american beech?

[bushboy]

hey all,i have read mixed reviews of beech as a bow wood and would like to know your guys take! i bought the board in canada so i'm incline to think it is fagnus grandifolia aka american! it's fine grained with very little run off. i would like to build a self bow with it,so what design would it be best suited? also has anyone tried heat treating beech?thx's

[Marc St Louis]

I've built a few bows out of Beech.  Never tried heat-treating but it does steam bend well.  I would rate the wood alongside White Ash.  Chasing a ring on a board might be tricky but if you have a quarter sawn board with straight grain then you should be ok, unless it was cut from a tree with spiral growth.  All the wood I used I cut myself and none had spiral growth so yours may be the same.

[crooketarrow]

 TO BRITTLE

[Marc St Louis]

The first Beech bow I made about 15 years ago was fairly short, maybe 62" long, 1 1/4" wide limbs.  I tillered the bow to 28" and it pulled about 50#.  I still have that bow, not much to look at.  It did not chrysal nor did it explode so I don't think the wood is brittle at all.  I have heard some say that the European species of Beech is brittle though, can't comment on that one as I've never used it.

[gianluca100]

Were I live (old Europe) we have a lot of beech and that's why I tested it different times at the beginning of my 'bow making career' in the nineties. It is definetly no bow wood, very tension weak with short fibers. By the way european oak is also no bow wood at all...

Regards,
gian-luca

[Youngboyer2(billyf)]

I made a blue beech bow, with all the trouble it gave me it wasn't worth it, it sucks up moisture like crazy...
-Billy

[PatM]

Not the same thing..