looking at getting a haul! and advice needed

[BowSlayer]

well everyone, today it's been another hot day in the UK. im looking at getting a haul tommorow and a dam good one at that. my freind told me his neibour was cutting some wood and that if i wanted it i would need to get round there quick. when i got round there my freind introduced me to his neibour and we started talking, after some persuading he said i can have the wood but only if i helped cut it. i had however prepared for this and brought along my trusty hand saw. after about an hour we had all managed to cut around 15-20 logs. this was great but im not sure if iv'e wasted my time the reason i say that is i havn't a clue what the wood is. Richard (the guy who was in charge) said that it was hickory but im not to sure as iv'e seen hickory and it looked diffrent. anyway im looking at getting 2-3 of theese logs so it's worth a try. i havn't got pics but im going round there tommorow so ill take pics of all the wood we cut today and also my possible staves. i plan on bringing theese back to my place to split now that i got some cool new wedges i know this seems hard to belive without pictures and that i should have really just posted this when i had the pics but  i just couldn't wait to tell you guys. so please refrain from calling me a liar or attetion seeker because i don't have pics. but i prommise i will have them tommorow (sory for the rant) thank's for reading. and any advice on splitting logs?

[Olanigw (Pekane)]

Start on the end, work your way down.

Wear safety glasses.

[BOWMAN53]

Place wedge on end, hit it hard with a hammer

[Pat B]

Take pics of leaves and of similar trees still standing. Also try asking the owner what kind of trees they are.

[BowSlayer]

ok, heres a pic of the log/stave i got. i also started to shape one of the yew staves down to see if it will dry quicker.




look at the reflex! sorry the workshops a mess!




there is another identical knot to this on the other limb. should be intresting.

thanks for looking, sorry not that many pics of the haul.

[BowSlayer]

ok, to make up for the lack of pics from the acctual haul i took some pics of me splitting it. in the end i only got one stave and some billits which will make a nice character bow. whats really strange is there were some dark shades on the wood which looked like heartwood but it was on the outside and wasn't all around the stave, just along some of the length? again i don't know what the wood is but the grain was very stringy like hickory im not sure if it's good for bows but im going to give it a try.




you see what i mean when i said the grain was stringy.


this is one of the billits, see how the darker wood is on the outside, and then stops near the bottom?


again showing the darker wood. this time on the stave.


here is a look at the grain


here is the wedge im using to split the wood into 2 billits.


here is the start of the split




one stave and two billits.


ok here is a look down the stave, you see how it's reflexed in the centre and delflexed at the end, well im thinking of giving the end im holding some deflex to match the other end.

that's all for now. thanks for looking.

[Olanigw (Pekane)]

Without seeing the leaves, my first guess is something in the poplar family.
Try denting the wood with your thumbnail and report back

[BowSlayer]

Ok. Done it. The wood is pretty hard. I also went ahead and done it with yew. To compare and it was about the same.  Not much difference.  Does this help.

[DavidV]

Those mineral streaks are really common in poplar :/ probably not good for a bow wood.

[Olanigw (Pekane)]

Ok. Done it. The wood is pretty hard. I also went ahead and done it with yew. To compare and it was about the same.  Not much difference.  Does this help.

If it dented it's probably poplar.  It helps us make a better ID, but it looks like it doesn't help you much with having good wood

[WillS]

If it's poplar turn it into arrows.

No point deflexing one limb to match another, that's backwards.  Reflex both, or straighten the deflexed one.

[Accipiter]

Amalanchier (serviceberry) and Sorbus (Mountain Ash) can both have wood color patterns somewhat similar to what yours is showing and I believe species of both grow in the UK. They are both relatively hard as well. Trying to think if the bark matches anything here in the NW USA, but not coming up with much. I'd be curious to find out what you have there!

[Zion]

I think it's pretty hard to guess a wood's ID with the wood and bark alone since there's so many variables involved. It's alot easier with leaves, do these trees grow in your area?

[BowSlayer]

Well it didn't dent with my nail and its pretty hard. Im thinking it may be a type of ash as the shavings smell similar. 

[dwardo]

Looks ashy to be well atleast some of it. Try and find some old leaves on the ground where they grew.