Ash Bows

[perry f.]

Around here the emerald ash borers are killing all the ash trees. They are being cut everywhere. My buddy is a logger and he gets a lot of ash logs. Just curious if ash makes a good bow? If you have pics, please post. Thanks

[Pat B]

Ash can make a good bow but I've never had luck with it. If you could choose the tree(s) you wanted it might be worthwhile but with all the osage you got, why bother.   

[WillS]

I've made too many ash bows to count, mainly in the 80lb - 115lb range but some above, some below etc.  It likes to be very dry, it loves heat treating and will chrysal on you if you breathe too close to it or look at it funny.

Ash bows tend to be wider than similar poundage bows of other wood species - this helps keeps the set and chrysals to a minimum.  It works reasonably well if you have the right tools, and is a bit finicky about tillering i.e. get it right, don't ever pull beyond a certain point if the tiller isn't perfect. 

I have found that ash is absolutely perfect for making into bows that you can sell in order to buy decent bow wood.

[dragonman]

White ash will make great bows. Make them 2" wide and 68" long for 50 to 60lb bows. Heat treating helps if you do it gently and not too much. I have made many like this and they shoot well, many I have made shoot faster than some yew bows I have made.
People underestimate ash.

[perry f.]

Thanks for all the replies. Pat B, my buddy Rob and I cut quite a bit of Osage,but we are wanting to cut several more. We also want to experiment with other bow woods as well. Just trying to stock up on some material for years to come.😬

[Dances with squirrels]

With the ash borers killing it all like they are here, be very careful to use only living trees because it will degrade once dead... and when exactly does it begin to degrade when it dies by way of ash borers? Hard to say.

I've made some ash bows and would like to have cut more, but I haven't cut any since the bugs got into them. Wish now I would have cut a bunch. What a waste.

[Pat B]

Having different bow woods is a good idea and some folks have made good bows from ash.

[Swampman]

The first tree I cut for bows was white ash and my first successful hunting weight bow was from that tree.  I still have that bow and shoot it from time to time.  It is a 60 pound bow with about 3 inches of set.  The set is not the wood's fault though, that is my tillering skills at the time.  I made several other bows from that tree and some turned out to be great bows.  I am currently working on my last stave from that tree.  Good advice from others, wide and long is a good design.

Mike

[riverrat]

i like ash, white ash. but had a guy once give me a red ash stave. said it make a kids bow. i ended up making a flat bow that i put working reflexed tips on. with the set it took it was a reflex deflex that shot great. a little light about 37 pounds at full draw. but it shot nice. i shot the snot out of that bow. it was my favorite for a long time. till my dog,at that time, chewed a tip off. i dont make very wide and super long bows. it worked decent enough though.Tony

[OTDEAN]

The best bow I ever made and still shoot is my 60lb Ash flat bow.  It took a very long time for me to figure out how to make authentic English Ash longbows that do not take a lot of set.  When using Ash in the UK I would make a flat bow everytime, easier to do, less chance of failure and they shoot just as well if not better than a well made Ash longbow.  To make a decent Ash longbow with low set and no compression damage takes a lot of skill that can only attained by a lot of failures but is well worth it if you like a challenge. 

Dean

[Stoner]

Mage a great sinew backed Grumley style static recurve. John

[PEARL DRUMS]

I'm not a fan. I would use elm over ash 10 out of 10 times if I had to pick a whitewood, other than HHB.

I see a lot of replies, but few are talking white ash as you are.

[Dances with squirrels]

I've only used white ash.

Pearly, I'd rather use HHB than any other white wood myself.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Have any HHB around you Jeff? We are covered in it up here. Like osage in Indiana!

[Dakota Kid]

I've made two decent white ash board bows and one good one. They always have good ash boards at the saw mills around here. I haven't made one from a stave yet. If I do I'll go after a green ash just for something different.

I agree with the other guys about HHB, one of my favorite woods without question. I just made two mollies this fall and they are wicked, fast and powerful.