Bow or Firewood

[Rigo]

I'm in central texas and looking cutting down this tree. i think it is hackberry and wondering if it would be any good for a bow?



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[John K]

I would try and get a bow out of it. If it doesn't work you can always burn it 

[kylerprochaska]

Idk what hackberry looks like but if thats it you should be able to make a bow out of it.

[Rigo]

HACKBERRY (Celtis occidentalis)

Hackberry is closely related to sugarberry and is a member of the elm family.  There is little difference between sapwood and heartwood which is yellowish gray to light brown with yellow streaks. The wood is very susceptible to blue staining before and after kiln drying and has irregular grain, occasionally straight and sometimes interlocked, with a fine uniform texture.  The wood planes and turns well and is intermediate in its ability to hold nails and screws, and stains satisfactorily.  Hackberry dries readily with minimal degrade.  It has a fairly high shrinkage and is most suitable in cut stock or small pieces. It is moderately hard, heavy and has bending strength, high shock resistance but is low in stiffness.

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some info i found about hackberry tree

[Cacatch]

I'm pretty sure that's not hackberry, at least not like any hackberry I've ever seen in Indiana. Now, what it IS, I'm not sure. I'm thinking maybe a type of Ash or possibly an Elm?

Hillbilly?

[Rigo]

Thanks for the info... i think i will give it a try and if it does not work out then i will use it for firewood.

[Cacatch]

Yeah, go ahead and cut it. I'd say the chances are good that even though it's not hackberry, it would be suitable for bowmaking. As soon as hillbilly takes a look at it he'll probably be able to tell you for sure what it is. When you get it cut down, it will also help in the ID if you show what the heartwood and grain look like.

[Hillbilly]

That's not a hackberry, it's an elm. Most elms are good bow wood. If you can get a straight piece out of it without a bunch of knots and twists, it'll probably make a good bow. The bark looks like it's got some spiraling going on, which probably means twisted grain in the wood.

[Rigo]

when i cut it down and split the wood i will post pics...prob in next day or so

[Rigo]

Elm Cut Down

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[youngbowyer33]

whats the diameter?here even 2" wide elm trees have a decent amount of heartwood(american)

[Rigo]

It's 3" diameter

[Rigo]

bark removed and split

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[Cacatch]

Yeah, I think Hillbilly is right, it does appear to be an elm. But there are so many subspecies of Elm that it's hard to say which one it would be. All the elms I've seen (Indiana) have at least some heartwood, but down in Texas, maybe you have species of Elm that don't.

How hard is it? If you press your thumbnail into the wood, does it make a very visible mark?

[Hillbilly]

There are five species of elm listed as growing in Texas. Slippery, American, winged, cedar, and Siberian. Just looking at that, I would say that it's a young slippery or American elm. Are the leaves rough and sandpapery-feeling?