Eastern Red Cedar Questions

[WoodBenderDW]

With work and other commitments, I've been away for a while.  I'm itching to make some bows again.  A friend just gave me a nice seven foot eastern red cedar stave.  I'm stepping outside of my comfort zone and have some questions for people with some experience with this.
1. I've read conflicting opinions.  Which is better the sapwood or the heartwood?
2. I'm hoping for 45# @ 28" for target/3D and possibly hunting.  Any opinions on length and width? Too long? Too short? Too wide? Not wide enough?
3. I want to make a recurve this time.  Static or working recurve? Opinions on each?  I'm thinking about 64" before recurving, any thoughts?
4. Which is better for eastern red cedar, sinew backing or bamboo backing?
5. I've read that sinew backing is not as good in the rain, snow and moisture.  Does anything know if anything works to waterproof a sinew backed bow?  Has anyone used Thunderbird finish on a sinew backed bow or even an unbacked regular selfbow for that matter?
I appreciate any help or opinions from anyone. Feel free to post or send picture of your eastern red cedar bows or recurve bows.

Thanks,
Dave

[upstatenybowyer]

Here's my 2 cents...

I've done best with it wide, thick and long. I'd go close to 2" wide at least to midlimb, start with 3/4" thick out of the fades and make it long enough that the total length of working limb is twice your draw length.

I've made 2 erc bows that have stood the test of time. One was backed with sinew, the other with rawhide. If you go with bamboo I'd make it thin so as not to overpower the erc.

Last but not least, wear some protective gear when tillering cause when erc blows, it BLOWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mullet]

I pretty much quit commenting on Cedar bows but can't help myself. I have made several. You can save your self a lot of grief if you search for a good piece of cedar. But, they all work if you are not a Bowyer that tries to see how many bows the can finish in a week.

I've seen the best results come from young saplings with very little heartwood, designed in and Eastern Woodland Indian style D bow. Also Plains style sinewed backed. My Grandson's father has been shooting a Bamboo Backed, Eastern Red Cedar bow for at least 15 years without a problem.

Really, most will make a bow if you don't get in a hurry. If you are pulling it on a tellering tree and it doese't want to move, then stop and scrape some more. If you keep trying to make it bend it will get pretty impressive when it blows.

PM me if you have any questions, or start a post.

[Stickhead]

As for the sapwood/heartwood, the sapwood is better in tension, and the heartwood better in compression, sort of like yew.  I've made A few ERC self bows that survived, leaving a thin layer of sapwood over the heartwood belly, but not many staves will allow this, since the sapwood/heartwood line tends to meander.

As far as recurving goes, I've never had much success in bending ERC, either by steam or dry heat.  I know that it's been done, but I wouldn't get too aggressive with the curves.

ERC has a very low density, so go wide and long if you can.

[vinemaplebows]

You must go SLOW when tillering red cedar, bending the limbs often, and never overstressing the wood.