red oak long bows/warbows

[luke the drifter]

hey y'all.  with all the pros and cons with making bows out of red oak,  if one were to get lucky enough to get one made, how could he strentghen the oak further.  i realize from my own experience that oak is very porous.  is there a solution that one could immerse  the oak into make it stronger or rub it into the wood to "solidify" the oak porousity? 

[coyote pup]

I have read where the eastern tribes that used the long narrow D bows would dip them in bear grease and then warm by a fire for a while. Never tried that myself but would if I ever got ahold of some bear grease. What I DO use though is beef tallow and lightly toast the belly of every bow I make. I heat the back too, but not enough to say that I "toast" it. It does get a little warm though.

[sailordad]

if your using a board always a good idea to back it,also qaurter sawn is best for board bows
if your usng a stave(piece of log) peel the bark off,that will then be the back of the bow
you could sinew the bow for added weight of the bow and stregth( i believe,never used sinew on a bow yet myself)
the bear grease would be for sealing the bow from the elements,it wont add stregth to the wood,the reason for warming by the fire
would be to get the wood and grease warm to allow the grease to penetrate and soak into the wood

[nickf]

I've seen countless red oak boardbows, many being great performers. I've seen an 80#@32" red oak board bow, wich was pretty short for it's drawlength, and even having a stiff handle. So I'm pretty sure it'll work. A flat belly, with a flat back and top-notch grain will be a great start. for 100#+ I'd start with 77" ntn, and 1 1/2" wide at the handle. A good temper will reduce the set and increase the performance.

If you're unsure about the grain, a backing might help, but I don't think you'll need this if you've found a good board.

Nick