Juniper?

[Gunnar B.]

Hey y'all I just cut 3-4 staves out of juniper I know I have heard of juniper being used but I do not have any information. If any one has any tips or info on making a bow out of juniper please let me know.

[High-Desert]

Ideally it should be sinew backed, I know some have made it unbacked, but they are long and apparently shoot sluggish. I have only made
 a short sinew back juniper bow, its 54" long. It will be way thicker than you might think. It is extremely soft, considerably more soft than yew. So when you rough out the stave, maybe even start the limbs an inch thick, and even thicker if you are making a longer bow. It works very easy, just be careful around the knots.

[osage outlaw]

Look up some of loefflerchuck's juniper bows

[gfugal]

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,60024.msg835602.html#msg835602

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,61005.msg852129.html#msg852129

Those are topics I started to get help with my juniper

[loefflerchuck]

Juniper is light, pretty, smells good has amazing compression and is easy to work. My favorite bow wood. To take advantage of the compression I always use sinew. Also make them short with reflex. Avoid knots if you can. I've made great bows out of knotty juniper, but they will blow up after a year or so if you are getting all the bend you can.