Bows from saplings?

[cadet]

There's plenty of material out there about how to select suitable planks and make bows from them; there's at least as much material about how to select a tree for splitting staves, and from there, how to treat them and what to do with them to best effect; but there seems not such a lot out there on what to do to choose and get the best from a sapling (or a long straight branch)...

I've got some nice straight black wattle (Acacia decurrens; yes, I barked it, and will attempt some tanning some time in the future!) and bluegum (Eucalyptus globulus) saplings to play with; have access to Dropping sheoak (Allocasuarina verticillata) saplings, too.

I wonder, do more experienced bowyers than I have some pearls of wisdom to share about how best I might treat them and what I should look for or expect to get the best from them?  Decrown the back?  Or leave the round under-bark surface as the back?  Or use the round underbark surface as a belly?  Base of the trunk as upper or lower limb?  Why?  Seems like a worthwhile chapter that could be squeezed into a hypothetical TBB 5...

[PatM]

 A sapling is just a high crowned stave. Don't view it as SO different.

[PlanB]

Well Cadet, since you know about the TBBs:

TBB1 ---> Bow Design and Construction ---> Ease of Construction 

There's a few pages of description of branch and sapling construction. Mostly un-tillered natural limbs.

Couple of points someone here made if you do work with tillering. One is, a tension strong wood is helpful (because of the crowned back). Two is, shaving away wood reduces both width and thickness at the same time unless you cut down the sides. If you want a certain maximum width at the fades, it sometimes takes a little head scratching, how to achieve that -- particularly on a small diameter sapling, if you don't want to de-crown.

Best thing is to try it and you'll quickly learn what the problems and constraints are.

[stuckinthemud]

Hi, I pretty much can only get hold of wood less than 4 inches across and have found it makes a great bow, my only issue being that for light weight bows I have needed to hollow the limbs slightly because of the width reducing at the same time as the thickness, but I also think that doing so reduces crysals. I prefer hollowing to crowning as I think crowning reduces the strength of the bow, unless it's done right.

[PlanB]

Just a quick search, and turned up George Tsoukalas really clear set of instructions re. sapling bows for a beginning bowyer here:

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,4056.msg56564.html#msg56564

[jimmy]

I've made some sapling/branch bows with pretty good success.  They are fun to make and shoot.  Just tiller the belly as you normally would, but it's a bit more tricky.  As it has already been pointed out, you are making multiple reductions due to high crowned back and not having the typical side profile.  Because of this, you can't lay out the thickness taper on the side.  You have to be a bit more instinctive when tillering.  Start off heavier and string as soon as possible so that you can adjust the bow without coming in under weight.  I personally like to make mine narrow and short, to be shot with a shortened draw length.  They are surprisingly snappy and really fun to shoot.

[dantolin]

What I do with hackberry saplings is to debark them, seal the ends and let them dry for one year. Then I put them in the dry box for a couple of weeks before working with them. Moisture is critical for not having too much set in my experience.
I, as George says too, as a starting point, but not always, select the cleanest part for the back, and then I go with hatchet reducing the belly, with back at full width.
When I have around 1 inch deep in handle area to 5/8 at tips I draw front profile on the belly (yes, specially with light woods longer bows, and 1/3 to 6/10 of the width remaining parallel at 1"3/8 then tapering to a initial 3/4 at tips.)
I start floor tiller, long rope tiller and after first brace I reduce tips to 1/2 inch.
And finish all tillering.
Note:I round the lower limb back trying to imitate upper limb's.
That's the way I do it Hope it hepls