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Author Topic: how do you go about acquiring bow staves?  (Read 4395 times)

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Offline Arthur.s.Pankratz

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how do you go about acquiring bow staves?
« on: January 12, 2016, 10:44:27 am »
the main thing that has kept me from making any thing but a few board bows is that the land that i have access to pretty much only has mesquite brush or grass and weeds

but there is a lot oak in the surrounding area that looks really nice and i have been tempted to stop and cut some in the area between the shoulder of the road the fence but i don't know if that would be legal (i live in Texas if that helps)

also how do you tend to approach land owners to ask if you can cut down one (or more) of the trees on their land?
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Offline BowEd

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Re: how do you go about acquiring bow staves?
« Reply #1 on: January 12, 2016, 10:47:25 am »
Have a bow with ya.Show your enthusiasium about your hobby.Ask him if he does'nt mind.Chances are he'll let ya.
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BowEd
You got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything.
Ed

Offline dirthas

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Re: how do you go about acquiring bow staves?
« Reply #2 on: January 12, 2016, 12:21:01 pm »
I'm also in Texas and have the same issue Arthur. The few times I have cut my own staves has been because I got lucky through existing connections. This seems to be the most fruitful approach but "getting lucky" isn't exactly sustainable.

Beadman, have you used this approach before? You just drive up to the person's house and ask?
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Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: how do you go about acquiring bow staves?
« Reply #3 on: January 12, 2016, 12:24:37 pm »
You can get good staves on ebay for $40-50 and shipping. That's pretty fair if you have none and no access.
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Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.

riverrat

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Re: how do you go about acquiring bow staves?
« Reply #4 on: January 12, 2016, 12:29:19 pm »
i just mention i make bows and stuff to folks i meet. youd be surprised at how many times im told " hey we have a small woods out back your more than welcome to couple small trees if you want" . or im driving around and notice a tree downed by a storm , i have a wood burner sooo, i knock on door hey did you plan on getting that tree removed? most times im answered with, depends on how much you charge" i say oh heck ill do it for 30 bucks. most folks jump on that. i get back my time and fuel. i get firewood, sometimes i end up with a stave or two.also when the city cuts down trees, i ask for them :) Tony
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Offline osage outlaw

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Re: how do you go about acquiring bow staves?
« Reply #5 on: January 12, 2016, 12:31:50 pm »
Talk to your local tree services.  If they hook you up with a good tree give them a case of barley pop.  I bet they will remember you in the future. 
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I started out with nothin' and I still got most of it left

Offline Eric Krewson

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Re: how do you go about acquiring bow staves?
« Reply #6 on: January 12, 2016, 12:42:50 pm »
If I ever run out of osage (not likely) and have no where to cut, I will put an ad in the paper stating that I  will pay top dollar for standing straight osage trees. I bet my phone will be ringing off the wall.
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Offline Badger

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Re: how do you go about acquiring bow staves?
« Reply #7 on: January 12, 2016, 12:50:50 pm »
  My bow wood hunting safaris always end up costing me more money than $50.00 per stave. Now I just keep my eyes open for free opportunities to harvest a tree comming down but for the most part I buy most of mine.
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Offline TimPotter

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Re: how do you go about acquiring bow staves?
« Reply #8 on: January 12, 2016, 04:51:26 pm »
I've found what riverrat wrote above to be true.

 I'm lucky to live near some woods and have 2.5 acres of wooded land of my own. I've learned to treat my property like a bow farm. I prune black locust, black cherry, walnut and erc as it grows. I try to always have a few tree per season to harvest.
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Offline Knoll

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Re: how do you go about acquiring bow staves?
« Reply #9 on: January 12, 2016, 05:07:49 pm »
Trading for them is viable option right here on PA.
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... alone in distant woods or fields, in unpretending sproutlands or pastures tracked by rabbits, even in a bleak and, to most, cheerless day .... .  I suppose that this value, in my case, is equivalent to what others get by churchgoing & prayer.  Hank Thoreau, 1857

Offline LittleBen

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Re: how do you go about acquiring bow staves?
« Reply #10 on: January 12, 2016, 10:02:29 pm »
I live in The land of hardwood, so maybe this doesn't apply, but I just keep my eyes peeled. Got a load of mulberry billets visiting a park one day with my wife. Park service had cut em and left hem neatly on the side of the trail 'for me'.

I think the other points made here are very good as well.
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Offline willie

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Re: how do you go about acquiring bow staves?
« Reply #11 on: January 12, 2016, 11:04:24 pm »
highways, powerlines, gaslines and other right of ways are frequently  recleared.
find out where the projects are coming up, and make inquiries ahead of the crews.

many people are happy that some usefulness can be made from condemned timber that might otherwise be wasted

r.o.w reclears are especially productive if you are into sapling staves
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Offline BowEd

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Re: how do you go about acquiring bow staves?
« Reply #12 on: January 12, 2016, 11:40:44 pm »
Yes I honestly have,and they have let me.
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BowEd
You got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything.
Ed

Offline BowEd

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Re: how do you go about acquiring bow staves?
« Reply #13 on: January 12, 2016, 11:57:46 pm »
You introduce yourself and tell them your intentions.Tell them the time and day you'll be there.Clean up afterwards.Come back later with a bow to give them from their own property.Chances are they'll remember you for sure.Be respectful,and appreciative.You are'nt begging here.Your showing a passion for something you like to do.
The only staves I trade for are wood that does'nt grow in my area.I've lived in the country all of my life.I'm a retired farmer.All of the other suggestions are good here previous too.Storm clean up,Tree service work etc.There is a lot of bow wood wasted all of the time.In this area osage posts are cut for fence lines all the time.Posts are for sale at elevator coop lots,sale barn lots,and all sorts of places.
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BowEd
You got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything.
Ed

Offline Dakota Kid

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Re: how do you go about acquiring bow staves?
« Reply #14 on: January 13, 2016, 03:29:25 am »
I don't know about Texas, but up here(Pennsylvania) dairy farmers and ranchers use black locust(mainly) or osage(farther south) for fence posts because of the rot resistance. There's an Amish fellow near our camp that said I can go through his seasoned fence post supply to look for good staves if I need to. Locust is everywhere here, so I never really needed to. 

Trading in the forum is a really good way to get wood out of your area. Most of the guys who live in the land of osage recognized the plight of those not so fortunate. They usually have a stave or two to part with if you have something desirable to trade, like Texas Chert for example.
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I have nothing but scorn for all weird ideas other than my own.
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