Juniper Self bow

[Chuck.e.b]

Looking to build my second bow. I want it to be juniper. Been scouting for trees lately and found a few good ones, one of them being pretty large. Is it better to build one out of a branch or the main tree for juniper. Looking to go unbacked 30” draw at 50#, maybe 64-68” long, depending. Thanks.

[Ryan Jacob]

From what I know, Juniper is pretty and pretty snappy if it works out in the end. It does however seem to like blowing up.

[Azmdted]

I recently finished a 60" tip to tip, 45# at 28", One-seed Juniper that I backed with rawhide.  I made it from a 3" diameter branch or trunk from the tree.  One-seed is a little different in that it seems to have multiple trunks, or a main trunk and other occasional vertical branches.  I'm not sure which.

It's a visually beautiful wood.  The bow ended up with a belly of mostly heartwood but edges of white sapwood along both edges.  One limb had some unhelpful movement in the grain so my decrowning wasn't perfect, but I'm not seeing or hearing any issues with it.  Between the rawhide and the relatively light weight it's doing very well, and is a pleasure to shoot.

Which type of juniper are going to use?  The juniper I've seen in southern Arizona, mostly one-seed and Alligator, can be a challenge to find an appreciable length without twist or knots, mostly knots.  I suggest that if you can find a good branch to meet your needs use it first.  See what it does, see how you do.  Cutting a limb won't kill the tree but cutting the trunk would.  A lot of junipers are hundreds of years old.  If you can find a straight one that'll give you 68" staves guard it carefully and be sure before you cut it.

And, just to be safe back it with rawhide at least.

My wife is a big fan of bow building now thanks in some part to the smell of juniper in my shop while I was working on this bow.

[Deerhunter21]

most Juniper bows are backed because they don't have as good of tension(?)   People say that a sinew backed juniper bow is top notch!

[jeffp51]

yup.  Sinew back it.  I made a short (for me) bow with utah juniper, and backed it with three layers of sinew--even not knowing really what I was doing that bow takes an incredible amount of bend.

[Chuck.e.b]

Juniperus scopulorum, Rocky Mountain Juniper. Are the branches better because they’re more flexible than the heartwood of a big trunk? Yes snappy and fast.

I’d love to see pics if anyone’s got them, please?

I do have some hide from my deer this year but am trying to make a bow as close I can to a Ute style. I know sometimes they used rawhide/sinew when it was available. I plan on making the bow from my hunt area this year and taking an animal next season in the same area. There is actually a old game drive spot the natives would use in the area. They would post up at the top near the base of this cliff and the others would drive deer and elk up to them. You can still find arrowheads up there.

[wstanley]

I think the branches will give you a faster bow because of the tighter growth rings. Another method is to carve the stave out of a large trunk (not a single knot when you do this) and split it off. Ended up with a clean stave-knotless of sapwood that made a fine bow. This style of harvesting a bow has been documented in Nevada in prehistoric times. The removal scars are still present with the basalt stone wedge and hammerstone still sitting in the tree! Here is the  URL:
.
https://escholarship.org/content/qt4v5249w9/qt4v5249w9.pdf

It appears the wood was left on the trunk to season ,I took it off in once sitting, and it seasoned at home.

[Ryan Jacob]

If you use deer rawhide, you might want to think it down a bit first, apparently their hides are too thick and heavy left raw. For branches, as long as it’s clean, the it will work. There’s something called reaction wood to but I’m not smart enough to explain it.

[WhistlingBadger]

Hi, Chuck.  I'll be following this thread with interest, as RMJ is about the only decent bow wood that's common around here (western Wyoming), and I've been thinking about it for a long time.  It's a fairly soft wood, prone to dings and scratches, which might be why it was/is usually backed?  But there is nothing prettier than RMJ sapwood.
Good luck--Thomas

[wstanley]

Juniper is backed because it has awful tension strength, but its compression strength is very good. The sinew and juniper compliment each other perfectly.

[WhistlingBadger]

Juniper is backed because it has awful tension strength, but its compression strength is very good. The sinew and juniper compliment each other perfectly.

That makes sense.  Rawhide backing doesn't add any tension strength, but only makes bows less prone to breaking, correct?

[JW_Halverson]

I think the branches will give you a faster bow because of the tighter growth rings. Another method is to carve the stave out of a large trunk (not a single knot when you do this) and split it off. Ended up with a clean stave-knotless of sapwood that made a fine bow. This style of harvesting a bow has been documented in Nevada in prehistoric times. The removal scars are still present with the basalt stone wedge and hammerstone still sitting in the tree! Here is the  URL:
.
https://escholarship.org/content/qt4v5249w9/qt4v5249w9.pdf

It appears the wood was left on the trunk to season ,I took it off in once sitting, and it seasoned at home.

I have read that paper any number of times and it just plains crans my heart rate every time!  I am torn between wanting to go out and find one of those mother trees and harvest a slab or two and not wanting to mess with the rather sacred history that they represent.

[wstanley]

That's for sure! With the amount of junipers growing out there and your good moral compass, I think you can avoid one that a native may have used. I understand where your' coming from though!

[Chuck.e.b]

That’s amazing info in that paper. A lot to take in. Seeing that they used staves from the trunk this has set me straight. Thanks.

My thought is what did they do before they had sinew? They had to make it work somehow. Im not looking for one that lasts forever just a few hunting seasons hopefully.

I’ll be out this weekend, I’ll post my find if I settle on something.

[JW_Halverson]

That's for sure! With the amount of junipers growing out there and your good moral compass, I think you can avoid one that a native may have used. I understand where your' coming from though!

Some of those trees had lived so long that the renewal scars on the edges of the cuts were repeatedly harvested. THAT is the stuff that tempts me.