Black Cherry Wampanoag (sort of)

[Cacatch]

Here's my black cherry bow. It's 64NTN and pulls in the high 50's at 28. Pin nocks. The remarkable thing about this bow, especially for being cherry, is that the back ring is violated all to heck. You can't really tell from the pics, but I started to chase the back wood down to the heartwood, when I realized that it would leave one limb with a high almost pointed crown and the other limb flat. So I just said to heck with it and left it. Finished it up and put a string on it. I actually like this bow. For me, it's a very good example of just leaving the wood the way it is and not trying to push it into what I want it to be. I think it has good spirit for that reason. I'd like to kill something with it but it's a little long for my hunting tastes. Makes good conversation though.

Thank you for looking. Comments welcome.

CP

 

















And after drawing and unstringing...



Thanks for looking,
CP

[ErictheViking]

excellent bow, tiller is good to me. love the simplicity of it. I'm suprised you pull that back with your eyes open.  lol. I've heard horror stories of cherry shattering.  good job I like it.

[Cacatch]

Thanks Eric. This is the 3rd Cherry bow I've ever made and none of the 3 ever exploded. I'm not sure what would have to happen to make a cherry bow explode, unless it was just bad wood, as in diseased or dead. Of course, I know there are several types of "cherry". This is what I believe to be Black Cherry. Mature trees have a very dark, nearly black, chippy bark. Usually grows straight. Wood, especially heartwood smells very sweet.

CP

[ErictheViking]

It is suppose to be excellent in compression but lousy in tension so the backs give out. Tim Baker recommends backing with rawhide. he states it is an excellent bow wood just tension weak.  I have no experience with it(although I do have a nice straight stave from a chokecherry or one of the other smaller varieties).    http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/reply/320680/Cherry-flatbow#reply-320680  this is a link to PP where a couple of guys discuss cherry.

[Cacatch]

Could be. All the ones I've ever made had a flat back (or mostly flat) and a slightly rounded belly, like this one. I wish I had more Black Cherry but it's like oak, not too many people eager to let you cut their cherry trees for bow wood.

CP

[tattoo dave]

Nice work!! I too am a fan of the simplicity. I have had one cherry board bow explode, but that won't stop me from trying another. Keep up the fine work.

Tattoo Dave

[Cacatch]

Thanks Dave 

CP

[Hrothgar]

Well done, good tiller.

[Del the cat]

Excellent, helps to put the 'primitive' in PA. Great tiller.
Del

[Sidewinder]

Nice job on that one. It just goes to show, properly done you can make a bow out of what some will call questionable bow wood. I'm guessing that the board bows I've broken with it were either overstressed or too dry or both.   Danny

[Cacatch]

Thank you Hrothgar.

Thank you Del.

Thanks Danny. If a black cherry tree, or nearly any bow wood tree is blown down, the wood can be very questionable and perhaps that could be where your boards came from. If you get ahold of that type of wood, you can expect one or more staves that you get from it to be crap. They may make a bow and look fine, but the wood will not be strong and can blow up and/or implode on the belly. This is the disadvantage to using boards, you don't know the tree they come from.

CP