What Type of Trees are These?

[Siyah Later]

After thinking that all I had access to was yellow birch and soft maple, I was quite excited to come across a different type of tree.  The only problem is I'm not sure what it is.  I thought some of you more knowledgeable folks might be able to help me out.  I took some photos of three different trees, two of which are very similar and one of which is a bit different.  They all have the same leaf structure.  I'm inclined to believe that the odd one out is ash, and perhaps the other two are as well but the bark is much different.  I'm not intending to cut these specific trees (The one is huge!), I just need to know what type they are and then I'll look for an appropriate sized tree.  This is in central Canada by the way. 






The leaves have opposite branching and a single outward leaf at the end of each group.

Thanks!

[bubbles]

Ash and black cherry I think.

[Siyah Later]

I hadn't thought of black cherry but after looking at some pictures I'm almost sure that you are correct.  Follow up question; how do these woods compare to yellow birch?  From what I've read some people like ash and cherry, some people don't.  However, yellow birch isn't exactly known as a great bow wood and I'm having good luck with it, so as long as the ash and cherry are at least as good I'd love to get some variety in my bow building.

[Mo_coon-catcher]

I agree, looks like ash and black cherry. Not sure why kind of ash. But I've worked with white ash. I would say work it like hickory but it didn't seem quite as snappy as hickory. I havmt worked with cherry yet, though I have a pile of some good stuff drying now. But from what I've heard, I would rawhide or ainew back it. And from what people have said its bad about fretting if the tiller isn't perfect.

Kyle

[Jim Davis]

An ash bow needs to be quite bit wider than a hickory. I used it a lot when I lived in Maine an had no Osage or hickory. Tried to make one cherry bow. Not again.

[chamookman]

My very first Bow was a Black Cherry stave (all Heart wood) , backed with Pin-Cherry Bark. Bob

[Marc St Louis]

Definitely Ash and BC.  If you have those then is surprising you don't have Sugar Maple as well, which is a better bow wood than any of the wood species you have mentioned so far

[mikekeswick]

I'm not too hot on Canadian trees but......do I see a maple leaf in the right side background on the 2nd picture?

[bubbles]

You sure do.....  good eye.

[Siyah Later]

Thanks for the replies.  There's lots of sugar maple in the region, but in the land that I have access to there's only soft maple.  However, if it's really that good I may be able to figure out a way to get some.  I'm tempted to try black cherry just because it sounds like it's a very nice looking wood.

[Knotty]

It sounds beautiful.. And it sure looks beautiful aswell.

[SLIMBOB]

Love Sugar Maple, but Black Cherry for me at least has been fruitless.  I love the looks and I was enamored with some of the things written about it by Tim Baker, but I never could get one to hold together.  3 up 3 down.  The wood seems very brittle.  They may take no set but I think that's because the back gives up long before the belly gets much pressure put on it.  I would try it again with the right stave, but better choices available.  Maple being a good one.

[Siyah Later]

So after all this talk about sugar maples I thought I better do a little more research and check again.  After looking at some leaves I'm now quite sure that I've found both sugar and red maple (before I thought it was all red maple).  Looks like I have better bow wood than I thought!  Thanks for the information and recommendations.