Dog Wood Pictures added.

[boughnut]

Has anyone ever used dog wood for a warbow?  I harvested a very nice tall straight dog wood today and got many straight staves.  2 of which are over 80 inches.  I am not to familiar with its bow making properties but I have seen many flat bows made form it. 

[fusizoli]

What kind of Cornus u' ve cut?

[blackhawk]

If ya hadn't gone MIA,then ya wouldn't have missed this beauty by druid. Altho,this is european species,but id imagine both are pretty much the same in properties.

 http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=29098.0

[fusizoli]

Cornus sangifolia is the most common, and I think Druid's bow made from that. This is softer than the cornus mas, which is very dens stuff and allows D profile warbow better. Should make narow lims and tips from that. Sangifolia needs a bit wider limbs with not so crowned belly and soak the pin knots with superglue on the belly side 

Anyway both of tham great bow wood. I would go for the warbow weight with cornus mas.
Take care with heat treat if the middle of the wood in the limbs. Both of tham like to crack lenghtwise.

[boughnut]

I am not sure what type exactally no flowers now berries I think it must have been a male tree maybe? was about 40 foot tall pipe straight for the first 14 to 16 feet 8" wide trunk Got 2 perfectly straight 7 foot sections ande one slightly curvey 8" section.  I cut most of my trees with hand saw and I will have to say this was one of the hardest to cut through harder than the hickory I cut the week before and harder than the apple I cut a few days after and much harder than the ash I cut a month ago.  If that helps no core wood grain almost perfectly straight got lots of very nice staves out of it.  was not sure if it was war bow material usually I dont get so many long staves so was wondering since I have them.  IT was found in middle of the wood not in a yard and there are tones of them back there but out of all the ones I saw it was the best straightes tallest one with most staves in it.  I think I iwll end up witha total of 10 staves out of it.  and that is leaving some of them way oversized for war bows but was thinking flat bows as well.  good to know I can make one out of it.  since I have it.  Not much a war bow builder, built one years ago out of bamboo and osage but never a self warbow thought it would be fun to try.  Anyone on here interested in a nice stave from it?  I have extras.  I was just going to try to get a few bows from it and share the welth a bit since it is so hard to find them like so straight and large.  any one want to give it a try and have much good to trade pm me.  I might put some up in the trading post.

Thanks For the info.

[fusizoli]

Post some pics from this wood and some leaf if have. Dogwood rearly growing so big and straight. That would help for ID

[boughnut]

Well It is 100% dog wood for sure I have about 250 acres behind my house and there are 100's of dog woods back there and out of 50 or so I looked at this was the only one that had any straight staves in it so I know what you mean.  now as far as the type of dog wood I have no clue looks the same as people put in there yards but not sure if it is or not.  I will try to get some pics of the leaves they might be wilted now but still might help you.  that will be later tonight.

thanks again

[boughnut]

added the pics

[Pat B]

That is flowering dogwood(Cornus florida) It is a very heavy wood and should make a good heavy ELB style bow but leave the belly a bit flatter than a standard war bow.

[boughnut]

Is the other dog wood species more of a smooth barked I saw another good looking tree out there that was very smooth barked but the leaves where Ientical almost to the other dog woods just a little larger.?

[Pat B]

As far as US dogwood trees there are 2 I know of, C. florida(flowering dogwood), C. alternafolia(alternate leaf dogwood). Cornus alternafolia has a smooth bark, flowering dogwood bark is what you posted. The other US dogwoods are shrub type dogwood(ie. red osier, silky dogwood, gray dogwood, rough leaf dogwood, etc) or even a ground cover type, C. canadensis(bunchberry) native to the Southern Canada and ajoining states from Maryland to the NW US. 

[boughnut]

Thanks again pat you sure are a welth of knoledge evey time you post on here almost I learn somthing new.  I hope you have a good season this year.  I will try to get some pictures of the bark and leaves before I cut but It is very smooth bark like poplar and the leaves are identical in shape and the vains are similar to the other dog wood they are just nearly twice the size.

thanks again

[Pat B]

Unless it is Kousa dogwood(C. kousa, Chinese) it is probably alternafolia. That is the only American dogwood that has alternate leaves, unlike the others with opposite leaves and the tree grows in tiers with branching then an upward shoot and more branching, similar to the shape of a Japanese pagoda. It was named Pagoda dogwood when it was found in Japan but then it was realized it was a US native that had been imported to Japan. 
  Kousa dogwood has smooth bark and round pink to red fruit about 1" in diameter. The fruit should be present now.