Birch Bow

[NorthernHunter]

hey everyone,
im new to the forum and i have been reading and learning alot. i have been trying out diff wood from my area and i am using wood from a birch tree right now because i used willow for my last one and it broke first time but it was prob my fault for rushing it lol. but im taking this one nice and slow and i was wondering what to back my bow with i was going to use hide to back my bow because i dont have any sinew to sinew back it or is there another kind of wood i can get in northern alberta that would be better to back my birch bow with? or would it be good to just cut another piece of birch to back it or maybe a piece of willow? again im very new to this so any help and info is greath

thanks
Billy

[adb]

Hi,
Birch is OK bow wood, but I'd back it. Quarter sawn hickory 1/8", bamboo (maybe), rawhide, flax, or silk will all make good backings.
Willow is pretty crappy bow wood. It's no wonder your first attempt failed. I live in Sask., and there aren't many native bow woods here, either. I import most of my wood... yew, osage, hickory, etc. Try Windsor plywood, I've purchased some excellent wood from them.

[Hillbilly]

If it's a tree stave with unviolated back, and designed long/wide enough it shouldn't need backing. Rawhide would work if you feel it needs it. And willow is very marginal as bow wood, I wouldn't try to make a willow bow myself, just asking for failure.

[NorthernHunter]

thanks for the info guys.
ya the piece i cut is about 8 feet tall right now until i trim it and stuff and its almost 4 inchs wide so i hope thats good enough to make a nice enough bow that wont break
 i think i will try the raw hide as a backing for the bow just to make sure it wont break.
 ya willow works not to bad as a quick bow if you dont try to shape it and you just bend it a bit lol.

[richpierce]

Paper birch is not as good as yellow birch.  There's no ash up there, eh?  What did the northern plains NDNs use?

[Kegan]

Birch is actually a pretty decent bow wood- a friend of mine built his first bow with it, and it shots like a dream. Some thoughts though:

Decrown it- a flat back is stronger than a round one in weak-tension woods. I've done this several times on weak local maple bows, and Tyler (the formentioned friend) did the same with a rasp and his bow is in perfect working order.

Make it wide. At least two inches for a flatbow with a stiff handle.

Make it long. It isn't the dense-est, so a 68-70" bow with narrowed tips shouldn't have any more handshock than a 66" Osage bow.

Leave it strung for at least twenty-four hours after reaching brace height. This usually stresses the wood enough that ven bows that I've violated the back on or decrwoned too quickly help. This, and good slow tilering should yield a wonderful bow rivaling ones of "better" woods. Paul Comstock has made bows in this fashion (though I believe his are 66" long) as well.


 

[a finnish native]

Birch is stronger in tension than in compression so backing it won't do any good, but only add stress to the belly. I have had birch bows with really crappy tillers and still held in one piece. bad cryshals though.. I would go for a 68" bow and wide enough with a flat belly and somewhere around 40-50#

[NorthernHunter]

thanks for all the info guys you guys sure seem to know your stuff
i have two more questions
is it a good idea to use a bandsaw to cut it out
and also how should i shape the handle?

[DanaM]

Welcome to our addiction No need to go 4" wide you want a bow not a ski   I assume your talking about white birch?
I would think 2' wide for 2/3 the length of the limb tapered from that point to 1/2" nocks should work. You didn't specify your draw length
but I would start out at 70" you can always shorten the bow later after tillering is done. If you feel the need to back it linen, silk, rawhide,
even heavy paper will all work to hold it together. If you go the wood backing route now were talking a whole new ball game because you
have to flatten the back so you have a flat glueing surface, you have to do the same with the backing material, proper glue and clamping etc.
I suggest you stay with the selfbow, post pictures as you tiller and we will be glad to help ya.

[Eric Kol]

Hey, great question, as I too am new at this and am eyeing every tree that is moderatly straight with a new glint in my eye.

Kegan, you had mentioned decrowning the stave. Is this literally taking a draw knife or plane and making a 2" wide dimensional "board" out of the stave, regardless of the back rings? I guess I had the notion that hickory was a wood you might be able to do this to and get awy with it, but I did not know what other woods can have violated rings and not knock your teeth out. And if this is indeed the case, are you recomending this for a backed or unbacked bow?

Other than the yellow birch, what similar woods are there that you might recomend the same bow style for?

Thanks Guys, Eric

[snedeker]

Decrowning is, as you say, just flattening off.  I would think the mentioned dimensions would work well too with sweet birch and hackberry for example

I made a silk backed sweet birch board bow last year that came out surprisingly well.  Didn't like steam bending though.  64", 1 3/4" wide, 58#/27". Sweet birch is an E US tree though and doesn't extend up into the north country

I've been wondering what the subarctic indians used for bows, so many soft wood trees up there.  One think I was wondering about was sizable woody shrubs with tough wood.  I've been thinking about Silverberry, Elaeagnus commutata, related to the European Russian Olive, whose range extends frin the Yukon, Manitoba, to Quebec, Minnesota, adn down to Utah.  Grows as a week around here in central PA in hedgerows,  Has a nice thick (up to 3") stem that is often non crooked or twisted and curved for natural reflex.  I have a piece cut, feels pretty heavy, and am going to try it some day when I'm caught up on projects.

Dave

[adb]

Hi,
A Finnish Native: All woods are stronger in tension than compression. It is OK to back birch. I've done it with several backings, and all have turned out well. Wide, flat limbs are the way to go. If your finished bows are showing chrysalling on the belly, your tiller is poor. Chrysalling is a sign of over stress. You're asking too much of the material you are using.

[Kegan]

Hey, great question, as I too am new at this and am eyeing every tree that is moderatly straight with a new glint in my eye.

Kegan, you had mentioned decrowning the stave. Is this literally taking a draw knife or plane and making a 2" wide dimensional "board" out of the stave, regardless of the back rings? I guess I had the notion that hickory was a wood you might be able to do this to and get awy with it, but I did not know what other woods can have violated rings and not knock your teeth out. And if this is indeed the case, are you recomending this for a backed or unbacked bow?

Other than the yellow birch, what similar woods are there that you might recomend the same bow style for?

Thanks Guys, Eric

Yup, but do watch the grain some- just avoid gouges. It turns it into a nice, evenly stressed piece that is better for more "finicky woods". I believe Tim Baker talks about using it on a short bow in TBB1. "Weaker" woods take better to decrowning than strong woods, spreading out the stress so singular spots don't have to work as hard, and the edges aren't just "dead wood". I've done this with a maple bow where its sister stave that wasn't decrowned snapped in two. If you don't have gouges, you won't have to back it. Just give it a 24 hour settling time at full brace (51/2" or so) before tillering it further.

Northern- The handle can be carved how ever you want, as long as it doesn't bend in the grip or fades if you're planning for a flatbow.