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Author Topic: Does Sassafras make a good bow?  (Read 9616 times)

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Offline bigcountry

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Does Sassafras make a good bow?
« on: June 22, 2008, 10:01:24 pm »
A sassafras tree fell down on my property, so I cut out a straight 75" piece.  I sealed the ends, and figured I would wait to split to some day I felt like working until I passed out. 

Does it make a bow?
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Offline Hillbilly

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Re: Does Sassafras make a good bow?
« Reply #1 on: June 22, 2008, 10:37:12 pm »
Depending on who you talk to, it is excellent bow wood or trash. :) Haven't had a chance to try it myself, but I've seen a few nice sass bows. It seems to like a long, deep, D-bow design.
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Offline Pat B

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Re: Does Sassafras make a good bow?
« Reply #2 on: June 23, 2008, 12:05:00 am »
First thing to do is split the log in half.     I have made a few bows with sassafras in my early bow building days. They were flat bows and took a pretty good set. I have a few staves but haven't made a bow out of sassafras lately.
   There was an article in an older PA magazine called something like..."you cant make a bow out of sassafras"...but he did. Check it out for more details.  ;)        Pat
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Offline shamus

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Re: Does Sassafras make a good bow?
« Reply #3 on: June 23, 2008, 01:02:26 pm »
The Thompson brothers wrote about using it, irrc. Specific gravity seems to be around .45..which is kind of light for a bow. I'd default to a wide limbed, flatbow design on it, or @70-74" inch long D (a (bend-through-the-handle) bow. I'd be more inclined to make a long D bow.

The wood is a apparently weak in tension, so a rawhide backing may be in order.

I've never tried sassafras. If I had a log, I'd make the first bow  @45# to see how it behaves, and then judge from there how heavy I could make the other staves I got from that log.
« Last Edit: June 23, 2008, 01:06:07 pm by shamus »
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Offline Kegan

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Re: Does Sassafras make a good bow?
« Reply #4 on: June 23, 2008, 03:24:25 pm »
It does, if you can get it there. Most of the sassafras bows I've made broke on the back during construction (ELB style).

Backed with silk, rawhide, or linen, it should make just as good a bow as other woods.

It should also work beautifully as a semi-Western Coast style bow, backed with sinew :).
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Far East Archer

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Re: Does Sassafras make a good bow?
« Reply #5 on: June 23, 2008, 04:03:46 pm »
Does America sassafras have thin ring?
My own experience with sassafras is that its quite good in both tension and compression.
The one we have here can have thick ring and maybe same weight as ash wood. Answer to your question is yes, it can and will make a bow!  :) Thimo my friend has made heavy unbacked warbows from the wood with excellent results, that gotta tell you something, ya?

Good luck!
Alex
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Offline adb

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Re: Does Sassafras make a good bow?
« Reply #6 on: June 23, 2008, 04:07:29 pm »
I made a maple backed sass bow. keep it wide & flat, like any white wood.
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