I was thinking the same when I first saw the bow...I was thinking it was like a Yew bow in reverse. I googled the wood last night and saw bows that were sapwood back and heartwood belly...beautiful BTW...and was thinking that this bow was built in reverse. Now I'm noticing that the back is possibly stained a bit?? but the back is sapwood...almost the entire bow is sapwood if I'm seeing it correctly. Just a small portion of the rounded belly was deep enough in the stave to have just a small bit of heartwood showing in a stripe down the center of the belly. I think that is what I am seeing. If so, it appears that the sapwood is good in both tension and compression? Or is that small strip of heartwood taking the brunt of the compression forces?
Anyone with experience with this wood....please post what you know about it. I'd love to pick up a stave, but I could not find anywhere online that hints at staves for sale. From what I could find, it's a European tree and trees in the US thrive where it doesn't get too hot or humid in the summertime and doesn't get too cold in the winter. PNW? Most of what I read about were trees planted as ornamental beauties in gardens...could not find anything about them growing in the wild in the US. Again, anyone who can post any info about laburnum...please do, and I'm in the market for a stave!
