Cypress Staves - Input wanted.

[Parnell]

Hi folks,
Here are two Cypress staves (branches) that I've had sittin for 9 months and are dried.  They are about 57" long.  Smaller has a 3" diameter and larger is about 6".  They are oblong, however, with a bit of natural reflex.  I'm also going to post a picture of a trunk drying, later.  I haven't seen much on here regarding cypress.  Anyone able to give me a good heads up on how it performs and what designs may make sense for these staves?  Will appreciate any thoughts. 
Thanks,
Parnell   

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[woodstick]

never used it but looks like it would be heck to chase a ring on it, if you have to.

[Pat B]

I've never tried cypress. For me there are better options out there. Let us know how it works out for you.   Pat

[radius]

all i know is that the top of the branch is the good part.  You can tell the top because the off-center pith is closer to the top.

[HoBow]

Out here in LA (lower Alabama) the choctaw's used it. Don't know much about them, but that is a start...

[coyote pup]

I've never used it, but you can bet I will if I ever get the chance. Have you ever tugged on a small diameter cypress branch? I guess I should clarify because I don't know how many Cypresses there are. If you tug on a Bald Cypress branch, it seems very springy and stout. Kind of like a hickory branch. It does not surprise me in the least that the LA natives used it. I think Destructo has made cypress bows, you can ask him what design seems best. My guess would be rounded belly, and about 1.25 to 1.5 wide on about a 66" bow. I plan to try BC one day if I can get ahold of some.

[RyanY]

I once used cypress with a hickory backing that was about an 8th of an inch. The bow took a crazy amount of set and was pretty much unshootable. I figure that the hickory was probably too strong in tension compared to the compression strength of the cypress. I hope it works out for you because I know it's a really light wood and should have a good feel in the hand.

[sailordad]

so i have a couple of cypruss boards set aside for bow maing,just need to
find the proper backing material,so this is a good thread
thanks for starting it,mine was back burnerd for now, but who knows

[mullet]

 Bob, (Coowachobee), Makes bows from it. Make it wide and bend in the handle. The Encyclopedia of Native American Bows,Arrows. and Quivers has the demensions for the Seminole bows made from Cypress.

[orcbow]

I have made two bows from cypress boards. I like the wood alot, it is similar to Eastern Red Cedar in some ways. The first bow was wide and flat, I backed it with canvas. It was a short bow (48" long) and was 2 3/8" wide, and 3/8" thick with "pyramid" shaped limbs. It pulled 42# at 20". I sold that one, but took no pictures. The other one was 1" wide and about 48" long, sinew backed, and it failed miserably (I should have known better!)

I think this wood will do nice bows, I'd love to try it again with a long stave. Good luck!

[recurve shooter]

im actually suprised that anyone makes bows out of the stuff. i have alot of cypress that i use for gun racks, bow racks, quiver bottoms, and other random du-dads cuz i like the way it looks. i have some thats 100 pluss years old salvaged from homes in new orleans that were demolished 20 or 30 years ago. that is some cool stuff.

[xin]

I have seen cypress bows in the Smithsonian Museum in DC that were approx. 65-70 inches, wide ( 1.5- 2.0 inches), and rectangular in cross section with diamond tips.  the tips tended to be about 1.0" in width.

[cracker]

I think I've read that swamp cypress is the wood to use and that pond cypress won't do. I don't know how to tell the difference though.Ron

[Pat B]

One grows in the swamp and the other in a pond. Sheesh Ronnie I figured you as a cracker would know that.
 

[smokeu]

I had a guy tell me when i was down in Al that he had made some bows form cypress, but they had a special method of treating the wood. He said it was like how they do bamboo for flyrods or fishing poles. I want to say that they freeze dried them but im not sure.  I hope that helps.  Looking forward to seeing your progress. you should do a build along.

Best of Luck

Mike