New to Primitive bow making

[PrimitiveVsns]

From Pa here and looking to make my first primitive bow. Don't have Osage here so my choices seem limited. I decided to use Maple but not sure if it matters which kind and if it needs backed if I follow the growth ring. I did have a practice piece to see if I could shave down to the growth ring, at one point it became difficult to tell the difference between early and late wood. I wasn't sure if I was shaving into the late wood or not. Any tips would help out a lot and be appreciated. Thanks

[Weylin]

Welcome! You'll get more advice than you can handle on here. I'm pretty new to so I wont waste your time with my advice, I'm sure someone more experienced will chime in here shortly. Are you working with a maple stave or a board?

[TurtleCreek]

  if you are able to cut a white ash or hickory this time of year, establishing a single growth ring for the back is super easy-  Just peel off the bark and voila, the exposed wood will be your back of your bow and it's already a single growth ring.  This time of year is perfect to do this as the bark will just peel right off taking the cambium with it and leaving you with a pristine back. I love working with white woods because of this.

[Pappy]

Welcome and what Turtlecreek said on the white wood. Good luck and keep us updated.
   Pappy

[blackhawk]

Welcome ...do you know the path your about to take with making bows  . Read thru the current thread" Justin an observation"

I see your from central Pa. I live over in western Pa. If you were closer id say come on over and let's make a bow,and id show ya a thing or two. Your wood choice isn't limited either here. All kinds of good woods. Hickories,hophornbeam,elms,etc...on the whitewoods,and I bet if you look hard enough you can find some Osage around your area.

[George Tsoukalas]

There are a lot of other bow woods besides osage and yew. It really is unfortunate that beginners feel so limited. My site has info. Gotta go. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/

[Stingray45]

blackhaw, what part of Western PA you from? I live in Northern VA now but I'm originally from Greensburg, parents and in-laws stilll live there.

[Buckeye Guy]

Welcome to PA
Hope your ok with being addicted cause you cant stop it now!!

[blackhawk]

Stingray..im in beaver county north-north west of Pitt. Greensburgs about an hour+ from here.

[NTProf]

Maple is my favorite bow wood right now. No need to chase a ring. Peel off the bark and THERE IS THE BACK of the bow. Sugar/hard maple is the best in my opinion.