olivewood flatbow

[simon63]

Hi, Im new.
I hate being new.

I also dont know much about bow building. The one bow I made was from a shoot of Indian Rosewood. We have lots of them growing on the streets of Tel Aviv. Israel. Ihat's where I am located. It shoots ok but i need to improove drastically.

We have some olive trees growing here as well. I was  thinking of making  flatbow usung a 3 inch wide branch. My questions are:
 
1. How long must I dry this wood?
2.If the branch has other branches growing out of it,I need to cut them off, will this weaken the stave.
3. Has anyone had good experiance with olive tree bows?

[osage outlaw]

Welcome to Primitive Archer.  You might want to post these questions in the Bow Building page.  You will probably get more help there.

[Pat B]

Moving this to "BOWS".

[sapling bowyer]

Although I haven't tried but I want to, lot's of people say that it cracks like crazy so you need to go slowly and carefully while seasoning. It may be impossible to season without checking

[JacksonCash]

I've used some olivewood in wood turning, and it checks like crazy.

[Steve Milbocker]

I just used some my mom brought back from Israel for tip overlays on my sapwood backed Osage. It has some crazy grain and looks beautiful. I'm not sure if it's good bow wood but the SG is quite high on it. It would make some beautiful veneers for sure.

[Steve Milbocker]

Olive (Olea europaea)
Olive (Olea europaea)

View More Images Below

Common Name(s): Olive

Scientific Name: Olea spp. (Olea europaea, O. capensis)

Distribution: Europe and eastern Africa

Tree Size: 25-50 ft (8-15 m) tall, 3-5 ft (1.0-1.5 m) trunk diameter

Average Dried Weight: 62 lbs/ft3 (990 kg/m3)

Specific Gravity (Basic, 12% MC): .72, .99

Janka Hardness: 2,700 lbf (12,010 N)

Modulus of Rupture: 22,530 lbf/in2 (155.4 MPa)

Elastic Modulus: 2,577,000 lbf/in2 (17.77 GPa)

Crushing Strength: 11,180 lbf/in2 (77.1 MPa)

Shrinkage: Radial: 5.4%, Tangential: 8.8%, Volumetric: 14.4%, T/R Ratio: 1.6

[Mac43560]

The specific gravity looks pretty decent.  Thanks for posting that info.  I'm curious how the bow will turn out.  Its a new one to me.  Also curious about other hardwoods from the region. 

[Limbit]

I have used olive wood a few times and really like it. It is slightly weak in tension, but handles compression well. If you make it long and wide, it should be a great shooter. Smells great, looks great....the only thing bad about it is that it doesn't grow straight.

[arachnid]

Hi Simon63.
I`ve sent you a personal messege.

Dor
Israel

[sapling bowyer]

I'm also very interested. We have thousands of olive trees. looking forward to any information I can get