It's my wife's fault! (Updated and w/pics)

[MulchMaker]

Hello I am Zach. I've been lurking here reading learning all I could to make shoot arrows. I've started to get pretty good at making them too. My wife says I would like to shoot some of those arrows. I reminded her that wouldn't be a good idea out of her compound bow. She said you make nice arrows, so make me an nice bow and you have the tools. No excuses. So then I read and read and read. Time for making a bow. I went outside found a choke cherry tree and a buckthorn. Mostly I chose those because they were on my property and I could identify them in the winter. She has a draw length of 26 1/2 inches. I also have some black locust live and standing dead. As this is my first bow I expect to break at least one or  two before I can get one in my wife's hands. It's gonna be a good winter here in upstate NY for drying bow stages and making mulch. I'd appreciate any help anyone is willing to offer, please be brutally honest as I can take it. I've got a few pics to show you where I am at I'm a little worried about the buckthorn stave with a knot on the belly. Thanks for your interest and opinions and help.
-Zach

[wizardgoat]

Welcome to the site. Look for  very clean and straight staves for your first bows.
The one in the middle looks pretty good. If you have access to black locust for sure cut some and get them seasoning. I've had good results with speed drying black locust.
If those staves you cut are still very green, you should seal the ends and strap them to something rigid, like a form or a 2x4

[MulchMaker]

thank you for the fast reply, staves are green and I sealed the ends with spar urethane. 

[bjrogg]

Welcome to PA MulchMaker, glad your wife gave you the motivation to take another step in the primitive world. As wizard said nice and straight not a lot of dips and dives for the 1st will make it easier. Also length helps spread the stress. I agree with wizard the second picture middle stave looks like your best option. If I'm looking at the buckthorn right that knot is in belly may even all be removed during tillering. Your back off bow will be on other side of stave. I would in courage you to keep looking for good trees to harvest cause when your wife shoots her bow you'll be hopelessly addicted to this world. Nothing like shooting your own selfbow. Look forward to seeing your progress just remember take your time tillering and preparing back of your bow.
Bjrogg

[PEARL DRUMS]

If you cut standing dead black locust and rough a bow out you could finish it in a month or so. Its already mostly dry as its dead and I'm sure your humidity is very much like ours, about 30% right now. That makes for fast drying. Stand it on top of a furnace register to really speed it along. 

As far as the pieces in your pic, its hard to tell without seeing the backs.

[MulchMaker]

Wizardgoat So I've gone out and cut some Black locust, you guys are gonna get me into trouble!! That's just fine with me though. I figure if I cut it down I'm gonna make it into a bow. If it breaks it was still a bow. I'll learn how to use my tools better and the bow will teach me the wood better. I'll update this post every time I work on it, this sight has some great build alongs, maybe this one will help someone else get their feet wet too. Just for scale the chokecherry stave in the middle is about 7 1/2 feet long. bjrogg that buckthorn knot if it is gone after tillering,  the other side of that is (or appears) flawless. It would be short but I've got to try it out. . I'll take some more detailed pics of the staves when I get the other staves ready. PEARL DRUMS I guess you just answered my question on standing dead locust, guess I'll go outside again and cut down some of them, I scouted 6 of them that are very strait and look relatively knot free. So I'll start with a ten stave count or so and see if that gets my wife a bow and myself a new skill. I started making arrows and that's fun I bet making bows is just as fun. Anything I should look for in the standing dead that other than strait and knot free? I suppose bug holes are bad.
Thanks again

[GlisGlis]

One of my first (still working) bow was a BL from a standing dead tree.
I got many useful advices from the forum
here the link
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,47135.msg644147.html#msg644147

[MulchMaker]

GlisGlis very very nice work! I love that bow! Standing dead locust is everywhere around here. And your right that thread has pretty much all my questions answered about standing dead locust. I'm gonna update this post with pictures of my new stash with better detailed pics than before after the Holliday company leaves and I get time to fiddle with things again.  Thanks for directing me to such a good read.

[MulchMaker]

Buckthorn back approx. 5'4'' belly  chokecherry back approximately 7'6" knot on back in center choke cherry  black locust that I think I took to far past floor tiller but had a lot of fun learning the wood and how it "feels" . I think this one is for the fire   , ,  on floor tiller is there a general demension I could use so I don't get rid of to much ? I know all wood is different but do you guys have a dimension you lop  it down to before you even bother checking the floor tiller? Am I headed in the right direction with any of these staves? What pics would you like to see to answer these questions? Thank you so much for taking the time to look
-Zach

[MulchMaker]

Ha! Figured out how to get my pics to show up!! See you can teach us old dogs new tricks!

[Hawkdancer]

Mulch maker,
That looks more like a potential atlatl than firewood   I agree with Pat, in another post sort of "If it on't make a bow, it will probably make an atlatl!".   On the other hand, you will probably spend more time explaining how to use an atlatl and dart, than casting your darts . Take my word fit it!   Sooner or later, I will be able to keep every dart in the backstop, then I can put up a real target.  Haven't started the bow making yet, though
Hawkdancer

[MulchMaker]

Hawkdancer, that sounds like an excellent idea the wife and I could use an atlatl and, it will get me used to my tools in the meantime while I'm waiting for my staves to dry. Been making arrows but it's a lot different than bows, 90% of learning a new skill is proficiency with your new tools. As soon as they feel like another part of my arm I will have passed my first hurdle. I just hope I'm on the right track. I consider those last two pics my "practice stave" on floor tillering as I understood the process I know I took it a little past that, but now I know. Hopefully I have understood the process and when I get into that chokecherry I will not go to far because of it. Thanks for the great idea

[George Tsoukalas]

There are buildalongs on my site. Jawge
http://traditionalarchery101.com/

[DuBois]

I agree with PD.
Go for the locust. If it is bug free you should be able to get a few staves to play with from a tree.

[MulchMaker]

standing dead black locust is on my Monday morning agenda right after coffee.  Get it processed down and over my heat register. Thanks for the reply Dubois. Should be able to get some 4-5 inch round trees.