Tree ID

[S.C. hunter]

BowEd,
 On what I have it's all one color, just a off white color.
  Steve

[BowEd]

I imagine it's hackberry then although most times here the bark is a little deeper furrowed.I had a suspicion it was honey locust but that has salmon colored heartwood with white sapwood.
If you really want to get paticular knowing the density a 5" long 1/2" dowel rod piece of dried wood marked every 1/2"[10 marks then] then submerged into a tube of water will tell you density.Whatever marks are submerged that's your percent of density.Example...5 marks under water it's .50 density.
Making the bow wide enough and long enough in the beginning will ensure a bow otherwise without all of that testing.

[S.C. hunter]

BowEd,
  I am sure its not honey locust, we have that, and black locust here. The tree I cut had berrys, and the offset leaves, so I assumed it was maybe Hackberry. When I looked it up in the Audubon book, it sort of confused me. I just wanted to confirm with someone with more experience with it.   the Audubon book on page 412 lists Hackberry, and Sugarberry under the same listing, { Celtis Laevigata} and map shows it in my area. then on page 414 it shows Hackberry "Sugarberry", {Celits Occidentalis} but map shows none, or very little in my area. this is not a common tree here, so that confused me.

[Morgan]

Those trees are without a doubt hackberry. The bark on hackberry varies a great deal here. When I get out to the shop I can post a couple or three examples. Some have nearly slick bark with warts scattered sporadically. Some trees the warts are touching each other so tightly that the slick bark cannot be seen underneath. Others has the warts growing in perfect vertical lines up the tree. If there’s rhyme or reason for the difference, I don’t know it. Haven’t found any difference in the wood though.

[PatM]

BowEd,
  I am sure its not honey locust, we have that, and black locust here. The tree I cut had berrys, and the offset leaves, so I assumed it was maybe Hackberry. When I looked it up in the Audubon book, it sort of confused me. I just wanted to confirm with someone with more experience with it.   the Audubon book on page 412 lists Hackberry, and Sugarberry under the same listing, { Celtis Laevigata} and map shows it in my area. then on page 414 it shows Hackberry "Sugarberry", {Celits Occidentalis} but map shows none, or very little in my area. this is not a common tree here, so that confused me.

   As I noted, both are called Hackberry/Sugarberry due to local  variations in the lingo.  But only one of them is Sugarberry as more of its primary name.

[S.C. hunter]

Hey Guys,
 I cut this tree this weekend. The lower part has denser bark, and the upper is the same as the first pics.
     Steve

[Morgan]

That’s a beauty! All the hackberry I fooled with are winter cut and removing the bark is different for me than hickory, oak, or elm. The bark under that warty stuff is real crumbly and it’s easy to take too much off and get into the back. Right under the orange crumbly stuff will be a thin layer of light brown cambium that comes off real easy. I slowly remove the crumbly bark till I can see the cambium and stop them scrape the cambium off. If you do cut the back, chasing a ring is fairly easy. Like the cambium, the porous early wood sands or scrapes off easy, so I chase the early wood ring directly on top of the ring I want for a back and sand the porous early ring off.
This may all be stuff you know, but my first two hackberry  staves gave me fits and if you haven’t dealt with it, it may help. FWIW, hackberry is my favorite wood. Haven’t tried Osage, but hackberry works easy, is light weight, moves like butter under dry or steam heat. You can take massive twist and bow out of the stuff. Heat treat the tar out of the belly.

[S.C. hunter]

Morgan,
   Thanks for the info. I guess I might have cut this at the right time of year. I used the back of my hatchet, and was able to knock off some of the bark right down to the wood.  I have another I cut last year, hope it will be ready to work soon. going to cut some down to near dimensions to speed things up. Looking forward to working it.
   Steve

[Morgan]

More unasked for advice.  on the stuff you cut to close dimensions.... bind it straight if you can. Everything I’ve cut likes to move a lot. When it dries. The only staves that didn’t were logs that I half split and let dry. The smaller I split the staves, the more they moved. The half splits I just split into staves last week and that stuff split very very easy. I thought it was easy splitting green, but dried, I drove my hatchet in one end and it split nearly half the log length.

[S.C. hunter]

Morgan,
    Thanks again. I gladly accept any, and all advice.  I will do that when I cut it down to size.   What style bows do you usually make out of your wood?
 Did you post any pictures ?
     Steve

[Morgan]

Steve, Everything I’ve made with hackberry has been parallel limb American flat bows. Most were 1 1/2” wide for half to two thirds then tapering to 1/2” nocks. Except for two that were eastern woodlands style bows. I’ve posted pics of three of my bows I think, last one not long ago. Some may have been eaten by photobucket.