I'm about to cut up a bunch of staves and put them in the firepit.
Why would I do such a thing?
Because I'm sick of this %#$&ing @&% ~#&$ wood!
Last summer I came across a sugar maple tree that had fallen. It still had green leaves on it, and the wood looked sound. It had probably fallen due to a combination of wind and a scar/hole weakening the tree close to the ground, but all of the wood above that looked sound and strong. I cut it up, split it up, and have had all of the staves drying in my basement for over a year.
I let a few months go by and I grabbed one of the staves last fall. Roughed it out, made sure it was dry, and got to work. Started getting after it, tillered the bow most of the way out -- and then set it aside because it became apparent the draw weight wasn't going to be where I wanted it. Pulled it back out of the Corner of Shame this spring, started tweaking it, and then saw a series of frets on the bottom limb, seemingly coming from nowhere. Put it down to less than perfect tillering and moved on. That "bow" was 66", just under 2" at its widest point, but maybe width-tapered a little too aggressively for the desired weight, and may have contributed to the stress on the belly.
Take two: Brought a roughed-out stave to the Marshall gathering with me, and went to work on it most of the weekend there, doing (relatively) little shooting in comparison. A little shorter, about 64", but I intended to let it bend through the handle a bit -- narrowing/stiffening that portion just a bit. Got a good bend started while at the Rendezvous, brought it home and tillered it out there. The tiller is not bad, if not perfect. At about 26" I notice a fret on the outer limb, and later another, on the inner limb.
I was willing to accept that this was down to poor tillering again, and decided sugar maple needs to be babied. Keep the next one long. Keep it wide. Consider trapping it, aggressively. Tiller carefully, and smart.
After that one I pulled another bow from the Corner of Shame that was begging to be finished up. A hop-hornbeam that started with a lot of promise, but was really whip-tillered and therefore was going to come out below weight when I tillered it out. Again, the mid-limb probably too narrow for weight due to over-aggressive width taper (a bad habit of mine). But the result was a pretty nifty little bow. Only 37#@ 28", it actually tosses an arrow pretty good. Is the tiller perfect? I'd argue, no, it's not. But considering where it was, I'll take it.
Did it fret? No, it did not. The limbs settled just about even when unstrung, and the tips actually retained just a hint of reflex.
So with that one done, I tried maple bow no. 3.
Longer: 68". Wider: 2 1/4". Better width taper, with more wood at mid-limb. Trapped.
Roughed it out a week or two ago. Got it bending. Heated out some twist. Evened out the limbs. Got an initial impression of the bend. Tempered it and added in some reflex, about 2 1/2".
Yesterday I got it to a low brace and started pulling on it. Limbs look even. Bend looks good, though will of course be refined through tillering. Pull it to 12 inches, then 14, then 16. Check it over. Give it a few pulls to 18". Still plenty of weight to play with. Still retaining 2" of reflex.
Check it over, and there it is: A single fret at mid-limb on the top limb.
Is the wood too thin there? No. Is it bending too much there, with my eyes as the judge? No. Is the tiller perfect yet? No, but getting there. And this is on the limb that, so far, has taken less set.
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I know that a fret is a sign of an imperfect tiller, and by no means would I claim to have ever produced a perfect tiller. It's just that this particular wood, from this particular tree, seems to have absolutely no tolerance to imperfection whatsoever. A fret at 18" and low brace, with hardly any apparent set.
I believe sugar maple can make a good bow. I even believe that I could make sugar maple into a good bow. But not from this tree. Someone at Elm Hall pointed out that it was a wind-fall. I think that's a big thing there. The wood from this tree does not want to become a bow, and that's one of the few things I've learned about making bows: If a piece of wood doesn't want to become a bow, you can't make it. That and: It's just a piece of wood; there are always others.
So this is a matter of three strikes and you're out. I don't see the point in trying again, and then again. I can go longer, yes. I can make a 6ft+ monster that I'll never realistically get much use out of. I can go slower yet, and more carefully. I can do better.
Or I can stick with what I know works: For my neck of the wood, ironwood (hop-hornbeam).
So sayonara, stack of sugar maple. It's been fun. Now let's make a bonfire out of you. Let's light the night sky and tell the world of my failure. And hopefully toast to future success.
