Local bow wood?

[SMeeres3030]

Hi there I live in BC Canada in the North Okanogan. I have only made yew wood bows so far. I was wondering if anyone knows of anymore good now woods around this area. We have black locust, Saskatoon, hawthorn, maple (vine maple I think it is). Has anyone had experience with these? All advice is appreciated.

[osage outlaw]

Black locust and vine maple are very good bow woods.  I don't know anything about the rest on your list.

[aaron]

I have made about a dozen vine maple bows (a.k.a. VM). Its a bit challenging to find a good stave...try to avoid leaning trees. A quick search of this site will yeild many VM topics.

[Dakota Kid]

I'm about as far as you can get from the Pacific NW, but I've heard good things about ocean spray(if you can find a big enough one) and juniper(needs a backing I believe).  You could always offer up some of that yew in the trade section. You could probably get any wood you like if you're willing to ship. Staves are pricey to mail, billets are a little better.

If you go to the wood data base website, they have a formula for getting a rough idea of a wood's bow potential. All the wood is listed by species and includes all the stats. It's an excellent resource.

[SMeeres3030]

Any idea how long I should let them season. I get a little impaitent sometimes

[aaron]

If you rough out the bow to about 1 inch thick in the limbs, it will dry much quicker. You dont want to force it to dry TOO fast, especially in the first month. Done this way, a stave might be ready in just a few months.

[osage outlaw]

Seal the back and ends of the staves or they will crack as they dry. 

[willie]

saskatoon doesn't get big enough in a lot of places, but if it grows to size, I would try it. read somewhere that it was traditionally used by NA. wished we had it here, so I could try one like this

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=45046.0

[DC]

I've made a few Saskatoon bows. It's good wood but hard to find a piece that isn't twisted. I don't remember it being really tough to dry but I compare most wood to Ocean Spray. OS is a bear to dry. Find a humid spot and wait a year at least. I'm not sure if  Vine maple(Acer circinatum) grows that far north. Douglas maple does and it's good bow wood. I've had no problems drying Maples, six months seems good. Black Locust is good apparently(I haven't worked my piece yet. Take all my drying info with a grain of salt. It's a lot drying in the Okanagan than it is here on the Island. You will have more checking problems up there so coat the backs and ends well(I use shellac) and find a humid spot.

[wizardgoat]

I've cut some nice juniper near Vernon, made good bows.
All of the woods you listed will make a good bow, but none are better than yew