Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: sourdough on January 17, 2009, 06:27:05 pm

Title: BIRCH AS A BOW?
Post by: sourdough on January 17, 2009, 06:27:05 pm

i was wondering does birch make good bow wood?  i think it might be good as it is pretty dense.  just let me know what you think. thanks.

sourdough

Title: Re: BIRCH AS A BOW?
Post by: Joe M on January 18, 2009, 12:49:18 pm

I like it.  I've built several from birch and a few I even backed with maple.  None have a draw weight over #48 @ 28", and they are of the ELB design - 71" to 73" long.  Again, I like using birch and I might add that the ones I've built have been built from boards obtained from the lumber yard I work at, so I was able to spend a good bit of time looking the wood over and making good selections from the boards.

I'd suggest making a simple ELB from a birch board and see what you think of the wood overall. :) 

Title: Re: BIRCH AS A BOW?
Post by: sourdough on January 18, 2009, 03:25:10 pm

Hey thanks ill take your advice and make a simple ELB.  Do you have pics of the bow?  Could you post them if you do?  Thanks again.

sourdough

Title: Re: BIRCH AS A BOW?
Post by: Joe M on January 18, 2009, 06:03:30 pm

Here you go Sourdough.  You can add a riser if you choose and back it as well.  This one has the riser wrked into the wood
and has a maple backing glued on with TiteBond III - 71" long - #36 @ 28"

(http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll240/JoethebowM/100_0196.jpg)

Title: Re: BIRCH AS A BOW?
Post by: Joe M on January 18, 2009, 06:15:21 pm

Here is a picture of a birch bow I made for a friend of mine out in Washington State...  The Post Office delivered
it to him - broken...  It appeared that they had ran over it with a forklift or something?  It was a damn good shooting
bow!  The picture before this one is the replacement I made him.

(http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll240/JoethebowM/100_0166.jpg)

Title: Re: BIRCH AS A BOW?
Post by: adb on January 18, 2009, 11:28:30 pm

birch makes a fine bow. I'd make a bow out of birch anyday. the older bigger trees are very prone to rot, however. birch also makes super arrow shafts... it's very dense, somewhat like ash.

Title: Re: BIRCH AS A BOW?
Post by: stiknstring on January 20, 2009, 11:25:50 am

I am looking forward to trying it...Paul Comstock noted in the Bowyers Bible that his favorite bow was an unbacked birch and that at least according to his reading all birches had similar properties.  I DO love my birch arrow shafts

Title: Re: BIRCH AS A BOW?
Post by: John K on January 20, 2009, 11:40:45 am

I have a stave of White Birch drying now,that i cut in Oct. i think Yellow Birch would be even better but i couldn't find one that didn't twist  :'(
I'll look next time i'm up north  :)