Want to make a bow

[forestmusic]

I want to cut some staves to start seasoning, but I'm not sure what wood to go with.
It will be my first bow so I need something easy to work with. Also I live in the southern tip
of the piney woods in Texas north of Houston and I'm not sure what good bow wood we
have here. Any suggestions?

-Joshua

[Pappy]

Joshua I ant sure about TX. wood but Hickory is a good started wood and I am sure there is
Osage out there.Of course both need to season for quite sometime so you may want to trade or buy
some already seasoned or start with a board.I don't know much about board bows but I bet Jawges
and several others on here can get you going while what ever wood you cut is drying.
   Pappy

[Ryan_Gill_HuntPrimitive]

not from texas either, but i bought a stave from a guy in texas. it was hackberry, its still seasoning though but i hear is makes a fine bow.     if you find some sort of wood that i dont have here, i would be happy to trade you a piece of already cured wood fo a piece of your "green" wood. send me a pm if you find something- Ryan

[Mike_A]

Hi Joshua good to see another guy from TX on here. I'm in Killeen. The cheapest way you can go about getting into bow building is to read up on board bows from Jawges and Ferrits websites. Sorry I don't have the web addresses right now, but you could look through some of the other posts on the bows section and you'll find them. Then invest in a few red oak boards from whatever lumber yard you have close by and just make some shavings. The most important part in learning is remember you have many experts right here on this sight that will answer any question you have. If you have a sawmill close by you may be able to get the side slats from the logs at little or no cost, and try calling local tree trimmers to see if you can work something out with them. Have fun and make shavings. Hope this helps. Mike

[Mike_A]

Hi Joshua. I guess I lied about the web pages. I had them saved on my computer the whole time. Man I really need to learn how to organize this thing. Anyway here they are. These webpages will explain it better than I ever could.
http://mysite.verizon.net/georgeandjoni/archer.html
http://groups.msn.com/ferretsarcherywebpage/strippingturkeyfeathers.msnw
 
   Again hope this helps. Mike

[Auggie]

Hey if you want to try a board bow get the board bow dvd from rudderbows,its pretty good and only 20 bucks. Auggie.

[PeteC]

Joshua,you are sittin' in selfbow and arrowwood heaven.You said your near Houston area,have you ever been to Orange.It got it's name from all the osage "orange" trees that line the banks of the sabine and surrounding area.You can readily find many species of hickory,elm,mulberry,persimmon,ash,oak,red cedar,hackberry,black locust,etc.well you get the message.I live a few miles from Whitehouse,which is 10 miles from Tyler.You sound like your near the Big Thicket,anywhere close?  God Bless, Pete C

[forestmusic]

I'm actually just south of what is generally considered the southern border of the Big Thicket. I need to learn my trees better and hopefully find someone around here who is into traditional and primitive archery. I have had a hard time finding anyone around who is into primitive skills.

-Joshua

[forestmusic]

How big around should the tree I cut be? I think the one I cut before might have been too small and I don't want to go around cutting down trees for no good reason.

-Joshua

[Pat B]

Joshua, Anything from 2" to about 12"(bigger is too difficult to deal with) will do for a bow, depending on the wood type. 6" to 10" is probably ideal.   Pat

[tpoof]

Are you sure?
are you sure thats what you want?
you know that once you've tried to make a self bow it just becomes something of an obsession and could even actually captivate your thoughts and send you searching the woods , looking at various trees with a strange look and feeling  that is quite different and even possibly a bit unsettling.. forever...
it can also lure you into walking lumberyard isles with that same searching stare..
it is truely a strange affliction!
But if you really want to start into one of the most most fufilling hobbie endeavors
look to fruit trees, almost any species that bears fruit of nut will do for a start...
Welcome aboard!

[david w.]

when we got our Christmas tree the first thing I thought was "what can i make from this."  It is addicting

[joewaco78]

Hey Mike, I am in Waco, just shy north of ya! Ever make it up here?

[Sidewinder]

Joshua, not tying to discourage you from searching out for staves but it may be a little bit before you can get one dry enough to work, but you can locate local cabinet makers and get about any kind of board wood you want for $5-10 for 1x4x72" and be building and learning pretty cheap and pretty quick. Welcome to the tribe. Danny

[forestmusic]

Thanks guys! I'm going to start making a board bow any day now, I just want to get some staves cut to start seasoning them so that when I know how to make a bow I can make it from a tree I cut. Making a bow from a tree that I cut myself would make it way more special to me than one from a board.