Blackjack Oak staves?

[Irontom]

Hey, new guy here wanting to get into the hobby.  Needing some information about how to go about harvesting some blackjack oaks.  Also, I could use some recommendations for reading materials on the subject. 

Guess I should back up a little and ask if scrub oak is even worth the effort to make a bow with?  How big of tree would be good?  Got an acre full of them but not many get very big before wind/lightning take 'em out.  I would say most are 6" across on average with the bark on.  If I look really hard I might be able to find one or two bigger, most would be smaller.

I've dug through the forums best I could but couldn't find much about how to season these either...

Thanks in advance, this is a really great place you fellas have here!

[Pat B]

Any of the oaks should make a good bow. Paul Comstock's "The Bent Stick" would be a good book that is an easy read and chocked full of good bow building info.

[Parnell]

Hi IronTom,
Welcome to PA.  I started by reading links on this site and my first book was the Traditional Bowyer's Bible Vol. 1.  There are many good books, I'm sure other's will chime in with their preferences.
Not sure which species you mean by blackjack.  Black Oak is about a .6 specific gravity.
As far as "scrub oak" I haven't used it yet, but am starting to eye a few of them myself.  I've got 'em growing around me everywhere.
I think it's supposed to make fine bow-wood.  Wondering myself, is scrub oak actually post or swamp white oak?  I call it scrub oak myself but am thinking it is really named swamp white oak?  The Bowyer's Bible Vol.4 mentioned it to have a higher specific gravity, I think around .7, only surpassed by Live Oak at .85. 
I think I'm going to cut some soon.  I've found a couple of interesting trees.
The trees you are mentioning at 7" diameter would be plenty from what I understand.  Considering for a 67" long flatbow made from such a stave the width of the limb coming out of the handle fade would probably be around 1.75" or less, maybe. 
I live in SW Florida so the scrub oaks grow year round, the wood doesn't have growth rings.  I'm planning on just removing the bark and going from there.  When I cut some, my plan is to leave the bark on and seal the ends with old glue, paint, or wax, whatever's handy.  Then just let it sit for a long time, the rule of thumb is a year per inch in each direction of thickness.  This can be sped up by reducing the stave to near floor tiller dimensions, then left to season for several weeks, and their are some other techniques people will use, including hot boxes, or smoking.  But speeding up the process can with some woods lead to drying checks, twisting, or other issues.  I'm not sure how the oak will fair. 
You may want to consider starting with buying a hickory board with pretty straight growth ring lines to start with.  It's a great beginning place.
I'm warning you though, I had no idea how addictive this would all be when I first threw my hat into the ring! 

[Irontom]

Thanks for the info guys. 

After a little more searching, I'm pretty sure what I have is Turkey Oak.  Doesn't sound too promising compared to some of the other oaks...

http://www.ibiblio.org/pic/NCTrees/turkeyoak.htm

There might be a few Southern Red Oak mixed in, hopefully.  Will have to take a second look around when the daylight comes back.  On a side note, there are also a few Persimmon trees as well.  Turns out the heartwood on these is black?  If nothing else it will look good, eh?

Here is the link to the index for that website incase anyone else from NC needs help identifying some trees. http://www.ibiblio.org/pic/nctrees.htm

More and more starting to look like my first bow is going to be a red oak board from Lowe's.

[Parnell]

Persimmon is supposed to make a nice bow, haven't used it myself.  Don't give up on the oak - bet you can make a real nice bow.  I'd split some staves and let them sit now, a year of seasoning will pass quickly right?!
My first was a red oak board from the superstore and it did turn out being backed with drywall tape.  If you can find a 6/4 hickory board with pretty straight grain from a hardwood store, you won't be disappointed!  You're going to find a lot of other options, also, where are you located, NC?
Maybe some other's will chime in and may be able to help you out...

[Irontom]

I'm in the Sandhills of NC.  It's like living at the beach, just without the water.

The more I read about it, the more it seems I'm over-analyzing things.  Just need to get out there and stop procrastinating. 

I haven't shot a bow since I was a little kid.  Did find my old bow but the draw is just a little too short, lol.  I read a few methods of drying the wood a week or two.  I'll probably try this with a couple of staves.  That only leaves me with one question,  Should I take the sapwood off the oak or not?

Once all that is taken care of I should be able to pick-up with one of the how-to/ build alongs.  Any recommendations of styling for an oak practice bow?

[cracker]

Hi Tom
   Around here we have what is known as scrub oak it is rarely over 10 or so feet tall and so twisted and gnarly that you would be hard pressed to find a piece long enough to make a bow out of. However the stuff is very tough and heavy. I'm about 60 miles due south of Augusta Ga.
Ron

[Irontom]

Thats what we call the stuff around here too.  It stays pretty short but when given the room it can get up maybe 30', if it doesnt get blown over or struck down.  Bad area for lightning strikes here and the soil doesn't hold on very good when the wind starts blowing either.  Some of them are fairly straight just looking at the breaks in the bark, not sure how gnarly they are underneath though.

Went and got a red oak board from the big box store to tweak with while waiting on some staves to cure.  They might cure faster if I cut a tree down though, lol.  Procrastination for the win!