Looking for Birch Bark for Bow Backing

[Weylin]

I'm interested in playing around with some birch bark as a backing material. If anyone has some to trade or knows of a good source for it I'd appreciate it.
Thanks!

[Marc St Louis]

Are you talking decorative?

[Weylin]

well, I haven't used it before and haven't done much reading on it. what are your thoughts on it's utility. I know I can go with very thin strips that would obviously be purely decorative. Is there a thickness at which it can start to provide integrity and still be flexible enough?

[AndrewS]

I think Cherry Bark is a better choice for a backing.

I have seen Birch Bark for decorative (thin stripes are glued on the back) or for protecting against moisture (the thin Birch Bark is wrapped around the bow, mostley with a backing of sinew or on laminated pieces glued with hide glue under the bark -The Two Wood Bow of the Saami for example)

[bjrogg]

Weylin I have a bunch. PM I’ll send you some.
Bjrogg
PS I’m interested in how you like it and use it. I have been wanting to do just decorative but couldn’t find much info

[Marc St Louis]

I've used it in both decorative and as a backing.  For decorative you need to separate the layers, easily done, till it's less than 1/16" thick.  As a backing I just used it full thickness from around the circumference of the tree.  I have access to large trees, 14" and up, so getting strips to do one whole limb is not hard

[Weylin]

I've used it in both decorative and as a backing.  For decorative you need to separate the layers, easily done, till it's less than 1/16" thick.  As a backing I just used it full thickness from around the circumference of the tree.  I have access to large trees, 14" and up, so getting strips to do one whole limb is not hard

Good to know. Thanks for sharing

[bjrogg]

I've used it in both decorative and as a backing.  For decorative you need to separate the layers, easily done, till it's less than 1/16" thick.  As a backing I just used it full thickness from around the circumference of the tree.  I have access to large trees, 14" and up, so getting strips to do one whole limb is not hard

Marc do you have any links to those bows?
Bjrogg

[Marc St Louis]

Links, no.  This is going back some 15~20 years ago.

[bjrogg]

Links, no.  This is going back some 15~20 years ago.

Mark I was just thinking for decoration. I was thinking I’d probably go thin as possible.

Question? Do you have to hydrate or steam to make bark more pliable?

Bjrogg

[Marc St Louis]

When it's thinned for decorative use the bark is quite flexible.  Trees up here can have 2 different types of bark it seems though.  One type is quite flexible and will stretch when pulled, when it's thin that is.  The other type seems brittle and you can actually rip the bark apart by hand across the grain, the flexible type will not rip by hand no matter how hard you try.