Lemon wood

[Auggie]

Ive always been curious about lemon wood,suposedly similar to yew,and read that it is found only in the country of Cuba.Anyone ever worked with this wood or have any info on it?

[Kegan]

I believe it comes from alot of places in the southern hemisphere, but Cuba was just our biggest provider. I think it isn't much better than most native woods though. I'm sure alot of the native stuff is just as good if not better.

[adb]

Hi,
I've used lemonwood for several bows, and it's fantastic stuff. It has such straight grain, that it almost has no grain at all. The growth rings are usually wide, and sometimes it's hard to tell grain orientation.
It is an excellent belly wood, excelling at compression. Hickory backed lemonwood is a great combination. It takes little set, and works well. It has a pale yellowish color, hence the name. It is a little difficult to obtain, however.
English longbowyers, like Pip Bickerstaffe, use hickory backed lemonwood glue-ups to make beautiful traditional ELBs with horn nocks. I have one, and I love it.
If you can get your hands on it, go for it... it's great stuff. I believe it is even better than hickory, especially for belly wood.

[Dane]

I concur with ABD about the properties of lemon wood. It is beautiful stuff, but yeah, hard to find in this country, with the Cuban embargo and all that. I made a lemonwood flat bow a while back I still really love shooting, and it seems to be holding up well. My source came from South America, alas, they don't carry it any longer.

The color is amazing, as are many tropicals.

I have heard you can find it in Puerto Rico. If so, I may have to make a trip there one day. I've never had it in stave form, only boards. I can also meet some of my wife's relatives at the same time.

[adb]

Yes, I've only ever been able to get it in board form. Being that I live in Canada, it is a little easier to get. The Cubans aren't so fussy about my passport!

[Auggie]

Cool! Now if I can just get my hands on some,maybe Castro will kick the bucket and things will improve between our countries.

[heavybow]

Who knows how much lemmon wood trees are left in cuba. I know they sent alot of wood to russia. Have destroyed alot of there forest. My parents havent seen cuba last 50 years alot of my relatives say haved ruin the forest. Marlon

[Loki]

Here's mine,hickory back with a Lemonwood Belly and a Greenheart core,shoot's like a dream.

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,2304.0.html

[adb]

Nice! Your bow looks very similar to the Bickerstaffe ELB I brought home from England this summer. Nice job on the nocks.

[D. Tiller]

Avoid Satinwood for a large percentage of the laminations. Use in very small quanitities for color only or it will take a good set!