Author Topic: Red Cedar trees  (Read 1002 times)

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Offline BowEd

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  • BowEd
Red Cedar trees
« on: December 08, 2012, 09:31:00 am »
Looks like it's time for people to be harvesting more staves so a friend of mine and me looked at a bunch of larger cedar trees.The limbs being fairly large [4 to 6 inches]came off the tree in an arch upward with hardly no branches on the topside.With about a 6" reflex in 5 to 6 feet.Heartwoods' closer to the top side of branch too.My friend is'nt on this forum but I told him I would leave em dry as is instead of splitting,and that I would deflex the handle some with steam too when it was roughed out and then sinew it.He was insistent on just tillering it as is with all that reflex after sinewing.Think it'll work for him?
BowEd
You got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything.
Ed

Offline Hrothgar

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Re: Red Cedar trees
« Reply #1 on: December 08, 2012, 01:42:34 pm »
Beadman, I had a similiar red mulberry stave a few years ago. After posting some pictures of the natural arch in the log I was discouraged from from attempting to preoceed any further. A couple inches of natural reflex can help a bow store extra energy, but there is a limit to how much reflex is workable or safe. A 6" in dip in a 6' log might be too much to work with. Pictures help.
Eric
" To be, or not to be"...decisions, decisions, decisions.