Earlywood/latewood discussion

[okie64]

Just wanderin if anybody could tell me when the earlywood growth transitions into the latewood growth. I know they say the earlywood grows in the spring and the latewood in the summer but does anyone know exactly when that happens? Reason I'm askin is that we had a really wet April and May and then went through a drought through June and July.  Most of the trees have already turned brown or lost their leaves, it looks like its fall around here already. It would seem to me that this would make the worst case for cutting whitewoods for bow wood this winter with the thick early wood and the thin latewood under the bark.  Am I right or way off?

[Eric Garza]

I'd guess you're right, but the best way to test your hypothesis would be to cut a small sapling of the species you're after. If you do this test, post the results as I think this is a very interesting and useful question.

[Pat B]

I don't know if you can pinpoint the actual moment when early wood changes to late wood. I would imaging the early wood begins to be laid down as soon as the sap begins to rise in late winter very early spring and the latewood begins as the leaves immerge.
 I like cutting whitewood in early spring so I'm dealing with last years late wood because I know it has matured over the winter.  When you cut whitewood in summer or even fall while the bark still slips you are dealing with the immature wood that was just laid down.
  If yopu think this years late wood will be unacceptable for bows chase the next ring down.

[crooketarrow]

  I'm not sure that the difference in the bow performence would be enough to tell.

[okie64]

I remember reading somewhere in one of the tbb's where they said if the latewood back ring was too thin to carry its share of the tension load then it was much more likely for the bow to break under tension especially if there was a thick earlywood ring under that.