whats your opinion about pear

[Tyke]

Im cutting down a massive pear tree and want to know what peolple have built bows out of pear and how they preform

[wizardgoat]

I heard it's quite brittle, but will make a bow.
I'd try it for sure

[kid bow]

Only one way to find out let us know how that goes

[JoJoDapyro]

I think it is good. The trees do suffer from twisting breaks, but not a stress break mid limb. Two winters ago we had a very early first snow, and the majority of the trees hadn't lost all of their leaves yet. I was picking up tree limbs for 4 months. If I knew then what I know now. Maybe I can get a few staves from you. 

[Pat B]

I think pear is good bow wood although I've never tried it. What kind of pear is it?   Bradford pear, an ornamental tree has weak structure but the wood is strong. The angle that the limbs come off the trunk is steep and the union is the weak point but the wood is strong.

[Tyke]

Im not even sure if it is pear i was told it was fruitless pear

[Tyke]

Heres some Pics

[Pat B]

That looks like Bradford pear. It is a true Pyrus but hybridized for the landscape business. Even though they call them fruitless they produce a small round fruits. The offspring from it can be a nasty, thorny, scrubby tree.

[Tyke]

Thanks pat

[Jax666]

I have two regular pears that need to come down.How big around do they have to be to make a bow?

[Pat B]

2" and up.

[Chadwick]

I don't think she would be pleased to know that you referred to her as a pear.

[JoJoDapyro]

Nah, shes a trooper. She is fine with Pear I'm sure. 

[Springbuck]

  Pear can be gorgeous.  Google pear wood guitars, etc.. astounding looking, but that grain is weird, and I tried to rough out a pear stave once and it just didn't act right.  The grain on the belly went everywhere, wiggled like small tight hairpin wiggles, and chipped out at strange angles when I tried drawknife or machete.  It FEELS weird to work.  I kinda gave up on it when some powder beetles got under the bark and i wasn't sure I could find a new ring.  Made some knife handles, and a couple bow handles.  Beautiful.

But the outside, the back under the bark, before the beetles, showed none of what the split surfaces did. Straight grain lines So I guess it should have held together.  This was from an ornamental flowering pear.

Also once tried some fruit tree trimmings about 1.5" across just to mess with them, and they were very brittle when green, but the wood seemed so different from the log I described above.

[JoJoDapyro]

Pear has very tight grain, that is why it is used in miniature furniture for doll houses. It is also used on the inside of harmonicas because it isn't supposed to warp when it dries, and is supposed to resist mold. With just those 2 characteristics it sounds good to me. The grain is very tight though, chasing a ring would be tough.