Good time to cut wood?

[Ruddy Darter]

I'm going to have a go at making some arrow shafts out of the offcuts from the belly and sides of the stave, should make some nice arrows eh?

 R.D.

[WillS]

Definitely!

[Ruddy Darter]

Thanks for the confirmation WillS, be cool to have bow and arrows from the same tree. 

 R.D.

[WillS]

I sold a combo like that recently, a 125lb ash self bow and a set of 6 arrows I made from the same tree.  Something kinda cool about the idea, I thought!  Glad I'm not the only one!

[Ruddy Darter]

That is cool , nice work.
 I'm glad that idea popped into my head before I start hacking away,  I got plenty of time to plan out and remove adequate sections of wood for arrows,  should be fun seeing what I can get. 

 R.D.

 
 

[meanewood]

I sold a combo like that recently, a 125lb ash self bow and a set of 6 arrows I made from the same tree.  Something kinda cool about the idea, I thought!  Glad I'm not the only one!

Hi Will
Your not the only one.
Check your subject 'Arrow Weight' 23th August 2013!

[sieddy]

This is a good thread.  I'll look forward to seeing what you get out of those staves Ruddy.  I would be really nervous about reducing the sapwood on that Yew stave you'll need to be super careful working around those pins right?

[sieddy]

Also anybody got any good tips for removing the Bark from green Hazel? 

[FilipT]

In summer and spring bark from hazel can be peeled by hand. Now you need a draw knife or regular moderately sharp knife.

[stuckinthemud]

a little bit of steam or really hot water works wonders on hazel bark

[WillS]

Just leave it on.  No reason to remove it.  The barks helps it season slower without cracking or checking. 

[stuckinthemud]

When seasoning a stave? Yes, totally, leave it on!

[sieddy]

Cheers fellas. Thanks for the steam/hot water tip. I tried that on elm once with good results I bet it does wonders on thin barked Hazel!  

[WillS]

I meant leave it on forever.  No reason to take it off, even on a finished bow.

[Marc St Louis]

When we were kids we used to make bows out of a species of Hazel we have here called Beaked Hazel, it's not much more than a shrub.  I made one like what we used to make back then several years ago and left the bark on, it's stuck on real good.  The bow I made was maybe a bit over 1" in diameter but pulled 40# which is strong enough to hunt Deer