Winter bark for thought...

[upstatenybowyer]

So I've been toying around with the idea of building an HLD bow for a bit, so it's kinda on the back burner of my brain. I'm cleaning up in my garage today when I look up and see an ash sapling that I cut in the middle of the winter two years ago. I think, "ah, the perfect piece of wood to experiment on (high crown, decent but not great wood, ect.)."

So I rough out a bow with the bark on. Then I go to remove the bark once it's cut down to size. As I'm doing so, it occurs to me how dog-on stuck that bark is to the wood. I mean, that stuff is on there! More so than when I've applied rawhide with epoxy (don't do that anymore by the way).

Now I'm thinking, I bet if I had left the bark on there'd have been a good possibility it would stay on when the stave became a bow. I realize I'm probably wrong cause if it could be done it probably would have been. But I can't stop wondering...

Has anyone ever considered this? It would be assuming of coarse that the stave was cut in the winter, then left to dry for a long time (at least 2 years). I mean, what would make better camo than the bark!? 

[BowEd]

Never done that but what I think would happen yet is that the bark and cambium would crack over time and still come off in the end.

[Mo_coon-catcher]

If the bark is that stuck on, I'd think that it would take some of the wood with it when it decided to crack and peel off.

Kyle

[upstatenybowyer]

I hear you guys. It's a pipe dream, but my thinking is if we can use cherry bark as a reliable backing and it stays on with wood glue, why couldn't bark that's naturally stuck to the wood stand the test of time?

My gut tells me it wouldn't work, but my brain keeps on thinking of reasons it could.

I'm also thinking the bark, with the wood would be finished with tung oil or something similar.

[Marc St Louis]

I think it would depend a bit on how thick the bark is.  If it's thick then it's likely to fail in tension and maybe damage the wood in the process

[upstatenybowyer]

That definitely makes sense Marc. The species probably makes a big difference as well. I guess this is why Baker mentions that young plum bark can stay on if the wood is seasoned appropriately. He never mentions anything about success being effected based on during what season the wood was cut though. I wonder if that would make a difference.

[PatM]

Definitely species dependent. Many species will pop the inner bark, even from winter cut wood. Ash is one of them.

 Hickory however is said to be an excellent candidate for leaving the inner bark intact on winter cut wood.

[BowEd]

I know hickory bark if left to dry seems to become as hard as wood.Whether it's got the elastic qualities of the wood I don't know.It would be a good primitive tools situation challenge.

[upstatenybowyer]

I was hoping you'd chime in Pat. I know you've got some knowledge when it comes to winter bark. 

You're right on about that hickory bark Ed. I've got a bunch dried out that I plan on using for the roof of a house I'm making out of saplings for my kids.

[Marc St Louis]

I cut some Beech a long time ago and let some staves dry with the bark on.  It proved to be a nightmare trying to get the bark off the wood several years later, it was stuck on quite well.  I tried another piece a few years after that and the bark was coming off fairly easily.  The bark in this case was around 1/4" thick and quite hard but brittle.