Hello all,
I have been a member here for a bit and mostly enjoy reading. I have learned a lot from you. I want to share some things and at the same time you can get to know me.
I am an ISA certified Arborist, have been for fourteen years. I've been working with all kinds of wood for a long time and have eaten my lunch at the top of the nations largest Osage tree. Pruning that thing is work. Here is the deal, I've only taken an interest in making bows for four months now and I love it. Whatever that something is, it sure gets in your blood and I doubt I will ever stop making/breaking bows.
I live in Maryland right now and I lived in Culpeper VA area for nine years in the past. So I am dealing with eastern woodlands. I like it out west too, spent a lot of time there too. For me, being an arborist gave me a good head start with making bows. I have been in the habit of identifying every tree around me for a long time and am real good at it. Tree identification as well as characteristics will save any learning bowyer time and heartache. I will quickly share with you how an arborist ID's trees. Likely the same way you already do but in case someone doesn't know. First always by the bark of the tree. I never have or will ID trees by leaves unless I draw a blank and need a hint. The reason using the bark is the way pros do it is because it's a sure bet. For instance heartwood color or growth rings can fool you, but Osage bark never grows on a Mulberry, ever. You can trust the bark. Now, the bark can vary a little but not enough to not trust it. Obviously seasons don't matter much because the bark remains. Ok so, if you need to look at the leaves, cool here is a little tip, remember MAD Horse. It stands for Maple, Ash, Dogwood and Horse Chesnut. They all have opposite branches. It may help you narrow something down. I do remember first learning and how all the bark looked the same, keep at it and you will soon be able to ID every tree around you in seconds.
It has been interesting how some woods act similar in bows as they do when felling or pruning them. Example, Black Cherry, I have seen Cherry barber chair while felling for no reason other than it's a Cherry, no vertical cracks, heavy lean or lopsided crown, which can affect felling. It just snaps under tension. Sometimes. Black Cherry reminds me of a strong teenager, but has a habit of making stupid impulsive decions and breaks its own back
reign the cherry in and he can accommodate nicely. Black Locust reminds me of a real strong hardened and wise old man. He will teach you everything, but slow down! The old man needs to stretch first, he's a little stiff. Osage could be a number of people, is he humble or cocky cause he's so good at everything? You decide. Seriously though Osage is a wood you just can't find in most any other wood. It's true.
With that said, I have seen threads where people debate if Osage is king or not. Here is what I think. I mean no disrespect to anyone I'm not saying anything bad about anyone. I think, possibly people get tired of the answer being 'Osage'. I think they want to maybe hear something different. Yes the best wood for your project would be... you guessed it. I really appreciate Hedge, I really do (see I even get tired of saying Osage) and I like a lot of other wood too. I get both sides, for the experienced bowyer that has done it all, he knows he can rely on Osage and is just done with experimentation. I understand Osage is the most durable wood. It just is IMO. I used to live on a four hundred acre farm that was a confederate hospital during the Civel War and Hedge fence post were still in some pastures.
A word on rot resistance. Hedge wins but how do others stack up? Black Locust is right up there with excellent rot resistance, Mulberry as well, ERC (Juniper) WRC stack up pretty good too. What about Oak? Well, there are over six hundred different kinds of Oaks out there. I was at an arboretum that had just over four hundred different Oaks growing there, impressive. In the East you can kinda devide red and white. Red Oak actually has pretty poor rot resistance in the heartwood and White Oak has very decent rot resistance. White oak has a bit higher tensile strength too. Oaks can be fickle though. They suffer from something called sudden limb drop. When a limb or large Liter fails for no apparent reason. Once I was in a red oak standing on a five inch limb a foot from the crotch and it gave out suddenly. I have gotten called to an emergency when a massive majestic white oak split in half and fell on a house. No wind, no rot, no cracks, it just gave. Meanwhile an elm limb hangs by a thread next door for years. The ways of wood. I will never stop learning from it. I like oak for bows as well. I'm only speaking about the eastern U.S. right now and not including exotic or other woods. One last thing for Oaks, you can put scarlet, black, chestnut, pin, willow and a bunch more kinda in the red catagory, meanwhile your swamp Oaks can go in white. Sort of. You can tell by the bark. White Oaks have a lighter flakier bark. I prefer chasing a ring on a white oak. It just barley lies near the line of a rot resistance heart wood.
Also, if I have said something wrong let me know. Oh, a quick thing about Mulberries. So Red, Black and white and so on. Here is the deal. Unfortunately White is easier to find. It is from China. It is silk productions number one tree. I think people have so many mixed opinions on Mulberry because some of you are using white and some red. Red Mulberry is native here in the U.S. That doesn't mean when you find a Mulberry in your yard it's a red, in fact it's probably white or a hybrid. That's why white is classified as invasive. It's stomping out and watering down, good old real USA Mulberry. Remember the settlers used the same trees we use, that's partly why I love all wood bows. You can read a book about bowyers from the 1800 hundreds and that knowledge still applies. Believe it or not, for hunting a lot of guys chose to take their Mulberry bow instead of their Osage bows. Osage was still king the best to them, might have been for a literally lighter bow, not draw weight. For me, Red Mulberry is an awesome bow wood. White Mulberry tends to grow more like a tree and red more like Osage. Red Mulberry is extremely heavy when green. When seasoned lighter than Osage. I have a feeling a lot of guys here have been using white Mulberry. Unfortunately red Mulberry is becoming almost rare. I think you will know it if you make a bow from true red. Yes white can make a good bow. To me, it should stick with silk and I want the red gnarly stuff. It's not as simple as red has red/black berries and white has white. Some don't even produce berries. Tip, red have duller leaves and fuzzy bottoms, white have shinier smooth leaves. This instance the bark can be hard to tell, but they are different. BTW some of the articles online are so off it is annoying. Ask me and I can send you verified data from ANSI and ISA. You see native trees are meant to be here. People often look up to identify a problem with the tree when they should be looking down.
Looking Down. A quick overview of tree variation. Sunlight and water are important. Partial sun possibly. Soil PH is very important. PH alone can cause you to wonder why the black Locust you got in VA seems to be much better quality than the stuff you have in your western state. I've seen jawge go on about the cambium is the only living part of a tree! Good job jawge, your pretty much right on. The cambium is where the xylem and the phloem are. The cambium layer (inner bark) is a two way highway. One carries nutrients up the other down. Up from the soil, minerals water and such, down from photosynthesis, water and such. That's why if you score the tree through the cambium around its circumference, it kills it. Why do I say this? Girdling roots. Trees are almost alway planted too low. Piling mulch around the base like a volcano in the worst idea. Never cover the root collar(flare). Trees with too much debris around the root flare are way more prone to girding roots which cut eventually cut off the circulation or partially of the tree. These things affect your staves. Oh, of course Osage thrives in almost any soil condition. Another example of it extreme resilience.
I probably have said too much and text barley said what I wanted to say. Unfortunately I can only touch on a few bow woods, but I enjoy a decent variety of woods. I'm working on an experiment. I walked into the woods and picked three trees I could see. So far it's light and snappy and smooth. Mulberry belly, cherry core, Black Locust Back. Let you know when I mess it up. I have a bunch of bows I'm making right now, won't bore you though.
One last thought. I like Osage, but I get tired of Osage always being the answer sometimes. I enjoy working with the wood in my woods. I like know I can walk outside and make a real good tool/weapon with the wood I have available. There are a few woods I left out that I really like, but I will save it for later. I can also see experienced guys possibly feeling like white woods are for beginners and boring? For me there is a much deeper relationship with your bow when you work it down to the heartwood. The heartwood is more mature and seasoned even when it sits dead in a live tree. But white woods don't have good heartwood. It's amazing, climb a dead hickory and it just dicinigrates beneath you, when just a couple weeks earlier it was the strongest tree in the woods. Here in the east Black Locust, Mulberry, Osage, some junipers. I include white oak, cherry and Sweet Birch on my heartwood list, though many might disagree it's the way I see it. I also have really enjoyed Hickory, Ash, Hornbeam, Hackberries and Bamboo(backings it's easy for me to find it growing). I've only stared with staves, even with lams. I can't comment on board bows. I do know the best boards go to furniture makers and boards for general construction and decking decking are the lowest quality wood. I'm not knocking using them. I feel like I need to source my own wood and pick the best for my bows, that's all. The source of your bow wood is half the bow in my mind. I don't think I'm right about anything. I'm just giving my limited perspective on bow woods. I'm sure my perspective will change along the way too. I'm all about it. I'm always open to new ideas.
Guys who have trouble finding Osage in your state. I find it easily where I am. No it's probably not going to be right outside, but with a little hard work and reasearch you can find pockets where it still grows in the wild. It was planted in all 48 states and widely used. It's a hearty plant. Learn to recognize it and look. It can be hard to get a head start, but once you do, you will be making local Osage bows. If anyone ever asks where you got it, don't tell them. It takes work to find these pockets and they will blow your spot. I have friends in the tree business as well, that can help. I assure you they are there. I drive 30 min and Im good. Ask anyone else and they'll tell you Bodark don't grow in Maryland. Best let them believe that too. Or you can buy it.
Cheers,
Johny
