Chinaberry isn't really a compression wood of any notice...in fact it is hardly a bow wood of any notice despite have a good value on the bow wood index. I've worked with it several times and was never able to get a bow out of it. I think it may be a better wood in different growing conditions than what I deal with here.
That's helpful info. It's odd how some woods would appear to be good but end up being just crummy. Like I mentioned earlier there is no real data for yield points in compression or even tension out there. all there is, is failure points and stiffness. It's possible Chinaberry has excellent compression & tension strengths (meaning it takes a lot of bending to break them), but its yield points may be pathetically low. This would mean its elastic region would be small. If that's the case then once it does pass those yield points it becomes a mushy mess. A strong mushy mess, but a mushy mess nonetheless. Either that or it's an inconsistent wood. Rather than having low yield points, the wood is actually week with low failure points depending on growing conditions. Where under the right conditions it could be a good bow wood like when it was measured for the wood database, and in other conditions its not.
Oh, and Rosewood is an excellent compression wood, but good luck affording a piece of it. I made a black ebony bow some time back and it also made a nice bow, but I was never able to afford to try stressing the design to find out if it is weak in either tension or compression due to the cost of the wood. Like I said before also, Acacia is a great belly wood for compression.
Yeah, I was hesitent to included some of the exotic woods I did list; like Wenge, Olive, Lemonwood, Indian Rosewood, Chinaberry, Muninga, and maybe even turkey oak. I chose to include them because they were still somewhat obtainable, although maybe expensive, and because they were fairly well known woods. I know Indian Rosewood is supposed to be easier to get than Brazilian Rosewood, or Madagascar Rosewood. Madagascar Rosewood would be very very expensive, if you could find it at all. It currently has a restriction on it keeping it from being cut down anymore. I'm sorry I forgot to put acacia on the list. I'll go back and modify it.
You can try lots of different woods but I suggest using one good wood and trying different designs . That's what I am doing. All wood is different even in the same tree. Placement of mass is what makes a good bow. Light on the ends ,width, thickness, length. Using one wood will get you there faster in my opinion. 
but I am asking questions on here just like you. 
Osage does both well. For me it's selfbows not backed bows at this time. Good luck with you adventure. Arvin
There is some wisdom in that. That way you can eliminate bow wood as a variable when you're trying to hone your skills and figure out where you went wrong. Unfortunately, some of us live in locations that make it hard to come across yew or Osage, unless we bought it and had it shipped. I live in Utah, and the only good bow woods I know of that grow natural in the wild is Utah Juniper and Mountain Mahogany. Both of which I haven't been able to find any data on. I originally posted this to determine what woods were good so if I happen to run into an assortment of woods when collecting from arborists, landscapers, the city, neighbors, or what have you that I would know beforehand what I would be working with. Even if did end up liking juniper or mountain mahogany I don't know if I could keep to using it alone. I'm a fickle person when it comes to preferences, and I enjoy making things different ways and from different material, even unusual material. But that's just me. Osage and Yew are usually right at the top of the lists for either compression or tension. They work, and everybody knows they do. No sense changing if you don't wan't/need to.
