Can't wait 'till August!

[mikekeswick]

I bet that if you use the outer ring as the back of the bow, you will get little to no heartwood in that size stave.

I love sapling bows.  More than half of my bows are sapling bows. But when you're working with narrow diamter saplings, its best with woods whose sapwood alone is good for bow making (hickory, oak, plum and other friutwoods, HHB, buckthorn, cascara, etc). 

Woods whose sapwood (alone) is poorer for bowmaking (e.g. Osage, Locust, Cedar, Juniper etc), are better from staves with a large enough dimater to support a good amount of sapwood.

I could be totally wrong, but if that mulberry tree is 4-5 inches in diameter, I'm betting you only get 2" of heartwood max.  Without chasing a ring,(e.g. just using the outer ring as the back of the bow) you will only have heartwood in your handle, and little to none in your limbs.

Still may make a nice bow, but I think Blackhawks advice is sound. 

Gabe

+1
All the mulberry i've seen had really thick sapwood. I'd leave it and go cut some elm. Elm is one of the best bow woods there is when heat treated.

[sleek]

Shoot, I would cut elm, mulbery and the hickory! In my experience, sapwood on the back does just fine on mulberry. However, it is very spongy feeling, hard to get a smooth finish on, and I dont like the way it works or feels. Its up to you on how you wanna make it, either way makes a bow. Is it the red or the white?

[Scallorn]

Man, I'm really second guessing it now lol. I think I might leave it. Joe, I live in northeast Texas, close to Dallas, all the trees here are leafed out. Rossfactor, I hear ya there! I have always known hickory, elm, and ash, made the best sapling bows, luckily I have a hickory sapling right next to that mulberry that I might cut instead. Sleek, it is Red Mulberry, that's the only kind growing here.

[Pappy]

I'm with blackhawk and Mike on this one,let it grow and cut a Hickory or Elm. or you could build a backwards bow,split down the middle and make the belly the back,no need to chase a ring ,it's like decrowning one. I think that will work on Mullleberry,I know it will with Osage. You will likly wind up with sap wood in the handle.
   Pappy

[Onebowonder]

<snip> or you could build a backwards bow,split down the middle and make the belly the back,no need to chase a ring ,it's like decrowning one. I think that will work on Mullleberry<snip>

+1 for the backwards bow idea.  I have seen a bow like this done with Mulberry, ...AND, (assuming the archeologists and currators got it right), it was a technique used by Native Americans long ago.  I've got a piece of Osage I'm hoping to do this with...

OneBow

[Scallorn]

Well I decided to go ahead and leave that one alone. Better to have patients than to have a second rate bow. Thanks for the advise