Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: david w. on September 20, 2007, 07:48:16 pm
-
after reading about mullbery i tseems justas good as osage but i havent worked with either one. what would you recomend for a new bowyer.
mullbery or osage?
-
Mulberry...........bob
-
Whatever's free ;D.
-
i wish it was free. this addiction is starting to eat up lwan mowing money ;D but its worth it
-
they are both different but are close enough alike to where I say use either one.The Mulberry in Florida I can't tell much difference from Osage.I've gotten some Mulberry from some of the guy's on here from up North and it is not as dense and yellow as what we have here.But I usually have to trade or buy Osage,I don't Mulberry.
-
i think i will get a mulbery board instead of osage
-
Here in nortwest Missouri the red mulberry isn't as hard or heavy as the osage, tends to be easier to work. For a first bow I would recommend it over osage.
-
I believe the rule of thumb with mulberry is add 10%-15%(length and width) to an osage design for mulberry. Being lighter in physical weight gives it the extra kick, compared to osage. Pat
-
For someone starting out, the mulberry is usually straighter, cleaner, (less knots), and easier to work and chase a ring on. Mulberry rings are sometimes 1/4" thick or more. Either one will make an excellent bow, though.
-
It depends upon the specimen and what kind of bow you want to make. Generally mulberry rings are bigger for sure and that would be an advantage for a beginner. But I don't think I'd do so far as to say mulberry is the same as osage. In fact mulberry will chrysal quite easily compared to osage. In most cases you can design for it's lower density but for a short, heavy bow osage stands out rather dramatically. For a longer bow mulberry would give the benefit of lower mass on the outer limb.
-
i am new to this and i always hear people talk about chasing rings. i have no idea how to do that
-
David, what I was reffering to with the (whatever's free) was any kind of trees you can get your hands on, including white woods. I'm fairly new to this too, and have made several out of White oak, Red oak, and hickory - all trees, haven't tried any boards. It's all good if your just learning, I can tell ya though - that osage is going to be a lot snappier than the white's from what I've seen (haven't tried mullberry).
I've found that if you get out in the suburbs/ farm lands outside of the towns, you can usually get permission to cut a few for free - all it takes is asking around. They don't always say yes, but when they do - voila! free wood ;D.
-
i am new to this and i always hear people talk about chasing rings. i have no idea how to do that
The back of the bow, the part away from you when you are shooting, needs to be one growth ring from one end of the bow to the other. If you use white woods, you can usually just remove the bark and you have the back of the bow. On woods like mulberry and osage you use the heartwood, the darker wood in the middle of the tree that is usually covered by an inch or so of lighter colored wood that is just under the bark. With these woods you remove the sapwood (lighter). Most guys use a draw knife for this. Then clean the back of the bow up by scraping or sanding until the back is one growth ring. The bow can then be worked out of the stave. Justin
-
i was planning on getting a mulbery board do i still need to chase a ring?
-
Nothing wrong with boards,however oak might be cheaper. Might not hurt to look in your phone book for tree removal, topping service,and talk to these guys,Ive gotten some nice staves for free from these guys in my area. Good luck,and just do it as Justin says its the best way to learn, and ask the PA guys any thing about it.
-
we have a good friend who is a tree trimmer. i will ask the tree removal guys and see if i can get some stuff.
my first bow was a red oak bow. i like it. but i want something a little better to possibly take to the woods this fall.
-
Mulberry is iun between sassafras and osage (from what I've heard). The whole family makes good bows, escpecailly ELBs, or long, narrow, thicker bows.
-
Mulberry grows everywhere around here...Bows just hanging from the trees... ;D
Our Mulberry bows were made just a bit wider than Osage (none growing around here)bows , well dried/seasoned and worked fine /shot well. We even left some sap wood on a couple (one ring) and had no troubles , but our bows were long...never tried a short Mulberry bow ... Hmmmm?
-
how does a mulbery 70" ntn bow sound?
-
BOING!!!!! ;D
-
Ahh,gpw a true sense of humor! But really you should invest in some fur string silencers.......
-
About the ring chasing and the relation of issue to board. It is likely that a board will be cut across the rings, unless you look at a bunch and find an optimum one with stave like ring orientation. Some of us back the ones with "ring run offs" with fabric, silt for instance, which holds down the ends of the rings along the back. For your firrst bow actually, a $7 2"x72"x3/4" red oak slat from lowes or home depot works pretty well.
Dave
-
Sorry, I couldn't help myself... ::) actually we've made several mulberry 72'' bows in several styles ... we like em' long cause were 6'3 and the longer bows seem to shoot more accurately for us...The 72" comes up to our eyebrows... we regularly thump the competition at our "foam deer shoots"...Beaver balls keep the Boing' down ...hahahahahaha The wood alone is not the main thing that makes a good bow ... bow design , and appropriate and careful tillering have made serviceable bows out of just average wood... That and some good matching/spined arrows... they seem even more important somehow...
-
About the ring chasing and the relation of issue to board. It is likely that a board will be cut across the rings, unless you look at a bunch and find an optimum one with stave like ring orientation. Some of us back the ones with "ring run offs" with fabric, silt for instance, which holds down the ends of the rings along the back. For your firrst bow actually, a $7 2"x72"x3/4" red oak slat from lowes or home depot works pretty well.
Dave
that was my first bow it shoots really nice im accurate out to about 20 yards after that im not that good. thats why i wanted a little better wood.
i will get a set of silencers to keep the BOING down ;D
so if the board has ring runnoffs i need to back it witha peice of linen or silk. if the rings runnoff do i need to chase a ring?
my dad said i couldnt have logs laying around the house >:( so i can't split the logs and have them everywhere. He said the only way is if i can get someone we know to cut it at their saw mill
-
Wow i am definitely lucky, I have massive amounts of Osage growing all around my house down around the Texas Oklahoma border. I have not had to invest any more money in my projects than what my few tools cost, and some ods and ends. I cant keep myself from saying that i would go for the Osage stave. But the mullberry would be the better choice for a first bow.
-
If the runoffs are pretty significant, which is likely in lumber, it won;t be feasible to chase a ring.
About the logs and dad. One might ask what is the difference between wood lying around that has been sawn versus wood that has been split? Seems confusing. I wish my teen aged son wanted to split logs and stop playing video games for 2 minutes.
Dave
-
i dont know either i guess he doesnt think i can split it ???. It might be hard and take a messup log or two but i know i could get it.
I am a straight A student and i don't own a video game system so i think i deserve a log or two. I'l work on him tonight
-
David, Send me a PM with your address and I'll send you a Mulberry stave.I have quite a few,a little character,but nice growth rings,and Free.