Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: George Tsoukalas on February 08, 2013, 09:56:25 am
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It's a given. Osage is an excellent all around bow wood except maybe for very dry conditions. I'm just wondering and I would like to hear from master bowyers and beginners alike. If you could not obtain any osage, what bow wood would you choose? Please do, if you would like to, give your reasons. This will give me something interesting to read as I watch the first of up to 24" of possible snow fall in my driveway? Jawge
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Jawgey Poo you starting a fire buddy?
HHB - very dense and flexible. Takes very little wood to make a hunting weight bow
HHB - " " "
GOOD elm, it seems each stave can really vary. Very stretchy and good in tension, needs a tempered belly to make the back work.
*Possibly buckthorn if this one proves out Im working now. It has a lot of the same characteristic HHB and osage do. Very dense, very stiff and requires little wood to make a bow. I like bow woods that require little wood to make a bow. Generally speaking tension strong and compression strong woods allow that.
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hackberry, black locust, hickory-in no particular order
only made one outta hickory so far-great long bow btw.
have a cupla bl bows from my first year in the bowtrade-sweet shooters both
have some hackberry just sitting n waiting on me
reason-cuz they are plentiful in my area(but so is osage-why i mostly build with osage)
so ifn i couldnt get my paws on any osage i would simply wander into the nearest woods and take one of these.
got snowshoes?
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HHB/Winged Elm/ Persimmon/ Hickory/Dog Wood[white flowering] Hackberry in that order,reason is because I am blessed with all of this kind of wood I would ever need and have built very good bows from each over the years. :) People think all I use is Osage but that is far from true.The last several were all the above
plus Yew.None of that around here so that is why it's not on the list. :) :) Ash also will make a good bow but seems it all depends on the tree and not as reliable at least for me as the others. :) Ya I heard yall was getting hit hard,good luck and stay warm. :)
Pappy
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So many I have not tried, but Elm and or Hackberry. Surprisingly strong in tension, and tempering the belly gives the compression boost it needs to be light and wicked fast. My "go to" bow right now is a 62" Hackberry I built over the summer. Perfectly flat unbraced profile still. Dang thing amazes me every time I pick it up.
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I only use 2 woods mainly (98%) OSAGE AND HICKORY. Here in WV I have lots of bow woods to chose from. And I've made bows from them all and alot not local. My secound would be HICKORY,any HICKORY followed by ELM.
I feel it moistures dealt with it's the second wood in forgivess (YOUR MISTAKES). From volitated back to forgivess in tillering around knots. BUT LIKE I SAID MOISTURE HAS TO BE DELT WITH. Not only well seasoned staves but moisture kept down as you build the bow (hot box).
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Hickory or ironwood.They make just as stressful designs as hedge and a lot of times even shoot faster.With a little heat treatment of course.
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Black Locust: It is most like Osage and is readily available.
HHB : It is dang good bow wood. Readily available and will pretty up real nice.
Hickory : Makes a good bow. Just have to remember it's limitations. Also readily available.
Elm : Much the same as hickory.
Have made very few bows from anything else.
David
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With my limited use of bow woods I would have to choose Yew.... Easy to work, forgiving and well just makes a great bow!!!
My list of woods I have used to put choices into perspective...
Osage
Chittam Wooly Buckthorn
Eastern Red Cedar
Hickory
Vine Maple
Mulberry
Sasafrass
Cherry
Pear
Kentucky Coffee Tree
Hackberry
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I honestly try to utilize local woods. theres a lot of experience still to be had. truthfully i don't want to choose I'm trying to remain open.
chuck
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I've used too many woods to count and list.
All tied for second place for me in alphabetical order is :
Black locust...extremely bend resistant and results in a very snappy casting bow...beautiful wood to boot
European buckthorn...makes a near osage dimension bow...the best second string bow wood in compression...tough wood but a joy to work with hand tools...love the color and character
Eastern hophornbeam ...it has a smooth flexibility and elasticity to its draw with excellent cast
Yew.....enough said ;)
I've only made one flowering dogwood,so since only using it once it doesn't make the top five list,but it made an excellent bow...and its qualities were dead even and the same as hophornbeam.
A good elm stave is a joy to work with hand tools wise,and can result in a light in the hand great casting bow if done right.
If I didn't have to back juniper id put it up there in my top five,but that being said a sinewed back juniper can be a thing of beauty.
I know I come off as an osage snob,but I'm really not and I do enjoy working any kind of wood...just depends on my mood ;) heck I still like to try woods no one else ever has just for the fun of it cus I LOVE BUILDING BOWS...<---------thats a big period....lol
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Since I have a limited supply of osage, I have had to rely on imports, primarily, when selecting dense belly woods, such as ipe and massuranduba which have produced some successful bows for me when backed with hickory, hard maple, or white oak. I also have used white oak, hickory, and hard maple with some success. I have some red elm that was gifted me, and some crepe myrtle staves I cut last spring that are ready to work on. Unfortunately I haven't made enough bows with each type of wood varying the designs enough to have a preference, so far, but I am working on it!!
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Ironwood, slippery elm, crepe myrtle. quick, tough and take a lot of field abuse. They make bows that are light in the hand and well mannered. I think they are as good as any wood. Wouldn't trade a stave of any of these for osage.
rich
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HHB is my second choice behind osage. To me it seems harder than osage. It cuts slower on my bandsaw, my hand tools don't work it as good as they do osage either. It makes a lightweight fast shooting bow. I can't get it to heat bend as easily as osage which is aggravating. I don't have any on my property so I have to trade for it.
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Behind osage, I really like white oak. Very similar to hickory, but not nearly as hygroscopic. I've not made but a few from it, but have been impressed with it overall.
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Yew
Yew
Yew
yew
Buckthorn
Juniper
Vine Maple
Cascara ;D ;D ;D
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Pacific Yew, because it is the best....<----big period right there ;)
Ocean Spray, it is amazing. And scraping on Heat tempered OS makes the best smelling paper thin wood curls. Has to be one of the best smells I've ever known.
Vine maple, it is very tension strong and surprisingly dense.
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My favorite from experience would have to be the ERC It was quite fun to work with, although it did blow up. Hickory is nice, and oaks weather its white or red in board for are what ive used. If i had to try to get a hold of something id say yew or VM and oceanspray.
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I'd have to say hickory(just because it is so tough), HHB, Elm, (I've only made a few bows from each but was impressed), mulberry(good all around bow wood) and yew(only worked a few times but very impressive).
Mainly it depends on what I have available that is well seasoned unless I'm making something specific.
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In my humble opinion both flowering and purple leaf plum are outstanding bow woods.
Strong in compression and tension, easily moved with heat, durable, beautiful, easy to work, easy to harvest and suitable for many designs (from 48" bendy handle statics to 68 deep bellied long bows and everything in between).
For ease of building, flexibility in design options, forgiving characteristics, and down right "bowy-ness" (an important characteristic that I totally made up), I honestly can't think of a wood (including my limited experience with Osage and Yew) that I would rather build a bow out of.
8 times out of 10, for me, its Plum.
Gabe
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Just a beginner (fewer than 15 bows) but I'd go with hackberry. For someone like me who has little skill or talent, it is very forgiving and easy to work.
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I have access, or have just about every west coast bow wood, I have tried osage and I would give it a #2 spot because of availability to me. My number one pick without hesitation is vine maple. You can cut vine maple wet and still make a bow that will do it's job. You can make a 70 inch bow, or a 55 inch bow and seems to resist moisture very well with a good finish. Yew is a fine bow wood, but very tempermental and does not do well in extremes in temps either way, and so it is down my list as top bow woods.
VMB
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I would hafta go with HHB... Im on the verge of replacing osage with ironwood as my #1... It really likes dry heat, its dense, takes multiple finishes well, and..... Im staring at several in my backyard right now, lol... Brian
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Hickory,elm, hackberry locust:
hickory- because it doesn't break,
elm- because its fast and has interlocking grain (bad when splitting, good when under the knife),
hackberry- because its usually straight and limbless( if cut in a forest) and easy to work,
locust- because it smells good ::)
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I agree with Vinemaplebows that VM is also an incredible versatile and forgiving bow wood. Easily in my top 5.
The reason I prefer plum to VM is that, while it shares all the great characterless of VM, it also often grows in nice straight staves which make it easier to turn a bow out. Also VM doesn't like a scraper and plum is easier to work.
Gabe
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Hickory or Elm. Cut in the spring and peel the bark. I need to try some HHB sometime though. I just can't seem to find it where I am.
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HHB 100%. I've been busy this winter with a bunch of kids bows from branches of the HHB that I cut in the spring, and they are wicked little shooters. I've also got a bigger HHB branch bow in the works and a true HHB stave all roughed out. I really like how this wood behaves. It packs a hell of a punch even in small packages and finishes up real nice. I've never had the priviledge of working with Osage so HHB is the best I know. Luckily it is relatively plentiful in these parts.
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I've made selfbows from many woods over the years. I cut my bow making teeth on black locust. Love it. It works easily and is quite durable. Hickory and white oak are not too far behind. Thank you for all your responses. Jawge
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I'm surprised nobody mentioned hard maple, it's light, works good, great in tension and makes a fast bow, Bub
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yew (want to make a ELB)
ash (to give it a try)
hickory (seems to have a good reputation)
have fun in the snow jawge. SS
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I thought when people got to be your age they moved to Florida to get away from the snow George, hehehehehe. ;D If I couldnt get my hands on any osage I would have to go with hackberry, black locust and then hickory. I cut my teeth on ash and havent used it since, I should probably give it another chance one of these days.
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I have a generator, plenty of food, chips, Canadian whiskey and some single malt...the essentials. My wife, oldest daughter and I we headed to FL for a few days. We we were supposed to leave tomorrow. But...
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I'm with Bubs - love the hard maple. But then again I haven't tried a lot of the other woods that you guys have access to.
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The wood i have the most of is BL, its right on my property and i really should convince my parents to let me cut it ::) Only issue with the BL i have is that its next to a set of powerlines... might present a problem.
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Of course it would have to be Yew.
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There are so many great choices here in Western Oregon that osage is nice but far, far from necessary. I really enjoyed the couple of bows that I have made from osage and I am working on a new one right now but the staves were either traded very generously or gifted (thanks steve!). I really love making bows from yew, from start to finish it is incredible wood. I have made two kids bows from ocean spray and am eager to make a big boys bow out of it. I am working on a vine maple bow and have been convinced of its redeeming qualities. I'm looking forward to working with cascara and Oregon white oak someday.
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I realy havnt used enough of anything besides osage to have a true #2 go to wood. But i realy lovec the only flowering dogwood bow i ever made it is dense hard hitting and seemed to realy like heat treating. I have only used osage,ash,dogwood, red oak, and one kids bow of hickory. Besides osage i have hickory, black wallnut,black locust, hackberry, and sugar maple, two erc billets and one yew stave to try. Still need to get hhb,elm,black cherry,white oak,persimmon and anything else i can get ahold of to try.
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I am still pretty new to bow making but i like hickory but like its been said already very moisture sensitive. I also like red oak have made some decent bows from it. hard maple and ash are up there too. I have some osage, elm, white oak, black locust, and black walnut all drying and waiting to be made into a bow so i dont know how they are yet but have heard good things about them, cant wait to get to them!
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Thank you. It is interesting to see what other bowyers use. Jawge
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Have not tried that many woods (yet)...but I have made a couple nice bows from green ash. If well seasoned, it makes a very good bow wood. -- and readily available in my area. I really like trying different types of wood- lots left to try!
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Pecan, there is lots of it here and it is tough like hickory and maybe a little easier to work.
Winged elm - springy, tension strong wood.
Hickory - there is lots of it and it is darn near indestructable.
White oak for lots of reasons.
Y'all bundle up! I am actually wearing my windbreaker to work tonight - going down in the high 40's.... ;D
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It would have to be HHB as an all round first choice but top quality Elm, even more rare than perfectly straight HHB, will beat practically anything.
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Serviceberry, Mountain Maple, Hawthorn, apple ( no order)
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I have yet to make my first bow. I'm hoarding staves to work/trade/sell in the future. I have over 100 sealed and in storage since Christmas. Most are osage, a weed tree to most landowners around here.
I also have mulberry, cherry, KY coffeetree, ERC.
I think it would be neat to have a bow made from the valuable deer food trees. Osage is high on that list, they love the fruit and leaves of osage. Mulberry is another favorite food for the whitetail. Persimmon, and bitternut hickory are tops as well, and of course the oaks and pecan.
I'd love to hunt deer with a bow made of and for the food source I was hunting... My favorite stand sites are often in ERC, that would be a nostalgic angle as well..
I wish I had snow.... share some snow pics George! Stay warm!
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Thanks, my friends. wapiti, I may do some shoeing after the storm with my daughters. I'll bring a camera. Winter is bow making time, wapiti. :) Jawge
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Juniper
-very common
-easy to work with
-short sinew bows are awesome
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It's all about location. The west coast guys love the local trees out there and the midwest guys love there osage, hickory, HHb, elm, etc. I imagine if I lived on the west coast my user name might be the Ocean Spray Outlaw or maybe the Vine Maple Villian.
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I'm rather limited on local woods, but locally my favorites are,
Sonoran scrub oak
Juniper
Mountain maple
My overall would be,
Yew
Juniper
Mountain maple, although I'm dying to try vine maple.
And of course Osage, although I keep saving it for something special, I'm not sure I'll ever use it all. ;D
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It is good that we are using local bow woods. Black locust and hickory were favored by the ancients in NH and New England in general. Jawge