What factors cause thin/tight rings?

[Lee Slikkers]

Here is a sample pic of the Osage I was referring too in my earlier post.  As you can see there is roughly 18-20 rings per inch.  Sure was a challenge for me on chasing my 1st ring but did succeed and am thrilled about that small victory 



Thanks~

[BowEd]

That is a good job there.I got broke in on those thin ringed buggers when I started this bow making.I lost track the amount of times I had to go back over the whole stave with the draw knife back then but as the more staves I did I learned to be more careful.I did'nt have someone looking over my shoulder doing it just kept trying on my own.It was worth the effort though.Some staves just take a little longer than others that's all.

[Eric Garza]

I worry less about ring count and more about wood density and the spring wood to summer/fall wood ratio.  I do notice that within a species, there is a modestly strong positive correlation between density and ring count per inch. 

Spring wood is the highly porous wood that forms the lighter boundaries between rings.  It is relatively weak.  The thinner the spring wood sections of each ring, the better.  I have also noticed that trees that are towards the northern extent of their range (or harvested at high altitude) tend to have thinner spring growth relative to summer/fall.  I tend to harvest species that are near the northern extent of their range in my area.

I just harvested a bitterroot hickory blowdown that had 12-16 rings per inch, but the spring growth was so thin you can hardly tell one ring from the next.  It is drying slowly but is incredibly dense and will make great bows and arrow shafts.