Forgetc osage!

[mullet]

Since you want to be different and you live in Florida maybe you should track down the elusive and legendary Snakewood

Look up Surinam Cherry, Snakewood's first cousin.

After Osage I'll take Vine Maple and HHB.

[Justin.schmidt23]

Since you want to be different and you live in Florida maybe you should track down the elusive and legendary Snakewood

Look up Surinam Cherry, Snakewood's first cousin.

After Osage I'll take Vine Maple and HHB.

None of which I have. Just don't want to be stuck with red oak, hackberry, and cherry laurel

[Stick Bender]

If not Osage , I will always have a soft spot for hickory since that's what I made my first successful bow out of but the white wood I get most excited about is sugar maple it's a pleasure to work and takes glue really well and has good cast but I think you like what your successful with.

[Dakota Kid]

Hop Hornbeam, American Hornbeam, and Black Locust are favorites thus far. I was also really impressed by hazel wood, which is what my current hunting bow is made from. I even found a grove of them that have unusual color streaking in them, similar to what happens in rainbow poplar. Plus it polishes the best of any wood I've ever finished. It shines like buffed ivory or bone, really pretty stuff.   

[Stixnstones]

Osage of course and runnin a very close second is Hackberry. the stuff is easy to work, and makes a hard hittin smooth bow.

[SLIMBOB]

If you got hackberry, your good.  I don't know if it's my favorite after Osage, but it's really good if built properly.  Temper, temper, temper.

[sleek]

Go find some mulberry. Its a kissin cousin to osage.

[George Tsoukalas]

Justin,
You only have 123 posts. You are not being a pain.

I have made bows from just about every conceivable bow wood and some not so conceivable. LOL.

I do like osage. I like the way it changes color.

I also like black locust  and hickory.

Jawge

[bubby]

Ya know camp osage has some BOM and BOY that are yew lol

[Dances with squirrels]

I've used a pile of different woods as well. Osage is my favorite... good snakey osage bows. Others can't compare. Next would be Yew and Hophornbeam.

[Justin.schmidt23]

Thanks for the replies gents. Build bows is the only thing I have to do. I don't work so I treat this hobby like a job Inow that I take ALOT OF pride in what I do and don't like to fail.
It's definitely nice to hear how great hackberry is. It's pretty plentiful out back. I have 2 hackberry bows that are at floor tiller and drying. While I'm waiting I decided to mess with a shurmand oak stave I cut about a month ago, this wood just LOVES to be worked. Hackberry had been killed during of a PIA. but this red oak just is alot easier to mess with. Kinda determined to make the red oak work for me

[Marc St Louis]

Heat-treated first grade Elm will make about as good a bow as good Osage

[sleek]

Marc, I'd wager it will out perform osage, expecially in tension.

[Marc St Louis]

Marc, I'd wager it will out perform osage, expecially in tension.

Probably but finding the right tree is an exercise in frustration, not all Elm are created equal

[sleek]

A very proven fact. I have a bow I made of elm, my first one really. If I knew who to send it to, id like to know the exact species of elm it is. This tree is the perfect bow wood.