimes, but is no where near as compression strong as osage, and in my experience will fret before hackberry. (which I haven't got to fret yet actually) It does typically have a lot of pin knots in it, the bigger the tree the less there are. Even when the tree appears to be knot free there are still typically a lot of pin knots. This all goes for wild red mulberry, I have a little experience with the more hedge garden variety kinda mulberry, but it is not as good as normal wild red mulberry. The pin knots like to open up as they dry if you don't chase a ring, and if violated can cause a failure pretty easily, for me anyway, so my advice is don't touch em and don't sand em.
"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair