Where to get Wood

[benjamin.m.winchester]

Where do yall suggest getting wood?  Ive bought on ebay but that can be pricey.  Is there another resource?  Im not even sure where to look locally.  I live in Central Louisiana.  Thanks for the help!

[SeanStuart]

Neighbor's back yard?? or maybe you should go a little farther from home.... Joke!

[mikekeswick]

In a forest! 
Seriously though just get a good quality handsaw (something like a silky). Go find a straight tree no bigger than 4 inch diameter = bow wood.
Or of course just search for hardwood suppliers in your area.

[benjamin.m.winchester]

Then it seems the reasonable follow up question is how long do you dry  it for, when do you split it, and do you have to seal it?

[Josh B]

Those questions will have different answers for different species of wood.  It would help tremendously to know the general area in which you reside.  The more info you provide, the easier it is to tell you what to look for and make suggestions on where to look.  I travel all over the lower 48 of the US and have a fairly good working knowledge of local bow woods in most regions.  I won't know every tree in every region, but can generally point you towards a few species that should be available.  One important thing to remember is to get permission to cut wood.  I joke about a limb saw and the cover of darkness to gather bow wood, but truth be told its not hard to find out who owns the land and I've never been turned down to harvest a few limbs once the land owner knows what I'm about.  Josh

[JoJoDapyro]

I asked the parks guys to save larger straight stuff for me to look at. I haven't found anything usable yet, but we have Black Locust, Elm and Pear trees all over the city. I figure I'll luck out eventually. Other than that I look while i'm fishing, lots of Russian Olive and Elm by the river.

[SeanStuart]

You might send a facebook message to this guy: L'ébénisterie Créole - Traditional Woodworking with Jean Becnel

He does amazing hand tool woodworking.. in Baton Rouge and is very helpful on another site I visit.

[Josh B]

I missed the central LA part in your original post.  Sorry bout that.  Right off the top of my head I know that there is an abundance of hickory, live oak, white ash and several species of elm in your area.  All are white woods and require the same basic handling when you harvest them.  Wait til August so the latewood matures to harvest any.  The SAP will still be up so the bark will peel right off.  The smaller saplings 3" or under in diameter need to be either roughed into bows or completely sealed with poly or shellac if you are going to dry them in the round.  Drying wood in the round  runs the highest risk of checking.  The bigger logs should be split into halves or quarters depending on size and have the ends and back sealed.  Talk to power companies about when they trim around power lines to see if you can get the limbs.  Construction sights are a good place to get wood.  City maintenance crews are a good resource.  There are usually a wider variety of trees growing in town than in the woods.  Then there's the old fashioned way of getting to know land owners and get permission from them.   Something else to think about, you have lots of cane and bamboo in your area.  That makes for really good barter goods in the trading post section.   Josh 

[PaulN/KS]

Drive out to Mojam in July and you'll be able to get a load of good bow wood to take back with you.

[Eric Krewson]

If you cut hickory after July here in Alabama it takes dynamite to get the bark off, early spring is the best time to cut, just after the leaves bud out and a couple of months after that.

[Joec123able]

In a forest! 
Seriously though just get a good quality handsaw (something like a silky). Go find a straight tree no bigger than 4 inch diameter = bow wood.
Or of course just search for hardwood suppliers in your area.

Why no bigger then 4 inches? I've always cut the biggest straightest I could find or my bow saw could cut

[Eric Krewson]

Joe, bad info abounds on some of these threads " cut hickory in August" and "no larger than 4" are two glaring examples on this thread alone.

When I think of bow wood, 4" stuff just ain't going to cut it for me, I like BIG!

[Jodocus]

Go for small diameter logs, hunt the hedges! There's awesome bow woods and tons of staves with a good crown that make excellent bows. Plus, that stuff dries swiftly. And you can lop it off on foot, now how primitive is that!!