Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Dante_F on February 19, 2019, 12:14:34 pm
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So i have a pretty big mullberry (i think it red mulberry) in my back yard and my dad doesn't seem to like it much so i was wonder wood low elevation pnw grown mulberry be any good if it probably not as dense as the ones in the east US
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Mulberry is a deciduous ring porous wood much like osage. Red mulberry makes great bows. Low elevation would signal to me closer to the water table which means a healthier tree in theory. A healthier tree tends to lay down thicker rings which is favorable in ring porous woods. So I'd say it is definitely worth a shot. Even middle quality mulberry probably is still a very good bow wood.
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Mulberry is great bow wood, even low elevation. Most Mulberry has pretty thick growth rings generally. Even the sapwood of mulberry will make a good bow.
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ill see if i can get a few branches >:D :BB
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I live in a low elevation area in a temperate climate and I love mulberry! )W( )P(
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Just remember, if you are cutting a branch, you need to take wood from the top or the bottom, not the side. The way the wood is oriented in a branch is different from the body.
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sounds good ill definitely try it now :BB ya think it make a bendy handle bow?
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Not as dense as Osage so you will want to go a bit wider, great wood.
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thanks that seems to be a smart idea.
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I live below sea level if that is low enough... Made a few mulberry bows from local grown trees and they where all great shooters. One of my favourite bow woods for sure!
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A mulberry bow should be about 10% bigger than osage, width and length.
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im about 300 ft up so that is good
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I've used mulberry from Coastal GA and SC and from the mountains here in Western NC. Never found a difference.
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ok so, could i just strip the bark and treat it like a white wood or use heartwood and should i seal the ends
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Always seal the ends and the back if you remove the bark. For your first couple of mulberry bows use the heartwood. You chase a ring just like with osage. Once you get familiar making bows and used to working mulberry you can experiment.
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Glad this thread is going. Another question is how long should it need to dry. Don't have any meter or anything. Summer is coming so will that speed things up.
Looks like I'm going to cut (what I think is) a Mulberry tree down in a couple days. Some guys clearing some property so I stopped to look at what I thought was a horse apple but it's not so my next guess is Mulberry. Researching still but about 95% sure.
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I'd say to let it season for a year. You might be able to get a bow sooner but the longer the better.
Mulberry has a white milky sap, similar to osage. They are related.
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Yes, what Pat said, season it for a year. The stuff likes to move around a bit as it dries. I was making a paddle bow out of some one year and had cut out and pretillered the wood before putting on the sinew. Everything looked good. I put it in the corner while I pounded out my sinew for a few weeks and when I went back to it, one of the tips had moved completely out of string line. Luckily I made it a bit wider and longer than need be, but it kept on moving even after this and now it is unusable. I remove the bark now, stave it out into thicker staves and let it season for at least a year. I write the date on the top just to be sure I remember when it was cut. It'll move, but after it goes through a few months of dry weather it stabilises. You can use mulberry for just about any bow design like osage, but, the plus is that it is lighter than osage. Loves a heat treatment too. I'm using white mulberry, so it may be a bit different than the red you guys have.
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ok that sounds good, now im gonna ask a pretty obvious question, so osage has good tension and compression so hows mulberries, im thinking if you can use it in the same design they must have similar properties
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Mulberry is considerably lighter than osage so like I said before make your mulberry bow about 10% wider and longer than a similar osage bow. Mulberry can make a better performing bow because it is physically lighter than osage yet has good performance qualities.
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ok thanks so a little wider and longer thanks