So I am just trying out all the local woods which I think can make a bow.
This elderberry stave was cut last may with a hld in mind. I split it immediately, debarked it and threw in the corner of my shed. Thickest part was about 2.5 inch. A few weeks ago I decided to take it out of the corner and start work on it. The hollow pith was split across the whole stave while drying but this was only a problem in the handle. Roughed it out and steamed a sideways kink in the handle straight. After that I rasped the handle flat and glued on a small piece of acacia over the split and the remaning hole.
First plan was to make it short but I kind of liked the snakey tip so decided to keep it long and see what would come out.
The limbs where also twisted about 40 degrees, got some of it out during heat treating and left the rest. (Twisted staves plays tircks on you while tillering because it looks so different from opposite sides!)
Ended up at 60@28 and shoots really smooth! I think hld and lighter woods like elder make a great combo! Shot it quite a bit and still shows no sign of set so I probably could have gone narrower or shorter. Did not really measure anything, just chopped away and left it as wide as the stave allowed.
The back was dyed with ecoline ink. This stuff soakes in quite deep. It will probably fade a bit over time, just an experiment to see if it will work.
The handle was wrapped with four peaces of leftover leather lace.
Specs:
Wood: elderberry
Lenght: 66" ntn
Draw weight: 60@28
Max width: 1.8"
Nocks: ipe
Handle: leather lace
String: 8 strand fastflight continuous
// side
// top
// braced
// belly
// details
// fd
