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Author Topic: Chokecherry as Bow Wood?  (Read 9386 times)

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Offline bushman

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Chokecherry as Bow Wood?
« on: June 11, 2010, 04:06:52 pm »
Has anyone ever tried to use Chokecherry before? I have found some bushes of it. The biggest branches in the bushes are about 3 inches in diameter. Would that be good enough for a bow? I want the bow to be in the 50 to 55 pound range at a 28 inch draw. Thanks
Bushman
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Offline Stoker

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Re: Chokecherry as Bow Wood?
« Reply #1 on: June 11, 2010, 04:22:45 pm »
Chokecherry works fairly well..Keep the limbs as wide as possible..To get heavier poundages sinue but rawhide is good for lighter bows.Good luck
Thanks Leroy

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Offline ken75

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Re: Chokecherry as Bow Wood?
« Reply #2 on: June 11, 2010, 04:23:28 pm »
bush i havent used it but tbb4 list it as 65sg. , i would think it would make a fine hunting weight bow
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Offline sailordad

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Re: Chokecherry as Bow Wood?
« Reply #3 on: June 11, 2010, 05:00:15 pm »
ive heard it is good
i have a nice stave of it sitting and waiting to be made into a bow
dont need ot ready untill next spring so i aint rushing,well not yet
i was told to back it with sinew so thats my plan  ;)
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Offline AncientArcher76

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Re: Chokecherry as Bow Wood?
« Reply #4 on: June 11, 2010, 06:36:00 pm »
Actually some bushes/ shrubs have been used world wide and can make some awesome bows. 
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Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: Chokecherry as Bow Wood?
« Reply #5 on: June 11, 2010, 11:56:38 pm »
If you have a lot of crown there will be problems, but decrowning and laying thin rawhide over it will overcome that issue. 

Personally I'd leave the bush standing and make chokecherry wine on a yearly basis.
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Offline loefflerchuck

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Re: Chokecherry as Bow Wood?
« Reply #6 on: June 12, 2010, 04:25:53 am »
 Great when sinew backed. Last forever and put up with lots of abuse
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Offline Boofus

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Re: Chokecherry as Bow Wood?
« Reply #7 on: June 12, 2010, 01:16:54 pm »
I'm with loefflerchuck  on this one. Sinew-back it and it'll turn out to be a snappy little weapon (the Lakota's used to make bows outta them) 54" and sinew-backed will get you 28" of draw and really spit an arrow.
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Offline sailordad

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Re: Chokecherry as Bow Wood?
« Reply #8 on: June 12, 2010, 01:43:31 pm »
not trying to hijack your thread
but like i said,i have a real nice stave and some sinew(moose backstrap)
so at 54",how wide etc.
lets have some dimensions please,how many layers of sinew? ;D ;)

im planning on starting this one this summer sometime

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i always wanted a harley,untill it became the "thing to ride"
i ride because i love to,not to be part of the crowd

Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: Chokecherry as Bow Wood?
« Reply #9 on: June 12, 2010, 03:59:12 pm »
The Sioux style original that I have seen with sinew backing (a whopping total of ONE), was about 1 1/4 wide, about 44 inches long, no recurve to the tips, no setback in the handle, and had taken about 4 inches of set even with the sinew.  Admittedly it was in poor shape and had not been conserved by a proper museum.  Near as I could tell there were multiple courses of sinew and they were pretty coarse.  If it was a bow that I had sinewed, I would pull the sinew and hide glue off, add water, set it on the back of the stove and start a new batch of hide gluefrom it.  It really looked crappy.  I am sure it was functional, but it was obviously made with no attention to aesthetics. 

Wish that bow could speak, I have a lot of questions unanswered.
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Guns have triggers. Bicycles have wheels. Trees and bows have wooden limbs.

Offline loefflerchuck

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Re: Chokecherry as Bow Wood?
« Reply #10 on: June 13, 2010, 01:05:29 pm »
  I just sent one to Europe. It was a Blackfoot replica. 45" double curved. 1.5" wide, slightly rounded back, 2.5 layers of sinew. The sinew will make a powerful bow that wont brake, but it still followed the string more than other wood will with sinew. It was 8 years old and last time I shot it it pulled 68# at 23.5" and shot a regular oak foreshafted cane arrow 186 yards
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Offline bushman

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Re: Chokecherry as Bow Wood?
« Reply #11 on: June 22, 2010, 02:45:28 am »
Thanks for all of the information. Come this November when the saps down I’m goin to go cut some good lookin branches out of them chokecherry bushes and make a few bows out of em. When I do I’ll let you guys know how they turned out.

JW Halverson:
What did you mean by “If you have a lot of crown there will be problems” and to decrown it, not to sure what you mean by decrowning?
You just gave be any other idea >:D. How does that chokecherry wine turn out?

Bushman
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