Persimmon

[Auggie]

 Did you cut the osage too? I would  try it before the persimmon.  Board bows are fine but  I spent a long time before I found one that was good,then I called a cabinet maker and got a really good piece of red oak from him,so you might try that. Auggie.

[Otoe Bow]

Auggie:  No, I didn't get to the Osage as I'd planned.  I ran out of time.  Don't worry, I know where it lives so it won't get far. I put the persimmon up in the rafters and I'll let it sit a couple of months, then get it down and probably smoke some brisket or back strap with it.  I doubt it will be much good for any thing else, but who know, I may get surprised.  Either way, it will help put meat on the table. 

DanaM:  Thanks for the reality check.  I got overly ambitious.  The other day I noticed my horses in a persimmon stand for shade and I thought, "what the heck".   (Don't worry, I left them plenty to keep them out of the sun).  I'll definitely give the boards a try.  Would the principles be the same for Ipa as well as and red oak?

Thanks guys, I appreciate the sage advice.

Otoe

[Otoe Bow]

DanaM:  See there I go again with the Ipe.  I just went to Georges site for board bows.  I'll stick to the red oak for the first one, I promise.   But then again, I'm the kind of guy that will try and catch the laser pointer dot on the wall.  Maybe I should listen to my own advise that I give my wife:  "Step away from the shiny things".

I do have a question and maybe you or George can shed some light on it.  On his site for board bows, one of the pictures of the braced bow appears to have the handle and the Buchanan's Dips on the BACK of the bow. Is this the difference in a stiff handled and flex handle bow? 

Otoe

[DanaM]

If yer refering to the red oak english longbow pic I believe that it is just a backwards grip. I've seen a few posted on here.
Perhaps Jawge will see this and shed some light. By all means cut some trees down and get them drying for later on.
I started with 3 ash boards from the sawmill cost about $20. I resawed them for proper grain and went to work. Its great
for yer confidence when you get a shooter. I've only been at this since last november and am working on my first stave bow now.
Good luck and have fun.