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Author Topic: Favorite bow wood?  (Read 12839 times)

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Lombard

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Re: Favorite bow wood?
« Reply #15 on: December 30, 2010, 10:47:55 am »
The question comes up often enough. My answer is whatever piece of wood I have that is dry enough to make a bow out of at that moment is my favorite.
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Offline adb

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Re: Favorite bow wood?
« Reply #16 on: December 30, 2010, 11:39:17 am »
Quote from: Lombard on December 30, 2010, 10:47:55 am
The question comes up often enough. My answer is whatever piece of wood I have that is dry enough to make a bow out of at that moment is my favorite.
ditto!
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Offline Alpinbogen

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Re: Favorite bow wood?
« Reply #17 on: December 30, 2010, 11:44:57 am »
Good rugged osage.
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Offline ErictheViking

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Re: Favorite bow wood?
« Reply #18 on: December 30, 2010, 12:00:35 pm »
Have to be vine maple, because its tough as nails and everywhere for free. next would be yew for its looks(nothing beats the heartwood/sapwood contrast IMHO). for laminates I found a good wood called Garapa, thats a nice yellow color and is sold as a cheap version of ipe for decking.
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Offline n2huntn

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Re: Favorite bow wood?
« Reply #19 on: December 30, 2010, 12:07:16 pm »
Current favorites would be Ipe , hickory, elm, and hackberry. Really like maple when its available. Use all in board and stave form except ipe. I don't prefer one type over the other just what's on hand.
Jeff
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Offline Frode

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Re: Favorite bow wood?
« Reply #20 on: December 30, 2010, 12:15:27 pm »
Well, I sure did like the one piece of osage I've tried, but...
Boards, hickory works me like a rented mule, but the results are worth it.  Elm, when I want to work faster.  Oak, especially fully quartersawn.  And maple.
But I'm just a pup at this game  :D.
Frode
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If it doesn't rap the lintel, it might not be a longbow.

Offline Sidewinder

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Re: Favorite bow wood?
« Reply #21 on: December 30, 2010, 12:35:10 pm »
Ok I'll throw my hat in the ring....Osage. It is forgiving of tillering mistakes, as previously noted and God knows I need it. I have only worked with red oak, mulberry, hickory, osage and some unknown lightweight board that was'nt pine. The hickory I have used was in board form as well. I liked the mulberry alot, it suprised me but hands down the osage is my first choice. I would like to try yew eventually if I could ever get ny hands on some.   Danny
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Offline JackCrafty

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Re: Favorite bow wood?
« Reply #22 on: December 30, 2010, 12:53:56 pm »
Juniper.  Also anything that heat/steam bends well and holds its shape. :)
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Offline gstoneberg

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Re: Favorite bow wood?
« Reply #23 on: December 30, 2010, 12:56:01 pm »
Osage for me, the older the better.  Mulberry is also nice, but the bow has to be larger than I like.  Hope to make a laminated osage backed ipe bow soon.  I'd also like to try yew sometime.

George
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St Paul, TX

Offline Steve Milbocker

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Re: Favorite bow wood?
« Reply #24 on: December 30, 2010, 01:44:54 pm »
I don't know enough to have a favorite yet. But after my last failure with the osage billets, I started roughing out a bow of walnut that I cut in Sept. Tim Baker was right, " A bow made from walnut that is half sapwood and half heartwood is not only beautiful, but strikingly beautiful. I hope I don't screw this one up :-[
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Offline Bevan R.

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Re: Favorite bow wood?
« Reply #25 on: December 30, 2010, 02:46:26 pm »
Have to say purpleheart lumber is my favorite 'go to' wood. Backed with a hickory strip. Also I can get it in Colorado for a fraction of what a osage or even hickory or elm stave would cost.
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Offline crooketarrow

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Re: Favorite bow wood?
« Reply #26 on: December 30, 2010, 04:07:41 pm »
       I build mostly osage bows. But my favoret is Hickory,I only build stave bows with no backing.
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Offline loefflerchuck

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Re: Favorite bow wood?
« Reply #27 on: December 30, 2010, 06:53:47 pm »
I use what grows where I am. Wherever that may be. Of those my favorite are the ones that handle tons of compression. Juniper and incense cedar backed with lots of sinew
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Offline 1/2primitive

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Re: Favorite bow wood?
« Reply #28 on: December 30, 2010, 08:16:50 pm »
It seems that all the studying done on bow design, while useful in many areas, has not changed the majority of folks' opinions with regards to osage.

I love good ol' hedge. Haven't had much to work lately, but I love the way it works.
Hickory is good, but I think it's a bit harder to work than osage.
       Sean
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Offline Eric Garza

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Re: Favorite bow wood?
« Reply #29 on: December 30, 2010, 08:54:12 pm »
I like pine.  Knotty white pine with lots of insect damage.  Yup.  Osage step aside...
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