Persimmon

[Buckeye Guy]

So my kid brother calls the other day and says, a man called him and wants this log out of his yard.
The fellow had a tree removal crew come to cut a tree they cut off all the branches and they never came back
so my kid brother being in the firewood business goes to see the tree and asks what kinda tree it is cause he is thinking pine or something and did not know if it was worth getting in the middle of it
the fellow says Persimmon,  my brother says what as we don't have Persimmon trees around here then gives me a call and says  , I have a fellow that has a persimmon tree that's about 30 feet of log needs it gone in 2 days if possible what good is it?
I am on the way to West Virginia so not sure but if its Persimmon cut me any strait 6 foot chunks you can and I will see ya in a week or so
He called me yesterday and says I have 2 pieces of wood for you , but I could not save you the best one it was to heavy he broke his cable trying to load it so he made it into firewood , not sure how it we will burn but it was the only way he could get it out of there
Well now I have 2 logs of Persimmon
have one split and debarked gota be the heaviest white wood that I have ever handled,  sprayed it with shellac
Now what do I do ?
Any special secrets for Persimmon?

[DavidV]

All the bows I've seen were something like 2" wide pyramid maybe 66" long. The staves I cut were twisted 180* and I needed sharp tools to work them down, they're still sitting in the corner of my shop. From reading about it, a lot of people said it likes to fret but I think the wood is similar to BL in that the compression strength is really high but the tension strength still overpowers. try trapping and heat treating the belly and I'm sure this is first rate bow wood.

[SLIMBOB]

Can't be of a lot of help. I too have come into a good bit of persimmon. Most of it is short but some of a decent length. I have taken the bark off of one smallish sapling and split it in half. Sealed it up and it's drying now. Probably close to being ready to work. It's very heavy. Like a lead pipe!  I've read up on it and talked to few guys who have worked with it and it sounds from all accounts to be excellent bow wood. I'll let you know my thoughts after I have made a little headway.

[JonW]

I have limited experience with Persimmon. I cut some out of a fence row for a friend. Serious twist to most of it. I did manage to make three bows from it though. Good wood if it's not too twisted. I made a Molly, a Pyramid and a shorty. I liked the Molly best.

[Pappy]

Made several from it Guy,debark as you said you have done,bugs love it,seal it really good,prone to check,don't cut into to small of staves as it also tends to twist as it dries,make sure it is really dry before you start tillering as it tends to be slow to dry.now other than all that which really ant that much ,it will make a fine bow and the wood is beautiful when it is finished,almost takes on a purple color.
Maybe a little wider and a tad longer than Hickory. 66 n-n 1 5/8 to mid limb tapered to 1/2 or less at the tips should make a 50 +@ 26 or so easily. One more thing.watch out for any knots in a hard bending area,they tend to go deep with lots of dead crap in them,also keep in a dry area,like any white wood it will dry rot on the outside very quick left in the element's. 
   Pappy

[Pat B]

I built a persimmon Holmegaard style bow earlier this year, 66"t/t, 1 5/8" at the fades with a slight taper to about 8" then the narrow rigid tips. It was a pretty nice bow. I made it for the TG bow trade but wasn't satisfied with the results so I've built another bow for the trade. I gave it to KOAN at the Classic. 

[Buckeye Guy]

Thanks Pappy thats what I needed to here
I was wondering about the twisting as it drys it seems to be that type of wood but since we don't have any around here to speak of I had no experience with it to go on
I will finish cleaning it up and seal then it will be setting a good long spell
With out your input I would have had to reduce a peice only to find out how bad it would twist
Thanks for the info folks!
I have more than I will use if anybody wants a piece let me know, but I dont ship so we will have to meet up for you to get it!
Guy