Mulberry staves with many thorny like pin knots, please help.

[Ameer]

Hi guys, I'm new to Bowery and I've only ever done PVC bows before. My first attempt at making a self bow was a Sycamore sapling which I cut and air dried and it turned out horrible after month's of waiting and a lot of hard work, anyway I found a good few Mulberry trees growing too close to each other and the owner let me cut one of them down. I split it into staves and peeled the bark only to reveal many thorny like pin knots about 1 cm in diameter and 1 cm high protruding out of the stave, about thirty of them on just one stave , I'd like to know if I should go ahead and cut through them and maybe the earlier growth rings will be clean and  if they carry through then can I apply sinew to back the bow?  Or should I try to work around them? Altogether I have about twenty staves with the ends sealed some are branches so I could experiment a little but I'd hate to waste a stave so I'm open to any ideas.

[simson]

Oh man that is beautiful!
Just use it as back - it is ready!

[bubby]

Oh man that is beautiful!
Just use it as back - it is ready!




What he said👆

[Ameer]

Thanks, I'll do that.  What design should I go with?  This is my very first bow.

[Pat B]

I agree with above, go for it!
 What is your draw length, what draw weight are you looking for?
 I'd say go 66" to 68"(since this is your first), 1 3/4" at the fades, out 8" with a straight taper to 3/4" tips(also because its your first). The tips should be narrowed to 3/8" later.   This can give you a bow from 40# to 60# or more. Keep your first bow simple, learn proper tillering, go slow and keep in touch with pics and questions. 

[Ameer]

Thanks a lot, I've never really measured my exact draw length, how do I check it?  I'll be sure to post pics as I go along. 

[wizardgoat]

Mark an arrow like a ruler stick, starting from the crotch of the nock.
Pull it back on one of your other bows and see where you measure up.
From the crotch of the nock to the back of the bow

[Ameer]

Thanks,  once I have my draw length how do I measure the length of the bow?  I'm sorry if my questions sound naive, I've only ever built a few pvc bows from exact dimensions I found online,  so I'm kinda new to this and I want to get it right the first time.

[Pat B]

The overall length of the bow does have a direct relation to your draw length. 2x your draw length plus about 10% to start but longer is a better option for a beginner.   For a 28" draw (28"x2=56"+6"=62"). After you build a few bows this would be a good length for you. Until then I'd say go with 66" to 68".

[rps3]

Shouldnt the sapwood ideally be removed for mulberry?

[Pat B]

If the wood was handled properly from the stump mulberry sapwood is a good back. I've made several mulberry selfbows with sapwood backs.

[bowandarrow473]

I've heard the same, mulberry can be used with either a sapwood or heartwood back. I've got a few 4" red mulberry saplings I cut about a month and a half ago and they have little heartwood (finally found some straight mulberry and can't wait to try it out) I would go with practically the same design as PatB.

[Pat B]

B&A,FYI, you'll find a mulberry bow with mostly sapwood will be considerably thicker than an all heartwood bow.

[bowandarrow473]

Interesting, I've read that that tends to be the case with all sapwood bows, wonder why that is? Since it makes a decent bow still, it can't be that it is significantly weaker wood, higher elasticity for less weight maybe?

[Pat B]

The sapwood is less dense than the heartwood.