Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: makenzie71 on December 10, 2009, 02:57:00 pm

Title: Why is pine considered a bad bow wood?
Post by: makenzie71 on December 10, 2009, 02:57:00 pm: It's just a matter of curiosity. Searched for a bit but got tired of sifting through results that had words within the threads that had the letters "p", "i", "n", and "e" in them consecutively...like "spine".
Title: Re: Why is pine considered a bad bow wood?
Post by: RidgeRunner on December 10, 2009, 03:09:56 pm: It is brittle and breaks quite easy.
That being said it seems to me that somewhere back in ancient history pine bows used.
I think that was because nothing else was available.

David
Title: Re: Why is pine considered a bad bow wood?
Post by: Parnell on December 10, 2009, 03:14:29 pm: From what I've read - it's possible to make a pine bow. But I understand that it just doesn't stand up. I guess they have to be heavily overbuilt. I'm no expert, though. There were some pictures, though, I recall of some in TBB1, maybe? I want to say it was spruce, but not sure...
Title: Re: Why is pine considered a bad bow wood?
Post by: Tom Leemans on December 10, 2009, 03:25:19 pm: The cells just don't resist compression (or tension for that matter) enough. Hit a 4x4 untreated pine post with a hammer, then go hit an osage corner post with a hammer. Which one had the bigger dent?
Title: Re: Why is pine considered a bad bow wood?
Post by: Hillbilly on December 10, 2009, 04:31:21 pm: Make a pine bow, and it'll become clear to you quite soon. ;D
Title: Re: Why is pine considered a bad bow wood?
Post by: makenzie71 on December 10, 2009, 04:43:03 pm: I've made one with pine laminations...didn't really seem to cause any issues, but it wasn't the best bow I've ever built.

The above makes sense...it's not a dense wood and is not very resilient. I was just curious if there was something greater in the reasoning.
Title: Re: Why is pine considered a bad bow wood?
Post by: Hillbilly on December 10, 2009, 04:50:43 pm: I'm talking about a self bow, not just filler in a sammich. Pine is light, brittle, and very weak in tension. I wouldn't trust it. Old-growth yellow pine heartwood might make a decent overbuilt bow, but there are plenty of better choices out there.
Title: Re: Why is pine considered a bad bow wood?
Post by: George Tsoukalas on December 10, 2009, 05:26:21 pm: Low in density too. Jawge
Title: Re: Why is pine considered a bad bow wood?
Post by: Dano on December 10, 2009, 05:49:33 pm: If you glue enough laminations together you make a bow outa cardboard too. ;D The density as others have said is the main reason.
Title: Re: Why is pine considered a bad bow wood?
Post by: LNC on December 10, 2009, 09:11:56 pm: In TBB, this is all explained. Any wood will make a decent bow, you just might need to make a very wide flatbow out of it to get a decent draw weight. A pine bow would need to be very wide and thin, which would be a lot of work and the resulting bow would be unwieldy and prone to damage because it is so soft.
Title: Re: Why is pine considered a bad bow wood?
Post by: El Destructo on December 10, 2009, 10:15:43 pm: Douglas Fir will make a Self Bow....I have done two of them in the Wampanoag Style...and both preformed quite well....
Title: Re: Why is pine considered a bad bow wood?
Post by: bootboy on December 13, 2009, 09:07:08 am: I've made a bunch of pine and spruce bows they work work fine. Just back them with burlap first and you have a shooter.