green wood bows

[Chad]

So this is kind of a broad question, but any general tips on making green wood bows. I have quite a bit of an assortment of saplings (hackberry, elm, sycamore, juniper, nut trees, ect). A brief summary of the drying process, working before drying process, those kinda things. I looked in TBB I, they mention a little but not a ton. I made a half attempt at an elm sapling bow, it was fun to make. Didn't have a lot of expectations from it just wanted to go through the process. There was checking (my fault I didn't seal the ends) but there was also longitudinal checking/crack in the handle area belly side. Just any tips would be greatly appreciate, Thanks.
Chad

[Pat B]

You can work green staves to the floor tiller stage without harming them. You will have to protect them from twisting, etc by fastening them to a form or some sort.

[aaron]

Here is what I have done. Cut a sapling about 1 1\2 INCHES diameter. Depending on species, remove bark, seal ends. Reduce the stave to three quarters thick, you  can leave the handle a little thicker, but it will be prone to check. Next dry it slowly. If you are in a big hurry, dry it a few days and accept that it will have string folllow. It is best to dry it for 6 months. Some woods tolerate quick dry better than others. You may want to bungee it to a 2x4 while it dries to keep it straight. Monitor it for checks and dry slower if it starts to check.

[wizardgoat]

I cut some juniper, sealed the ends that day and roughed out a bow 1 week later.
It was fully dry in 3 weeks. In my experiences juniper is the fastest drying woodyou listed 
ive roughed out lots of 1-3 month old white woods, your going to want to strap them to a form, or 2x4. Its cool how much reflex you can induce into green wood, and to me it seems the closer you get a green stave to floor tiller the less its likely to check. Warp, thats a different story

[Chad]

is checking death to the bow or can it survive it. I have a little on my elm but not a lot, wondering whether it's fire wood.

great stuff info, I appreciate it.

If I cut a 2" diameter stave, you guys things I should split it down the middle???

I cut some juniper, sealed the ends that day and roughed out a bow 1 week later.
It was fully dry in 3 weeks. In my experiences juniper is the fastest drying woodyou listed 
ive roughed out lots of 1-3 month old white woods, your going to want to strap them to a form, or 2x4. Its cool how much reflex you can induce into green wood, and to me it seems the closer you get a green stave to floor tiller the less its likely to check. Warp, thats a different story

I'm not a 100% the species of juniper I have around here, but its so knotty. Three weeks dry time sounds awesome.

[Pat B]

Look at my post "Island Girl". The checks went all the way through both limbs.

[wizardgoat]

dont split a 2" sapling. it will only make one bow anyway, so use a hatchet or a draw knife to remove wood from the belly.
i mark out my handle and leave it whole, then carve away the belly till i see the pitch depending on size of stave.
seal the ends and seal where the fades blend into the limb, because they like to check there alot.
finding juniper is the easy part, find a stave of suitable length thats not twisted like a candy cane is the hard part.
look for branches or younger trees

[George Tsoukalas]

Lots of good advice here!

Look for a sapling 2 inches and free of limbs.

Hold the stave like you were going to string it to see if it flips around on you.
Decide on the back.

Marking 2 magic marker lines to delineate back from front would help.
Leave it full width and taper to 1/2 in. nocks from about mid limb.

Leave the stave a few inches longer than usual to counteract the crown.
Remove the belly wood with a hatchet.

Remove the bark and tiller the bow. You can get it bending an inch or 2 and it will dry faster.

See Bowmaking Directions on my site.

http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/index.html

Jawge