Rowan/Mountain Ash warp

[Chris3kilo]

Hi, I'm Chris from Denmark. It's great to finally be part of this awesome forum! 

I just started bowbuilding 3 weeks ago and I'm havin a hard time finding the right wood for my bow. I read that mountain ash would be great bow wood and we got alot of that here where i live.
My is though, that everytime I split a log it ends up with crazy proppeller twists even though there's no sign of the wood being twisted when i look at the hole log. Is there a way to work around these twists or some way to better indentify twisted wood?

The biodiversity here is quite poor, so if not mountain ash, I can choose between birch, beech, pine and european oak ... :embarassed:

[SLIMBOB]

I can't speak to your variety of Ash, but with the woods around here just read the bark.  If it spirals up the tree, leave it and find one where the bark runs straight up the tree.  Once split it will be straight end to end.  It may dry into some degree of prop twist, but that can be dealt with, by ignoring it or heat straightening.

[Chris3kilo]

Mountain ash isn't really ash. It has a smooth bark, that's what makes it so tricky to read.

[BowEd]

Welcome Chris....On some logs or types of wood it can be hard to see twist.Persimmon was hard for me to see.You get better at it as time moves along.One thing if twist is visible looking at the bark as slight as it might be it will be even more pronounced in the wood yet after you remove the bark.
The only mountain ash here is as a landscape tree in towns with it's red berries on it.Not the greatest of wood.White or green ash here is better.European oak and birch would be better I think but don't hold me to it I've never worked it before.Basing my guess on that woods density and tension/compression qualities.How about mountain maple your way?
There's always a bit of tweaking done with heat most times to get a bow out of a stave.

[Chris3kilo]

Thanks. I'm not sure about mountain maple but actually we got alot of Sycamore (I think it's called in america). Maybe I'm better off trying that. We do have some fraxinus excelsior Ash, along highways, but I'd have to buy some running shoes for that, not sure it's allowed to chop down. 

[SLIMBOB]

Our younger Ash trees  around here have a smooth bark as well and that does complicate it a bit.  The question I would ask is whether you are cutting trees with spiral type growth, or is it straight and just drying into the propeller twist?  If it is the former, then work on identifying that grain and leave those trees alone. 

[Chris3kilo]

Yes our young ash trees are the same actually.
The mountain ash logs where twisted when i splitted them moments after chopping them down. No seasoning or anything. I swear one of them twisted 180 degrees on 5 foot and the tree was completely straight-looking

[bushboy]

If it's white wood I would try reducing it to a bow shape without splitting it.use a bandsaw, chainsaw or hatchet.you can also kerf cut it with a circular saw and then split it.

[Chris3kilo]

Thought about that too bushboy, but doesn't that violate the grains and make the bow weak?

[DC]

You might try cutting in a different area. I think the twist is a genetic thing so maybe get a few kilometers away they may be straighter. others think it's caused by wind and other environmental conditions. Either way, try a different spot. If you can find a place where the threes have to reach to find light (surrounded by taller trees) it may help.

[Chris3kilo]

Aaah interesting DC! That sounds like a good idea. Thanks!

[SLIMBOB]

Spiral grain is an ender for me.  All the trouble cutting and hauling and splitting, and then you have very little to show for the effort.  Osage is my go to wood and I can read the bark pretty well now.  There was a time when I could not and a lot of time was wasted.  I learned to read the bark and can come home with pretty decent stuff now.  Same with most of the white woods.  As Ed said, Persimmon is a bit tough because of the smooth bark, but if you look closely you can eliminate the really bad twists.  Prop twist I just deal with.

[Pat B]

Mountain ash is not a true ash like Chris said. It is known as Rowan(Sorbus aucuparia) and it does make good bows. Trying to see spiral growth in a smooth bark tree can be difficult but I think if you study it closely you can see it. Maybe a tree that grows in a valley where not much wind will affect it, that has to grow tall and straight will be a better place to look. Probably not a place mountain ash grows.
 The birch, beech and European oak should all make good bows if you design the bow to work with the strengths and weakness of each of these woods. If I'm not mistaken even pine was used in the Scandinavian countries in the past.

[Chris3kilo]

Thanks for great answers. i'm kinda hooked on a slim bow style and a sapling rowan would (from what I've read) be perfect.
Actually I just got back from a night raid on the highway and got my self a nice 4 inch fraxinus excelsior ash so maybe I don't need rowan at the moment. 
So another question: How should I go on with the seasoning? I was thinking; splitting it, sealing the ends, tying it down on something to prevent warping, and then bring it indoor near a radiator or something. Does that sound ok?

[Chris3kilo]

PatB I've tried beech 2 times and birch 1. They all broke real quick on the tillering stick. But I'm new so it's proberbly on me. Another beech I've tried got to 28" drawlegth and 40lbs. Shot alot of times, and suddently it snapped unprovoked. Had a measurement on the arrow to be sure not to draw it too far. I'm done with beech