Australian Pine for bow wood? In FLa,,,

[bowstring]

Greetings, Have moved to South Florida, and while shooting at an archery club I just joined, I believe I've found a wood with some promise,,, Has anyone tried
to make a bow out of Australian Pine? I hear it is a "runaway import " here. Should be reasonable to get. ( This my first posting, hope I'm doin this right,,,)

[Badger]

  I have always wondered the same thing. I have a feeling we might have a sleeper in australian pine. A wood that has yet to be recognised. I made one bow from a very short twisted stave that was hardly bow worthy just to test it out and to me it showed good promise. I would like to try more. the tree is considered an invasive nuisance so should not be hard to obtain. Steve

[George Tsoukalas]

Yes, it's bow wood. I made one from it. Darn thing is denser than osage. I actually measured the density but I don't remember what I found. I figure the bow has the be narrow say 1.25 in for 50#. The one I made I made too wide at 1.5 in. It was interesting. The stave was a gift. Jawge

[bowstring]

   Thanks, Guys, I appreciate the response, and am glad to hear my "notion" turned out well. This pine acts and reacts alot like Beech, tough and really hard.
  Hopefully, in the near future, I'll be able to experiment further. I'll be sure to let y'all know how it turns out.

[mullet]

 I've seen a few also.

[Parnell]

 Getting ready to go with this one.  It's been drying out for a month and a half with a bunch of days in the car.  I think it is good to go, so soon.  The wood is very dense.  The tree was difficult to split as the grain is very intertwined and the tree wanted to twist on me, but, it was doable.  I had another very nice stave but gave it away at a knap-in.  I may back this with cloth, not sure...

Where are you at in Fl?  I'm in Naples.

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[bowstring]

  Hey Parnell, good looking stave there,, I like the grain spacing, and with the interlocking structure, it should be something to behold soon!
Puts me in mind of my last bow,, Beech, 66" ntn, limb thickness was scary thin, and it was pulling #55 plus. so thin,side tillering was the only option!
 Let me know how the "Pine" turns out!

[KenH]

Parnell - I'm just up the road from you in south Venice, at least for the time being.

[Parnell]

Nice!  I think that there may be more of us around this area than I thought.  We should try to put something together for people in the area...

[M-P]

Hi,  We've got Casaurania equisedum. here in Ca too, and I've always wondered if it would work.   Here it's usually called "beefwood" or occasionally 'ironwood" or "sheoak.".  Similar trees are also very invasive in HI.  I've always figured that if Manny hadn't tried it yet it must not be worth trying, but I may have to rethink that.  Parnel recently started a thread about the same wood, calling it "bois de fer".   I'll definitely be on the look out for a cuttable tree.    Ron

[Parnell]

"Australian Pine" is definitely too generic.  So is Ironwood.  I'm not quite sure what to call the stuff yet.  But I'll tell ya one thing, man, it is some astoundingly great firewood.  Best I've ever seen for starting a fire and getting it hot.  Burns fast, but holy thermal capacity!  A splinter of the wood after about a week is dry and makes incredible kindling.  After a month I burned some and it was dry and gave off almost no smoke.  We'll see how it does as a bow!  Still not sure if I should back it or not...

[bowstring]

   It's great to hear from all of you! Several idea's come to mind, reading from your posts. I like the idea of a local get together, maybe at a state park or someones home. As to backing a bow, most of the time I do, unless I have a very clean stave to work with, and as for board bows, I always back them. Had one break on me awhile back, and have backed boards ever since! Saving the best for last,, Thanks, All of you. One trip to the Tenn. Classic, and the great, helpful people there, this forum or message board system full of that same spirit of welcoming,, I'm at a loss for words,,, ( As a newbee here, I'd be gratefull to know when to stop this subject, and any spoken or unspoken rules for this, my favorite site of all ! "bowstring"

[TheWildCat]

Hey There, I am in Cape Coral. What Archery club did ya join? I belong to the Lee County Archers...Out there most every Thursday evenin. I believe Austailian Pine is actually a distant cousin to Hickry. Ifin ya check, you will find most BBQ joints are usin A-Pine fer their pits. I have BBQued with it and it ain't bad. Be aware though that it has a nasty habit a checkin. I have considered the wood myself, but life keeps gettin the way a my doin!!! Hope yourn comes out great...I am eagerly awaitin the outcome.

TheWildCat

[otis.drum]

australian pine??? have you got a botanical name???

the stave in the photos looks, and as described, sounds like a species of gum/eucalypt

[KenH]

Casuarina equisetifolia a.k.a. She-oak,  Ironwood, Beefwood, Whistling Pine, etc.  is the species here in Florida according to my field guides.  Neither an Oak nor a Pine, it is a genus all unto itself of tropical and sub-tropical trees native to Australasia, southeastern Asia, and islands of the western Pacific.  Called Australian "Pine" because the fruiting body looks like a pine cone and the droopy thin needle like leaves resemble pine needles.