I have to pick a decent bow wood.

[PrimitiveSkills]

Alright so I'm gonna make my first bow (finally) but i haven't decided on what wood I'm gonna use I've got three choices for decent woods European Ash, English Oak or Maple at the moment I'm leaning a bit towards Maple as I've heard stories about ash breaking easily.

-PrimitiveSkills

[mikekeswick]

All woods when designed correctly are vrtually equal. Nailing the correct design is way more important than just wood species. All the woods you mention will work just fine. I would recommend you buy the Traditional Bowyers Bible vol 1 it will tell you literally everything you need to know to make a great first bow.

[dwardo]

I would go for the ash. Easy to work and makes a nice bow.
The maple is way to tough to call as there is a not of difference with the sp.
Oak seems like a winner but it is harder wood to work, so for me the ash is the winner.

[Del the cat]

I'd, go Maple, Ash, Oak in order of preference, Maple being easiest to work IMO
Del

[DarkSoul]

All three woods can make a good bow. As Mike explained, you need to match the design to the wood species. Easier said than done though, especially for a beginner.

Will you be using a board or a split stave?
Myself, I'd go for the ash. It's easy to work with and usually straight grained. Next on my list ywould be the maple, but not the European species of maple. A maple board is usually an American species, which is stronger than the European equivalent. Oak can be greatly variable in quality, especially European oak, which is also not often straight grained.

[PrimitiveSkills]

Thank you very much for all you're replies I'll look into that bower's bible thingy and i think I'll just go with ash for my first.

-PrimitiveSkills

[Dazv]

i really like english oak as a bow wood.