Author Topic: "Hard maple" bows...  (Read 7882 times)

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Offline toomanyknots

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"Hard maple" bows...
« on: May 03, 2013, 11:55:53 pm »
I picked up some lumber labled "hard maple" today, so I have no idea what actual maple it is. Anybody use "hard maple" lumber for bows? I was thinking or trying a couple light weight warbows, is this a bad idea? While we are on that subject, anybody every make a warbow with a jatoba belly?
"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: "Hard maple" bows...
« Reply #1 on: May 04, 2013, 12:13:50 am »
Its sugar maple.
Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.

Offline soy

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Re: "Hard maple" bows...
« Reply #2 on: May 04, 2013, 12:16:01 am »
I picked up some that said solid maple kinda had that same question
Is this bow making a sickness? or the cure...

Offline ionicmuffin

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Re: "Hard maple" bows...
« Reply #3 on: May 04, 2013, 12:17:33 am »
Good question, not sure if they carry it around here but ive never "seen" the tag "hard maple" id be interested to find out if some of the lumber they carry doesnt have that tag but does come under hard maple.
Amo innectis arcus- I love crafting bows (latin)

Offline NTProf

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Re: "Hard maple" bows...
« Reply #4 on: May 04, 2013, 01:36:06 am »
Hard maple is my favorite bow wood. I have made a number of good bows with maple boards. Most of mine have been wider flat bows - 66-67" long by 1 3/4 - 2 inches wide. Never tried a war bow.

Offline RyanY

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Re: "Hard maple" bows...
« Reply #5 on: May 04, 2013, 02:05:10 am »
I've made some hard maple bows and they turned out good. My question is, what is a light weight warbow? ;)

Offline bubby

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Re: "Hard maple" bows...
« Reply #6 on: May 04, 2013, 06:03:23 am »
I use it all the time, great stuff
failure is an option, everyone fails, it's how you handle it that matters.
The few the proud the 27🏹

Offline toomanyknots

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Re: "Hard maple" bows...
« Reply #7 on: May 04, 2013, 08:53:26 am »
I've made some hard maple bows and they turned out good. My question is, what is a light weight warbow? ;)

I am thinking 100# @ 32". The wood is not super dense, but not super light either, alot denser than soft maple of course. The rings are thinner and semi tight.

EDIT: I wanted to get some hickory, but the freaking woodcraft that sells the hickory I buy got rid of all of it, along with half of all the other wood they carry!  >:(
« Last Edit: May 04, 2013, 08:56:51 am by toomanyknots »
"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline DarkSoul

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Re: "Hard maple" bows...
« Reply #8 on: May 05, 2013, 08:49:32 am »
Maples are divided in two categories, based on the properties of its wood. There's soft maple and hard maple. Both types are not one single species necessarily, but are a group of closely related maple species with very similar physical properties. Hard maple is usually sugar maple, Acer saccharum, but not always. Either way, the hard maples species are all good for bows, while the soft maples are lousy. I'd be a bit hesitant to make a 100#@32" bow out of a single board of maple, but it could probably be done. As always, look for the best grain you can find, which is more difficult to read than many other woods. Swirls are common in maples, so be critical.

Jatoba has been used in warbows. I haven't tried it myself, but it is pretty good for a belly. It tends to vary in density, with some extraordinarily dense pieces mixed in a pile of boards. Jatoba is less elastic than its density suggests, though. That means it tends to chrysal sooner than a wood with similar SG, such as ipé. To accommodate for its lower elasticity, create a flat belly and design the bow maybe 10% wider than you would with an ipé belly.
"Sonuit contento nervus ab arcu."
Ovid, Metamorphoses VI-286