Author Topic: Black Locust, Cherry, and Ash?  (Read 1081 times)

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Offline Prarie Bowyer

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Black Locust, Cherry, and Ash?
« on: March 24, 2013, 12:22:13 pm »
How are these woods?  I spent some time poking around on Konrad Voegelle's site with google translate open and find that he's offering these staves for sale and use in his bow building courses.

I"ve never worked with them but I haven't heard good things in general about ash.  I'm a little suprised that walnut is a "good" bow wood.  I'd think it would take some skill to make a quality bow from.  Where say Hickory and Osage make the possibiliy of ending up with a bow easier.

I've seen alot of black locust bows on here.  How does that compare to say osage?  Becuase that is all over the place here.  Last year I drove by a HUGE brush pile of it that was eventualy cut into fire wood and chipped.


Offline simson

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Re: Black Locust, Cherry, and Ash?
« Reply #1 on: March 24, 2013, 12:30:11 pm »
All these three are common in Germany and therefore easy available. Osage comes from the States or from Hungary and is expensive and rare. All three are good usable bow woods, but Osage is by far the better bowwood, we had several discussions here.
Simon
Bavaria, Germany

Offline Thesquirrelslinger

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Re: Black Locust, Cherry, and Ash?
« Reply #2 on: March 24, 2013, 12:57:14 pm »
I like locust, but it is tempermental.
I have way to much of it.
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"

Offline Jodocus

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Re: Black Locust, Cherry, and Ash?
« Reply #3 on: March 26, 2013, 03:28:05 am »
BL is perfectly fine bowwood, of the three you named, I'd pick BL if the stave is alright. But it's also the most work, since you'll probably have to work down to a back. Ash is very tension strong, I've only had good results on thinner saplings with a high crown. I don't know about cherry.
Don't shoot!