Sassafras plans/research

[owlbait]

Time to get ready for hunting but I have several sassafras staves to work on this winter. Any thoughts/advice on the best place to look for sassafras bow dimensions/research/reading material? I have lots of time to study up and develope a plan of attack, and hopefully will have my hickory bow well bloodied by then.

[Pat B]

"The Witchery of Archery" by Maurice Thompson. Maurice and his brother Will grew up in North Georgia after the Civil War. They weren't allowed to use firearms so they took up archery and became plume hunters all over the South East. During their adventures they hunted deer, wild pigs, cougars and other critters. One of Maurice's favorite bow woods was sassafras. He built ELB style bows.
  Early in my bow building I tried sassafras. It made a bow but the bow took lots of set and was noodlelike in cast. I could probably do better these days.    That was in the 1980s. I think sassafras should make a good bow with the right design.

[owlbait]

That book was where I heard about sassafras as a bow wood. Lately it seems to get less than favorable reviews, but I'm willing to look at the best ideas, and take my time. Thanks for the reply.

[tattoo dave]

I tried sassafras a couple times, both broke. But like Pat, it was early in my bow building experience. Here's the only info that I've found on the wood;

SASSAFRAS is placed in this category with some reluctance. At .46, it tends to break on its back before taken cast-robbing set. Sassafras will become a fast, smooth bow if handled carefully. An ELB design makes the handle area do work, letting about 20% more wood store energy. At 1.5" wide and 76 or so long, with narrow outer limbs, it will be a durable, sweet-shooting bow. As with other tension-weak woods, a crowned English belly will offer some protection by allowing general and local set to take place, reducing back strain. If backed with light rawhide length or width can be reduced to that of a bow of typical .55 or slightly higher SG wood. All the sassafras I've seen has been thin-ringed, with a high percentage of early growth. This wood was thought well of in earlier times. Possibly better growing conditions allowed thicker-ringed, denser, stronger, more elastic wood. Possibly such wood grows today, in which case it would be rated here as a true bowwood. If given a choice select staves with thicker growth rings and low-percentage early wood. Sassafras is especially easy to work.

Tattoo Dave

[hedgeapple]

Last summer I needed a bow for as a photo prop that would be light enough for a female model to draw.  A friend had given me a sassafras board with less than perfect grain.  I glued a hickory backing on it for safety.  The bow was 62" in a ELB-ish design, a D-shaped cross section.  It pulled 20# @ 24".  I was surprised at how quickly shot a 400 grain arrow.  I plan to try that combination again but this time make a "real" bow of around 50# @ 26"

[crooketarrow]

  I've made a few SASSAFRAS BOWS A LONG TIME AGO. There's a couple of things you have to take into concederation.
  FIRST SSASSAFRAS is light and warps big time. So I made my staves big while seasoning.
  SECOUND it sucks up moisture worse then HICKORY. This is want causes set and string follow.
  I treat it just like HICKORY when building a bow. When I get to the beening of the limbs (tillering)
 I put it in a bow in a hot box a little while before I start tillering each time I work it. This gets rid of the relitive himitly.
 It makes super light bow I keep string follow in my bows to a inch or less. I've only made pyrmind bows from SASSAFRAS. MY BEST WAS A SINEW BACKED but I also made a BOO BACK AND 3 SELFBOWS. All came out OK.

[owlbait]

Thanks again guys for the information. These staves came from some really big trees which I've found hard to find in sassafras so maybe....