A couple of questions for a new bowyer.....

[Ifrit617]

Hi everyone...

 New to the forum so I'm sorry if this seems like a stupid question, has anyone ever made a bow out of Aspen?

Also how does gluing reflex into a stave work and how do you do it?

I've made my first bow which is a linen backed maple and will post pics soon... Thanks

[koan]

Welcome aboard! I havent biult a bow from Aspen, but ithink some one on here has... use the search for it and im sure you will find what your lookin for.. im sure with aspens qualities it would need to be close to 2" wide tho...good luck...Brian

[Ifrit617]

Thank you... I will do that.

[denny]

I have not as it is to soft of wood for mi=y choice, However I saw a nice tree yesterday. lol Starts fires and splits easy. Denny

[Pat B]

Ifrit, Aspen is not a good candidate for a bow. It probably can be made into a bow but I wouldn't suggest it unless you just want to experiment. Aspen does however make excellent arrows.
  You can glue reflex into a bow by bending and holding the the reflex shape while you have glued a rigid(wood or bamboo) backing to it, or with the use of sinew.  Reflexing bows comes in lesson #5 after you have learned to properly tiller a bow in the first 4 lessons.  
  Welcome to PA. The only dumb questions are the ones that don't get asked.     Looking forward to seeing your first bow.

[Kegan]

Aspen isn't good at bending... at all. It makes great friction-fire kits though

Generally, the denser the wood, the better it is for bows.

[JW_Halverson]

Then there is the fine exception to the rule....yew.  Soft enough to tiller with your wife's emory boards that she uses on her fingernails.

[adb]

Agree with others, and we just had this debate a short while back. Not a good candidate, especially for a new bowyer. If you just have to try it, keep it WIDE (>2") at the fades, long, and flat. A pyramid design is the only one I'd use. There is a ton of poplar where I live, and most of it gets made into paper... it's best use.

[Kegan]

Then there is the fine exception to the rule....yew.  Soft enough to tiller with your wife's emory boards that she uses on her fingernails.

And juniper too! I was just talking in general though .