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Author Topic: Birch?  (Read 9722 times)

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Offline DanaM

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Re: Birch?
« Reply #15 on: January 07, 2010, 12:55:38 pm »
Heck yea try the birch, just keep it simple and keep the weight down to 40 lbs or so. Take your time
and don't overstress it. I have a yellow birch stave I'm going to try and I fully expect it to make a nice bow as long as I don't mess up.
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Offline Dane

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Re: Birch?
« Reply #16 on: January 07, 2010, 03:07:33 pm »
Quote from: Jude on January 05, 2010, 02:38:53 pm
I've been wanting to try yellow birch for years now, but I was on the west coast for the last six years.  Now that I'm back in New York, I plan to swing over to my brother's farm in Vermont and snatch up some yellow birch, hophornbeam (Ironwood, but we knew it as Hardack when I was a kid), and beech to play with; there's even some hornbeam (Blue Beech/Ironwood), if I can remember where it grew after being gone 21 years.  I don't think he'll let me touch his hard maples though :'(  I'll have to get my butt home from Iraq first, but that has never proved to be a problem yet.

Jude, where in Vermont? I live in Greenfield, which is about 15 minutes from Brattleboro.

Maybe we can get together and I can help you harvest those trees. I do a decent bbq, but you have to like beer. :) And best of luck in Iraq - stay safe! And thanks so much for serving there.

Dane
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Greenfield, Western Massachusetts

Offline Jude

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  • Julian Benoit, Black River, NY & Kandahar, Afghan.
Re: Birch?
« Reply #17 on: January 08, 2010, 03:08:57 am »
Dane, I grew up in Sheldon, just east of St. Albans, and that's where my brother still farms.  We live in Black River, NY now, as I'm once again stationed at Ft. Drum.  I'll let you know when I'll be back in the area, sometime in June most likely.  My wife is from Springfield, and her mom lives in Bellows Falls, so we do get down there on occasion.
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"Not all those that wander are lost."--Tolkien
"If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer."--Benoit

Offline Dane

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Re: Birch?
« Reply #18 on: January 08, 2010, 06:00:17 am »
10th Mountain?

I worked in Cambridgeport, which is not far from Bellows Falls. I like that area a lot. I've been searching for some soapstone quarries around there for a few years now.

Dane
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Greenfield, Western Massachusetts

Offline Jude

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  • Julian Benoit, Black River, NY & Kandahar, Afghan.
Re: Birch?
« Reply #19 on: January 09, 2010, 02:45:47 pm »
Yep, 10th Mountain, one of my favorite places to be. :)
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"Not all those that wander are lost."--Tolkien
"If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer."--Benoit

Offline Dane

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Re: Birch?
« Reply #20 on: January 11, 2010, 06:19:58 am »
We have a few WWII 10th Mountain vets living here. They saw some rough times in Italy. Amazing guys. I was really fortunate to spend some time in their homes. Your division has a lineage to be proud of. Also, there is a veteran's unit online called Tower Rats. One of the PA members is part of that. They were part of the same mission as I was, Pershing warheads, but a different outfit. My unit was part of 59th Ordinance, which has since been deactivated, but elements of the Tower Rats are also in 10th Mountain.

Dane
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Greenfield, Western Massachusetts

Offline Jude

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  • Julian Benoit, Black River, NY & Kandahar, Afghan.
Re: Birch?
« Reply #21 on: January 12, 2010, 02:26:24 am »
Thanks for the info; I'll definitely look into that.  This is my second goaround with 10th MT.  I'm back at my first duty station, back in the first of 2 units I was in there, (as a Warrant Officer this time.) and my Battalion Commander was the Company Commander that pinned on my Sergeant back in 2000.  Looks to me like we went and hijacked this thread though. :-\  Sorry Ryan.
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"Not all those that wander are lost."--Tolkien
"If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer."--Benoit

Offline crooketarrow

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Re: Birch?
« Reply #22 on: January 12, 2010, 11:10:18 am »
   Hermitkings hitit right on.I've built 2 stave bows but backed each.They turner out good bows.I've never built a board bow.
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radius

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Re: Birch?
« Reply #23 on: February 08, 2010, 07:45:26 am »
Ryan, where are you from?   I know what you mean:  good straight birch grows everywhere.  I'll probably take some down this spring/summer when i go yew-hunting in BC.  Maybe we live near each other?  I'm in Vancouver.  I've met a couple guys from PA and gone wood-questing with them, and had lots of fun.  If we're near each other, we should hook up.

Scott
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Offline Diligence

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Re: Birch?
« Reply #24 on: February 08, 2010, 01:26:40 pm »
I too have access to Birch, but little else (unless a city tree gets hit'n run to death)
I had good luck searching PA for "birch bows"....and I particularly liked this posting:

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,7312.0.html

I've currently got one birch stave roughed out and drying, but I have not yet begun to finish it.

Cheers,
J in Calgary
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Offline NTProf

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Re: Birch?
« Reply #25 on: February 08, 2010, 02:49:20 pm »
I built a selfbow out of a sweet birch that I cut. It is as durable and fast a bow as anything else I have made of oak or maple. It is #52 and has well over 200 shots through it. Very little set (3/4").  No backing. It think sweet/black is very different from paper/white birch. I will try to post pictures soon.
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Offline ryanfromcanada

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Re: Birch?
« Reply #26 on: February 08, 2010, 08:31:35 pm »
Quote from: radius on February 08, 2010, 07:45:26 am
Ryan, where are you from?   I know what you mean:  good straight birch grows everywhere.  I'll probably take some down this spring/summer when i go yew-hunting in BC.  Maybe we live near each other?  I'm in Vancouver.  I've met a couple guys from PA and gone wood-questing with them, and had lots of fun.  If we're near each other, we should hook up.

Scott

Unfourtanteally i live in ontario. I know that there's maple around in quantity but me no allowed to cut. There might be PA members from central ontario.  ;D  ???
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Offline Ryano

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  • Ryan O'Sullivan, North Western Pennsylvania
Re: Birch?
« Reply #27 on: February 08, 2010, 09:21:37 pm »
I made a yellow birch bow once. It came out OK. It's just about on par with most of the other white woods like oak,maple,ash, and hickory. It's actually a lot like hop hornbeam. I believe their in the same family.
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Its November, I'm gone hunt'in.......
Osage is still better.....
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