Eastern Washington Bow Wood Help

[whyem93]

Hi, I'm totally new to crafting my own bows but i love it! I have attempted on cedar 12 times and all of them exploded in my face. I'm starting to think that cedar is not a good bow wood. I live in eastern Washington state. Spokane to be exact. After much searching the internet but no success, I still can't find the bow wood that natives used in my area. Quite frankly, i just want to know what wood i can use in this area. Also, any pointers to bow making would be a great plus.

[Pat B]

Western re cedar isn't necessarily good bow wood but you have others in your area that makes great bows....yew, vine maple, cascara, choke cherry, ocean spray and others. You may even have locust; not a native but introduces al along the west coast.

[whyem93]

Thanks, I'll look for those, but i don't live near the coast. I'm on the border with Idaho, will i find an occasional yew there?

[wizardgoat]

You live a few hours from yew trees

[Aaron H]

Imo, being a few hours from yew trees.  I would make that trip any day of the week!

[Billinthedesert]

There's an embarassment of vine maple on the wet side of the Cascades, in addition to yew, elderberry, cascara, Pacific dogwood et al!

[Pat B]

I assume then that you are in the high desert or grasslands. Juniper, choke cherry is only a guess but I'm not familiar with the flora in your area.

[Accipiter]

If you live near Idaho, then there is certainly yew to be had in the mountains, as well as Ocean spray and probably Douglas/Mountain maple, juniper, chokecherry, etc. Scrubby areas near streams are going to be your best bet for all of those species, except maybe juniper. Non native trees include black locust, plum and various elms, which are common trees at old homesteads and near urban areas. The trick will be finding straight staves! Red-cedar wood is awesome, but not for bow's!

[JackCrafty]

Your area is part of The Great Basin.  The Shoshone tribe (Western) is probably your best bet when researching the type of bows used in your area.

I recommend that you use sinew-backed juniper.  The bows were not as short or wide as those along the coast. They were also not painted with patterns on the back.  I would make the bow 56" long and 1-1/2" wide (at the most) with two layers of sinew and wrapped 4" to 5" on the non-bending tips.  Maybe slightly recurved...  But a simple D-shape profile was most common as far as I know.

[Peacebow_Coos]

I agree about the juniper/sinew combo, that'd be most likely.  Also, I heard from a gentleman in idaho that there's syringa or mock orange that grows to bow size and was one of the preffered woods for selfbows and backed bows by natives in Idaho.  Might be worth looking into.

[whyem93]

Yes I am located in the high grasslands, very dry around here. That rain shadow effect blocks off the moisture, but where can i find juniper? Would i need to go into the mountains?

[Springbuck]

  Juniper in the foothills.  CUT ONLY WHERE LEGAL.  Juniper trees can approach 1000 years old.  Look for a big tree with spreading branches and cut a stave from the top side of a long shaded limb at the base of the tree.

 mountain mahogany is AMAZING bow wood, if you can find a stave of it.  I have it all over Uah, but it is scrubby.  The only satves I found were in large thickets of tall trees in a wash/canyon in the extreme NW corner of Utah.

If you have to forage in town, look for vacant lots, river bottoms, along roads, and ditchbanks.  Elm, plum, locust, ash, and various other domestic-gone-volunter trees will grow there.

 Your mountain foothills and mid-elevations should have canyon maple, juniper, oak scrub and the like.

If all else fails, find a couple of ash shovel handles, with growth rings the whole length, or nearly, cut off the tapered part where the shovel head goes, chase a ring, and splice at the handle.

[vinemaplebows]

Start with getting a book and learning your trees and shrubs in this state......You may find more wood than you think.

[Blacktail]

well,i live in central oregon..and the common wood here is juniper and it makes a wonderful bow when sinew backed..i learned from keenan howard that BIG BRANCHS are the best wood..i have all ready gotten 12 branchs for this year...when making bows from juniper you do have to over build the limbs(make them thicker)...one other bow wood you should look up for your area would be service berry...the nez perce indians used it...if you have any other questions JUST YELL..john