Scored some ERC lumber, got about 10 almost all heartwood boards 80" long...

[toomanyknots]

I had to look through a stack of about 500 boards or more, I am guessing at least. I had to drive about 100 miles round trip also. Not really bad I think, when I consider how hard it is for me to find erc lumber around me. Took me from 11 AM till 4 PM today to look through the entire stack and I reduced it down to 10 of the best boards with the most heartwood. There are knots galore, I don't know how many actual bows I will get outta these, but my desire to make a white wood backed cedar longbow is slowly looking more realistic... I have never worked this wood before, but it smells sooooo good, and it looks soooooooo beautiful.... 













Here is a piece, about 73" or 74" of perfect clean heartwood, about 1" thick and probably about 1 1/2" to 2" of clean wideth...  (the section to the outer edge on the right of the board I mean)



Now, what to do with it?

[vinemaplebows]

Score! I have a few boards without a knot! Took me a long time to find them!

[seabass]

nice stuff.are you going to be getting rid of a few Daniel?let me know brother.i have a piece of bamboo backing that is calling my name.

[Ifrit617]

Wish I could find some, I have a maple backing that would go perfect with a piece of that wood.

Good luck with your bow.

Jon

[toomanyknots]

nice stuff.are you going to be getting rid of a few Daniel?let me know brother.i have a piece of bamboo backing that is calling my name.

I will probably hold on to most of it. I plan to make a chest with what I can't make a bow out of, which will probably be most of it, as I didn't pay close enough attention to knots. I probably could of got a couple better pieces with less knots if I didn't try to get mostly heartwood. I can give you the link to the guys craigslist ad though if you want, he lives about 50 miles from me across the river in ky.

[Josh]

That would definitely make some nice flutes!  Nice score! 

[Jim Davis]

If only the stuff didn't turn that ordinary brown with age....


Jim Davis (who has a few boards of good RC too)

[ionicmuffin]

make sure to avoid the knots that look like they may be rotten and such, i just came from bryce's and had been working a nice piece of ERC, it snapped in half because of some knots that had bark in them.

[toomanyknots]

make sure to avoid the knots that look like they may be rotten and such, i just came from bryce's and had been working a nice piece of ERC, it snapped in half because of some knots that had bark in them.

Are any knots usable if I am using the cedar for a belly wood? Or do I have to avoid every single one? If so, I ain't getting too many bows out of these probably,  . Alot of the knots are weak and pop out, I am guessing like other woods, that I should avoid them at all costs. I guess I could try to fill them like everyone else does. I have absolutely zero experience in that department though.

[ionicmuffin]

well, i would imagine so long as you fill them in if they are rotten then it will be fine, otherwise it should be ok, the bow i was working on had some crazy swirils and knots in it and even though we used superglue it still snapped at near full draw. All im saying is to make sure that the wood at the knots are solid, and even if they are keep an eye on them. Expect a few of them to fail. GL

[Bryce]

make sure to avoid the knots that look like they may be rotten and such, i just came from bryce's and had been working a nice piece of ERC, it snapped in half because of some knots that had bark in them.

I'm not sure "nice" would be proper, as far as bow quality. Very beautiful wood yes, but trouble from the start
But man she went out like a champ! 2" from FD! Soo close.

It's probably not possible to avoid all the knots.
Some knots are solid and some are hard to judge.
All you can do is hope for the best, and expect the worst

[toomanyknots]

make sure to avoid the knots that look like they may be rotten and such, i just came from bryce's and had been working a nice piece of ERC, it snapped in half because of some knots that had bark in them.

I'm not sure "nice" would be proper, as far as bow quality. Very beautiful wood yes, but trouble from the start
But man she went out like a champ! 2" from FD! Soo close.

It's probably not possible to avoid all the knots.
Some knots are solid and some are hard to judge.
All you can do is hope for the best, and expect the worst

So solid knots are potentially usable? It seems to me the bigger the knots, the more likely it is to be solid, as it figures that it was closer to the heart of the tree. I am thinking for a backing, something kind and easy on the wood would be better than something like hickory. Maybe like maple? I can get some nice white oak, which I probably will at some point, but I was thinking maple or ash would be a better choice with if-y knot-y belly wood?

[blackhawk]

Here's a piece of junk I dug up for ya....lol  ...n why isn't it being yanked back further for its length...whoever made that sure didn't know what he was doing..what an idiot 

 http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/44103/hickory-backed-eastern-red-cedar#.UNMrMSRZ6t4


it has some serious knots on the belly and on the sides....ERC needs to be handled differently, and needs to be babied with tlc and patience more than any other wood. Your tiller needs to be good,and I dont just mean the final results. The rule of not bending it past the smallest imperfection till its gone is crucial,and in my opinion it needs lots more gentle exercise to coax and teach it how to bend.

[bcbull]

Here's a piece of junk I dug up for ya....lol  ...n why isn't it being yanked back further for its length...whoever made that sure didn't know what he was doing..what an idiot 

 http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/44103/hickory-backed-eastern-red-cedar#.UNMrMSRZ6t4


it has some serious knots on the belly and on the sides....ERC needs to be handled differently, and needs to be babied with tlc and patience more than any other wood. Your tiller needs to be good,and I dont just mean the final results. The rule of not bending it past the smallest imperfection till its gone is crucial,and in my opinion it needs lots more gentle exercise to coax and teach it how to bend.

[bcbull]

well dunno how that happend lol  was gonna tell ya iv made some and they blow easey best iv found is back it with think hickory ya gotta keep it thin enough that it dont crush the ceader or it will blow  nice score n good luck bro