Woods superior to osage

[Badger]

 When all things are considered, I still consider Osage #1, but there are several species of trees I would take over Osage when I can find a rare, good stave.

#1  Ocean spray. I believe this is about the fastest wood I have ever worked. But hard to dry without splitting, hard to find a decent size stave.
#2 Purple plum, this is my all-time favorite for its flexibility, stiffness and workability.
#3  Chinese elm, like hickory it tends  to be somewhat hygroscopic but if kept around 6% it is super fast and virtually unbreakable even with massive violations. No need to chase a ring or even worry about cutting across the grain. The city cuts them down all the time but the trunks weigh over 1,000# and it is virtually impossible to split so must be sawed.

[RyanY]

I can’t speak to this from experience but yew seems to be such an interesting wood in its properties. Should be included. I also find hop hornbeam unique in how stiff it is compared to other woods.

[willie]

osage (and yew) will both bend further than most other woods without taking too much set, allowing narrower and/or thicker limbs for a particular design.

all woods take set when worked to the max  or overworked, but I wonder if the woods that Badger is investigating or searching for have a quality that does not really have a name. The ability to work repeatedly without loss of strength just below that point where set finally happens.

[Badger]

osage (and yew) will both bend further than most other woods without taking too much set, allowing narrower and/or thicker limbs for a particular design.

all woods take set when worked to the max  or overworked, but I wonder if the woods that Badger is investigating or searching for have a quality that does not really have a name. The ability to work repeatedly without loss of strength just below that point where set finally happens.

  I forgot to mention yew, purple plum has the same feel as yew to me when drawing and tillering. I wish I knew how to perform an engineering-grade bend test. I suspect that purple plum can surpass yew, ( currently #1) I haven't had the pleasure of working much purple plum but I do remember that blown-away feeling I had while working with it.  Most of the elms are excellent and I feel slightly better than hickory, but Chinese elm has a quality that would allow it to cut into boards for self-bows without worrying about grain run out, it is also fast growing tree that often grows straight as a pole for 10 or 12 feet. Nice creamy white wood, strong and I suspect low hysteresis for a white wood.

[Selfbowman]

Y’all know me . Osage is king. But mt juniper does well at the salt flats. Also ipa and boo.

[willie]

I wish I knew how to perform an engineering-grade bend test.

Are you wishing to test specifically for hysterisis?

I think a hundred years ago there was an impact test that measured rebound heighths.

[mmattockx]

Most of the elms are excellent and I feel slightly better than hickory, but Chinese elm has a quality that would allow it to cut into boards for self-bows without worrying about grain run out, it is also fast growing tree that often grows straight as a pole for 10 or 12 feet. Nice creamy white wood, strong and I suspect low hysteresis for a white wood.

Is this the Chinese Elm you are speaking of?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulmus_parvifolia

Sounds like I might even have a chance of finding some here, which would be a novelty.


Mark

[superdav95]

Interesting post badger!  Bamboo if done right and heat treated correctly.  Sweetgum too!   Already mentioned I think but hhb too. 

[jameswoodmot]

I hope to be able to get my hands on a stave of this Osage I hear so much of, one day.
I’m am grateful for the bounty of wych elm I have access to. I don’t have much to compare it to but I hear good things about it from people that know more than I do.

I’m still finding myself surprised and impressed by how much wood, of any type, will tolerate if treated nicely.

[pierce_schmeichel]

Where I live and out of the bows I have made. Sinew backed juniper bows are by far the best. Osage just hasn't been quite as fast and its so heavy. Juniper is so lightweight, It just feels like nothing in the hand and zipps arrows downrange. Not that osage is bad or anything like that! It is just that a well made sinew backed juniper just hard to beat in my book

[JW_Halverson]

When all things are considered, I still consider Osage #1, but there are several species of trees I would take over Osage when I can find a rare, good stave.

#1  Ocean spray. I believe this is about the fastest wood I have ever worked. But hard to dry without splitting, hard to find a decent size stave.
#2 Purple plum, this is my all-time favorite for its flexibility, stiffness and workability.
#3  Chinese elm, like hickory it tends  to be somewhat hygroscopic but if kept around 6% it is super fast and virtually unbreakable even with massive violations. No need to chase a ring or even worry about cutting across the grain. The city cuts them down all the time but the trunks weigh over 1,000# and it is virtually impossible to split so must be sawed.

Just to nail down the parameters, exactly what features are you considering when you are ranking woods? Durability, speed, resistance to set, ?

[Pappy]

Day in day out Osage will be very hard to beat but their are lots of other wood out there that make fine bows, HHB probably for me is right up there if you can find a nice piece. I have a sinew backed Juniper bow I got in the bow trade here years ago, it is a sweet shooter and very smooth and fast just not sure how it would do unbacked so if we are looking for wood that will usually work well un back then like I said Osage is hard to beat.
 Pappy

[Bob Barnes]

Great thread Steve.     I was at a shoot this past weekend where we were working on bows.  I watched Terry Hughes make a sapling HHB bow using just a big knife and a pencil.  He had it strung and shooting in a couple of hours.  The bow sprung right back to it's original profile immediately after unstringing it.  I was very impressed at his ability as well as quality of the HHB.

[PaulN/KS]

What's "best" is what's commonly available in your location. 
Hickory,hedge, hornbeam, yew, juniper,elm and others have made bows for many.
Use what you got and make the best bow you can.

Hey Bob, you coming to Mojam this year? I'll bring the cord protector... 

[Bob Barnes]

Paul...I will save you a spot.  I had planned to wait until the next anniversary, but I actually found a small travel trailer and I plan to be there.  It is always hard to miss our family reunion.