Hawthorn

[bushman]

Has anyone every tried to use Hawthorn for an unbacked ELB. I was thinking of using it to make one in the 100 lb range if I can find a good enough stave. Was think of making it 66 to 72 inches long, I’m only going to be drawing about 28/29 inches, I can draw 31 but thats with light bows. What would you guys recommend? Thanks.
Bushman

[Del the cat]

ELB to 29", I reckon you want 74" for some safety, 70" absolute bare minimum.
I can't seem to find any clean straight Hawthorn of a sensible diameter.
Had one bit a couple of years ago, the grain did the weirdest things... ended up in the corner of shame (pretty much on it's own)
Del

[Qwill]

Based on my experience with hawthorn, I'd guess a flatbow would be a better design, the stuff is incredibly tough and resilient in tension, but I think a deep cross section would slow it down. My two cents. I've seen a few saplings that could be longbow material growing deep in thickets, straight up to find sunlight. I'm just not tough enough to go in after them.

[mikekeswick]

Hawthorn can handle a fairly rounded belly. I've made a few short d-bows out of it with rounded bellies to see what it can handle. Agreed with Del as 70inch minimum.
Have fun finding a piece tho.....good luck.

[bushman]

Thanks for the replies. I have seen some nice hawthorn over the years in creek beds, some is no good but you come across some nice trees the odd time.
Bushman

[Qwill]

I may have to try a narrower bow with Hawthorn. It will certainly make finding a stave easier. Thanks for the info.