small saplings as bow staves?

[hrhodes]

#6561

I just built my first long bow (used a red oak board stave, turned out great!) and now I have the fever to build another one. I have access to osage, hickory, eastern red cedar, and pecan and I can forsee building a long bow out of all of these in the future… How about making a bow out of smaller diameter saplings? something in the 2″ – 5″ size range? My preference is something around a 50lb draw weight. Does anyone have any thoughts or advice? I am a new member here and, so far, have found this site to be most informative!

[Homer]

#52743

Howard (I rather like that name since reading “Mr. Nice”) — I don’t pretend to be an expert, but in general saplings are not considered as prime meat for good bows. What we need for that is mature trees with heartwood, sapwood, etc., so we can separate out the best bow parts depending on the species. I meself have tried saplings of Gambel oak, service berry, chokecherry, mountain juniper and more, and had no luck with any. Let’s hope that if you have access to all those young trees, you also have access to their grandpa’s. Where I live we have no great bow woods. You be a lucky man! Good to see you posting here. H

[hrhodes]

#52750

Homer wrote: Howard (I rather like that name since reading “Mr. Nice”) — I don’t pretend to be an expert, but in general saplings are not considered as prime meat for good bows. What we need for that is mature trees with heartwood, sapwood, etc., so we can separate out the best bow parts depending on the species. I meself have tried saplings of Gambel oak, service berry, chokecherry, mountain juniper and more, and had no luck with any. Let’s hope that if you have access to all those young trees, you also have access to their grandpa’s. Where I live we have no great bow woods. You be a lucky man! Good to see you posting here. H

Thanks for the feedback. I do have access to the mature trees as well. I have a friend who complains about the osage, cedar and locust trees which he tries to keep cleared from his cattle fence… I have volunteered to help him with his troubles! I was just curious about the smaller trees. I will suck it up and try to split out a good stave of osage for my next project. Thanks H.

[George Tsoukalas]

#54528

I’ve made quite a few sapling bows. Any of the hardwoods will do. White woods are the best for sapling bows. Take off the bark and make a bow. Black locust, mulberry and osage are best with heartwood as their back. They can be made from saplings too but there is usually not enough heartwood so a layer or 2 of sapwood is needed. The closer to the heartwood the sapwood is the stronger it is. My first shooter was a BL sapling bow. I generally choose the best side for the back. Check to see where the string will lay on what will be the handle area. Mark 2 line down the side. I then hack away the belly wood with a hatchet and get the limbs bending. In spring cut whitewoods the bar comes off easily. Take it off pronto or it will cement itself to the wood. Get the limbs bending a few inches and it will dry quickly. Leave the bow 2-3 inches longer to cut down on the effects of a severe crown. My site has info. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/

[George Tsoukalas]

#54529

The above directions where for 2-3 inch saplings. Jawge

[hrhodes]

#54872

George Tsoukalas wrote: The above directions where for 2-3 inch saplings. Jawge

Hey George! Thanks for the advice. I will check out your site. I am all fired up to build more bows. I find myself looking at trees and woodwork in a whole new light. I am blessed to have lots of great candidates growing all around me. I don’t want to shoot any of my store bought bows now that I have built one myself!

[hrhodes]

#23773

Hey George,

I followed your advice and made a couple of bows since this post from two to three inch pecan saplings… Both were a little longer than my last bow, one 68″ and the other 70″. Both are great shooters, one finished at 35# and the other 50#. I ended up with about three inches of set on both of them, but I left the tips very light and they shoot sweet. Thanks for the advice. I am considering heat treating one of them to take some of the set out, after reading an excerpt from Traditional Bowyer’s Bible IV. These southern pecan trees are a lot like hickory, strong in tension…. Any thoughts on heat treating? Thanks.

[George Tsoukalas]

#23949

You are welcome. Pecan is like hickory and needs to be really dry. Are you sure your staves were dry? Jawge

[hrhodes]

#24034

George Tsoukalas wrote: You are welcome. Pecan is like hickory and needs to be really dry. Are you sure your staves were dry? Jawge

I like pecan and expect to make another one soon… I peeled the bark off and roughed out the staves and set them on the roof beams of a metal building for a couple of months. I think they were dry enough, but I lack a moisture meter, for now. Alabama summers leave a lot to be desired when you start looking for low humidity! I appreciate your advice and found your website to be very helpful. Thanks again.

[George Tsoukalas]

#24833

I’ve never worked with pecan but I think it is like hickory and it sucks in moisture. I usually keep it in the ac when a hickory bow is done. Don’t feel badly my first bow took 5 in of set. It was too wet and tillered badly. Jawge

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