saskatoon?

[jayman448]

ive found some saskatoon that is big enough for sapling bows. is there anything i should know about saskatoon?

[Carson (CMB)]

Nice and dense wood. Tends to check if not sealed and stored properly. Most has spiral grain from what I have seen, so I band saw it out rather than split it. I have only made one bow from it, but have roughed out several. I have seen some stout bows made from it.

[DC]

Look for Serviceberry bows, it's the same stuff.

[jayman448]

Darn it! Three days into drying and it split all to heckWhy???

[DC]

Probably the hot dry weather we're enjoying in BC. Did you seal the ends and back(if you de-barked it). Being from a dry place you are going to have to slow down the drying. Out of the sun, out of the wind, I'm trying wrapping it in paper. I heard that slows it down some. My experience is with Ocean Spray mostly but I have done a couple of pieces of Saskatoon. No problem here on the coast buy you have major dry up there.

[bambam]

Just cut a nice straight thick saskatoon tree myself. This time I will let it dry with sealed ends in basement for at least a year. Others I tried dried to a propeller twist. A really tough wood. Have one in the build process now.

[jayman448]

Its been 23C in the day and then pee rain and thunder at night here for the last week. It was de barked, sealed ends in the basement. Maybe the fluxuation did it? The larger piece seems to be fine still. Cirse tha darn thing split so bad its more kindling again. Haha

[mikekeswick]

DE-barked is the problem.
If the wood is prone to checking and you aren't in a rush then a large plastic bag and as many wood shavings as you can find are your friends.

[bambam]

Have tried various methods with this. Do not debark. Seal the ends with glue then let it dry naturally for a year. It will dry with a propeller twist which does not matter. This wood is insanely tough and is worth the wait. I tried waiting 6 months then debarking and flattening one side and attaching it to a board to finish drying. It dried perfectly straight but with the propeller twist. Guess you have to be patient with this wood.

[jayman448]

Patience..... the virtue i do not have.... xD

[jayman448]

I didnt realize how much of thisnstuff was around me! So i got a few (and know where to get a few more). Being so small, how long should i expect to wait for it to dry to perfection? 4 months? 6months? A year?

[Carson (CMB)]

Cutting it this time of year when it is full of moisture doesn't help either. If you debark it, you need to also bandsaw it in half or reduce it with drawknife to avoid checking and of coarse seal the back and ends and store in cool place.

[lostarrow]

Like Carson said. Cut it when the leaves have dropped. Beautiful wood . My personal experience .........................it didn't like to be bent with heat . the test pieces all delaminated between the rings. I've never had another piece of wood do that. Odd.