Bradford pear? Bow or no?

[Thesquirrelslinger]

Ok. I shall hold back my rant about pear for now.

Pear is a *&*@ when it comes to my uses.
However, it CAN and WILL make a decent bow- but make sure the piece you cut has straightish grain. it is also low in tension IMO.

[Joec123able]

yeah dude give it shot.   pear is listed in TBB4 with .73 SG.  Which should be pretty good bow wood.  I really don't know anything about pear so I just quoting it from the book but I've wondered if it would make a good bow too.  Would really like to see your results!

The specific gravity does not determine wheather a wood is good or not for bows.

[Buckeye Guy]

I know nothing about it !
I would try the piece with the most sapwood since that seems to work better on the hard pear's
Who knows maybe you will be the one to open this wood up !
Go slow and study hard !!
Guy

[Wylden Freeborne]

Wylden, Looking for Osage "in the woods" in Missouri is an unlikely spot. Look in treelines and fencerows--there's a reason it's alternative name is 'hedge.' I've seen it growing in those places, along railroad tracks, next to glades, and in brushy fields, but never in the midst of actual forest land.

Happy hunting,
Tom

Thanks for that Tom, and I will be looking, that is to be sure.

"However, it CAN and WILL make a decent bow- but make sure the piece you cut has straightish grain. it is also low in tension IMO. "
Squirrelslinger, I will consider backing it then. Maybe some of these fine Missouri Copperhead skins over some sinew layers would do it right.

I would also like to acknowledge Bowslayers sense of humor and ability to take the joke with class. Good on you man.

[Pappy]

Still going,and nice to boot. Ya Dark I remember the den,about 5 post a day from the same people. as for beginners,hang around for a short while and you will figure it out and won't be a beginner anymore. :)Wylden I hope you give this a try cause I have a yard full of them,I just for some reason always thought they would be to brittle,guess it because they are always breaking and falling over in someones yard. May be like PatB said,just the way they fork at the trunk that makes that happen like a multie trunk Maple.
  Pappy

[koan]

Wylden.... Mo. is a hedge paradise... Its everywhere in rows and wild inda river bottoms... Brian

[RidgeRunner]

Never made a Bow from Bradford Pear.
However, I have carved a few wooden spoons from it.
It would appear that all Bradford Pear is not created equal.
Wood from Small trunks that were was growing real fast is light weight, soft and brittle.
Wood from the outside rings of large trunks is much heaver and harder.  It appears to still be somewhat brittle.  I would compair the best Bradford Pear to "wild" Black Cherry.  It is just a bit harder but not much.

Thanks
David

[lake flyer]

Wylden, thanks for posting the question, because I had never considered bradford pear as a possible bow wood. We have lots of bradfords and callery pears here and the branches break off all the time. I am a novice to bowmaking and really don't know the questions to ask, so this is an interesting thread.