crepe myrtle stave bow (no bom)

[ken75]

about two months ago a guy at work brought me 30 crepe myrtle limbs anywhere from 1 1/2 to 5 inch diameter, i split and cut one to near bow dimensions and left it standing in the corner of my shop. finally got around to finishing it today 58 inches tip to tip 1 1/8th wide out of the handle tapering to 3/8th at the grooves. 51 lbs at 28 inches . i was really impressed with this wood and im glad i have plenty of it. tough elastic and takes almost no set . ebony stain and antler rest . hope ya enjoy

[half eye]

That bow is really sweet, really like the full draw on that Ken.....unbraced looks flat as a pancake
rich

[tdog]

Very cool! I would not have thought of crepe myrtle as a good bow wood. I have some huge crepe myrtles in my yard that would supply quite a bit of bow wood. Also, they grow so fast, that you could replenish your supply pretty quickly.

Anyone every made arrows out of it? If you prune the trees, they grow new fairly straight shoots quickly.

Great bow Ken.

Mark

[Pat B]

Nice bow, Ken. I have heard crepe myrtle makes a good bow. There was a guy that used to be on PA that went by the name Thimo. I think he's on paleoplanet now. He built some pretty heavy bows with crepe myrtle in the 100# range.

[ken75]

thanks rich im pretty tickled with it !!
thanks tdog, 68 sg and is said to be tough and elastic like hickory , i would have to agree . not sure bout the arrows try it let us know
thanks Pat , i searched this wood on here when i first got it and found Thimos bows ,i decided then to try it sounds like a great deal . as tdog said it grows everywhere and fast too.

[NTD]

Nice bend on a short bow.  I like it.

[criveraville]

Ken I like that looks of that stump.. What type of wood is it?  And what color red is that on that barn???  looks good with the great grass 

Oh, super nice bow too

[ken75]

thanks Nate
lol thanks CP , its a pine stump for feedin birds and most importantly takin pics of birds, bow shop is barn red

[BowJunkie]

  WOW is all I can say Ken. You have changed my mind on Crepe Myrtle.
I have tons of this stuff in my backyard, and I surely thought it was way to brittle for a Bow.
Very nice looking Bow

[HoBow]

Good job!  I have some crepe myrtle dried and waiting.  Did you peel the bark or leave it on?  I left the bark on one piece and was planning on leaving it there because it is so thin....

[ken75]

thanks Bowjunkie , its not brittle at all
thanks Jeff, i left the bark on but sanded it thin. you will hear some crackin when you first start to bend it but it stops during the tiller .

[ErictheViking]

51# FROM 1 1/8 INCH that is pretty impressive. full draw is sweet and I like the stain job Ken. I will have to see if they have crepe myrtle up in wa.

[ken75]

thank you Scott it was the wood not me !!
thanks Eric , look in peoples yard its planted as an ornamental

[ErictheViking]

Thanks for the tip.

[DEllis]

Simple design, and great results..........someone should tell you you need longer staves to get those kinda draw weights and lengths...........on second thought, maybe it's better if you don't know. 
Darcy