Wood for First Effort

[Comancheria]

Probably the first question for everyone.  I run a few head of cattle on a place (hard work by my great-grandfather--good luck on my own part), north of my home that includes about 200 acres of dense hardwoods.  I have loads of liveoak, post oak (a white variety), and blackjack oak (a variety of red oak).  There are scatterings of juniper and hackberry and mesquite and huisatche by the metric ton.  No Osage, but the ranch is in the southernmost county in the US showing on most range maps of that tree.  A cousin has a few hundred acres along a creek that is alleged to have some 'darks on it.  I have him on the lookout for some trees.

Long Term, I would like to build a short plains Indian bow
(Perhaps Comanche ? 😊) with all-authentic materials and stone points dug out of the Texas Hill Country--and use it to kill
a Whitetail.  After that, who knows?

But my main goal for a first bow is to make something that works--no doubt with a few shortcuts--perhaps out of a board--make the errors and go on from there.  I would like to avoid the need for precisely "chasing a ring" in my first attempt.  Comstock praises "white wood"--including oak--and although he doesn't say so, it sounds as if you can make an oak now without worrying about the back ring.   In ya'lls opinion, is that true?  If not possible in an unbacked now, then maybe use sinew as a cure all?

Thanks,

Russ

[PrimitiveTim]

Come summer time I'd cut some of that oak or hackberry, peel the bark and there's your back so no ring chasing mess.  Let it dry then finish it out.  Your stave is dry when it stops getting lighter so weigh it from time to time.  So much more to say but just ask if you got more questions.

[vyadha]

According to your signature, it looks like live oak

[SLIMBOB]

Yep.  Most of the white woods don't require you to do anything but knock the bark off.  The wood below it is your back (minus a little cambium that may be stuck to it).  I'm a tree stave guy.  Lot's of great bows made from boards, but for me a tree stave is preferable all else being equal. Hackberry is nice to work with and makes great bows.  I think PEARL DRUMS has a Hackberry static recurve build along on here. 

[Comancheria]

What a forum--toss out a thread and get three replies in ten minutes! 

Since I have plenty of small trees, along with a few huge old patriarchs, please check me out on my thinking: On all the oaks, and hackberry, I will cut small trees and concentrate on getting one good stave out of each trunk--split it accordingly, and srip off the bark prior to curing.  A few questions:

(1) Am I correct that I should go for straight wood--as opposed to choosing a trunk that has a built-in curvature?

(2) Assuming I limit myself to one good stave per trunk, what diameter trunk should I aim for?

(3)  Am I correct that since the back would have some curvature, due to the small diameter of the tree or branch, I would not be able to build a rectangular sectioned flatbow--or would it be feasible to carve the back down some (without having to chase a ring)?

(Would you go with bend in the handle for a first now or a stiff handle?

I plan to take Comstick's advice and go 1/3 wider than with say, Osage.

Thanks,

Russ

[SLIMBOB]

I let my white woods dry with the bark on, just be sure and spray for bugs if you do likewise as they will attack the white woods more quickly with the bark left on. 
I like straight as a starting point.  Less variables to contend with.
The smaller the diameter the tree, the higher the crown will be.  Woods strong in tension can benefit from this.  Weaker tension woods may not.  Again, if you are looking at Hackberry, it is tension strong, so some crown is fine.  Don't decrown it in my opinion.  Build a flat bow with a quasi rectangular cross section.  I like sapling bows myself which will have a higher crown, they can just be a bit more finicky in keeping them together.  5 -6 inch diameter is in my opinion a good starting point.  Bigger gives you a flatter crown, and smaller gives you a higher crown in most cases.
Bendy or stiff handle.  find your trees, cut them, split them and seal them up.  Then, when your looking at the victim stave you can decide which design is best for the particular stave you have chosen

[H Rhodes]

Post oak is good bow wood.  I am with Slimbob on the decrowing thing.  I would go with a bigger sapling 6" diameter minimum.  Cut the straightest tree you can find into staves well over six feet long.  Longer is always better, cause you sure can't add anything to 'em once you get them home. You have come to the right site - you will get some great advice from some of the best wood bow builders in the world.  Welcome aboard. 

[PrimitiveTim]

(1)  Staight is ideal but a little bit of wobble isn't something to worry too much about.  It is a tree after all.  Some recurve might be cool too

(2) I like the trunks to be just small enough for me to grip with one hand.  That way it's easier to carry out of the woods.  Make a circle by connecting your thumbs and forefingers and there's a diameter I wouldn't go much smaller than.  Some woods will be okay though.

(3) Go with the bend in the handle! Lol I'm a little bias but a bend in the handle is just the most logical style. This article really got me interested in D-bows

[mikekeswick]

Straightest wood possible - like really straight for your first bow. Straight edge straight will really help you.
Do not decrown - this technique is only for tension weak woods from small saplings (this is a rare thing!).
Forget rectangular cross sections....Hickmans scientifically optimal cross section actually doesn't really hold up when you look at woods properties. A crowned back is a good thing with all the woods you mentioned.
Bend in the handle or rigid handle - it doesn't make any difference one just has a bit more shaping work.
For now rough your limbs out at 1 3/4 inches wide.
Once you have your stave rough shaped then post pictures.

[4dog]

If you have any elm on that property i would start there...and dont decrown . Elm makes an awesome bow...heat treatthe belly and you definately get a whitetail killing stick...osage  ..of ya find it ..is a bit more forgiving for a first bow..if you harvest it yourself no big loss if it dont work out.   Good luck!

[Hrothgar]

Ditto everything above. Also don't cut a tree/sapling that doesn't have straight bark. If the bark swirls around the trunk, so will the grain of your stave. A true plains style bow will bend some in the handle and subsequently won't have as deep a handle.

[George Tsoukalas]

If you decide to use saplings leave them a few inches longer, Russ.
What is your draw length? Any idea?
My site may help you get started.
Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/index.html

[sweeney3]

That hackberry you mentioned is a very good bow wood that works well.  It's a likely candidate for a first (or fortieth) bow.  That said, you can't go too wrongly with any of those.  I would probably start with the hackberry though.

[Comancheria]

Been running my traps and have located a very pleasant and cooperative processor about 30
Miles from me, from whom I can obtain many, many deer legs--maybe even a couple from Elk--an exotic it Texas.  I have read everything I can find about processing and storing sinew, and it sounds as if either freezing or drying the stuff (away from criters) is OK.  The guy has even offered to keep the legs frozen for me.

Question 1: Would you freeze or dry?

Question 2: Are front leg tendons even worth it?

Question 3: if not frozen, how badly do the tendons, by themselves, stink?  (I might choose to stay married.)

Thanks,

Russ

[DC]

They dry in a few days, maybe a week up here in BC. No noticeable smell. They would dry a lot faster in Texas.