« previous next »
Pages: [1]

Author Topic: what wood should i use  (Read 3836 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

sourdough

  • Guest
what wood should i use
« on: January 15, 2009, 10:02:17 pm »
hi i'm new to this sight and live in a suburb of anchorage in alaska and am wondering what wood is good for bows.we have black spruce, white spruce, birch, douglas maple, aspen, black cottonwood, tamarack larch, red cedar, western hemloch, mountain hemlock, and willow. i know, alot of different trees around here. anyway, which is the best and how long should i season it?whats the best for arrows?well thanks you guys if i sucseed i'll post pics.

sourdough  ;D
Logged

Offline Gordon

  • Member
  • Posts: 3,299
Re: what wood should i use
« Reply #1 on: January 15, 2009, 10:22:23 pm »
Out of all of those I'd say the maple is probably your best bet.
Logged
Gordon

sourdough

  • Guest
Re: what wood should i use
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2009, 02:03:08 am »
thanks and im in luck :o.there is lots of maple in my area.

sourdough
Logged

Offline M-P

  • Member
  • Posts: 876
  • PA731115
    • Traveling Surgery
Re: what wood should i use
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2009, 02:19:15 am »
None of those are trees I have access to, but I remember seeing a recent thread on using Douglas maple.  You should check that out.   I believe larch has been used successfully as have birch and aspen, though the latter two are pretty low weight woods.  A warning, the red cedar you have is not the same as eastern red cedar.   Western red cedar can make very nice arrows, but bows are not easy to make from western red cedar.    Ron
Logged
"A man should make his own arrows."   Omaha proverb   

"There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."    Will Rogers

sourdough

  • Guest
Re: what wood should i use
« Reply #4 on: January 16, 2009, 02:24:52 pm »
thank you very much that was the reply i was looking for.  it answerd my 2 most important questions! ;D. 

sourdough 
Logged

Offline Hillbilly

  • Member
  • Posts: 8,248
  • I like tater tots.
Re: what wood should i use
« Reply #5 on: January 16, 2009, 07:32:23 pm »
I would try the birch and maple for bows, the spruce and cedar for arrows. Sitka spruce makes some killer arrows, so other varieties would probably work well.
Logged
Smoky Mountains, NC

NeolithicHillbilly@gmail.com

Progress might have been all right once but it's gone on for far too long.

Offline DanaM

  • Member
  • Posts: 9,211
Re: what wood should i use
« Reply #6 on: January 16, 2009, 09:15:57 pm »
Yup the birch and maple, but if I can ever come across a nice piece of tamarack I think it will work :)
Logged
"Prosperity is a way of living and thinking, and not just money or things. Poverty is a way of living and thinking, and not just a lack of money or things."

Manistique, MI

Offline shamus

  • Member
  • Posts: 332
Re: what wood should i use
« Reply #7 on: January 18, 2009, 03:36:09 pm »
there is a very extensive list of bow woods in the Traditional Bowyer's Bible Vol. 4, but here are Tim Baker's thoughts on it:

http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/6213





Logged
Pages: [1]
« previous next »