Tamarisk finds

[wolfsire]

Thanks to LennyHarp at Paleoplanet, Ive found out that you can make a fair bow out of tamarisk.  It is hard and heavy.  Many others have noted they make good arrows.  In Las Vegas there is not a lot of wood to choose from, but there is Tamarisk about.  Here are the pieces I have collected.



These little ones were too small to find anything in



From this one I cut the two sticks for arrows.  I was being picky, there might have been more in there.



This house, and two or three other houses near by are surrounded by huge tamarisks.  The two branch pieces, once in one piece, probably came from one of those trees.  It was dumped in the desert lot just beside it.  They look pretty good to me.  Except for the bend shown, they are straight and smooth on the reflexed/back side.




All of it is still green.  I glued the ends and will set it aside for a few months on the arrows maybe a year for the bows.

[wolfsire]

So, no one gonna tell me I should make an atlatl dart out of that longer shaft?   

[cowboy]

Nope . Those look a lot more promising than one on other post though - good luck. That stuff looks just like what we call Salt Cedar here...

[wolfsire]

Yeah, more promising, but I gotta wait.  Salt cedar, tamarisk, tamarix same thing.  I got another stick of the other, but it is shorter and wider.  I figured the smaller would be better to start with.

[Robinwho]

I thought you meant tamarind, which is also an excellent bow wood.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamarind

[wolfsire]

I thought you meant tamarind, which is also an excellent bow wood.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamarind

If there was one of those around, my wife would have me making chutney

[Dane]

So, Wolf, what is wrong with atlatls? They are more ancient than bows, you know, and really fun to play with. Deadly, too.

Have you considered researching what native peoples who lived in your area used to make bows? by the way, cool pics - I love the desert, and envy you living in Vegas. Some stunning beauty in your area.

Dane

[heavybow]

There alot of  Tamarisk in the archery range in las vegas. The wood needs to be properly dried if not it will crack. Marlon

[cowboy]

So, Wolf, what is wrong with atlatls? They are more ancient than bows, you know, and really fun to play with. Deadly, too.

 Hey Dane: Nothin wrong with Atlatls , I was more interested in type of wood than anythiing. Sure I'll make some myself one day - but for now my focus is on taking game with home made bow and arra .

[wolfsire]

Nuth'ns wrong with atlatls.  I was just trying to stir up a little controversy.    I haven't ruled out making that long'n into a dart.  Crossbows, bows, atlatl, I'd like em all.  Shotgun sling also caught my eye. I have though of looking into what the southern paiute did, but it slipped my mind, but I am sure they did not use tamarisk

[wolfsire]

Have you considered researching what native peoples who lived in your area used to make bows?

Just did a little research.  I shot an e-mail to the local archeology chair, but on line I have found references to desert willow, juniper and mesquite.

[cowboy]

Dane: I thought you were askin me a bout the Atlatl's (note my last name ) got so used to being called Wolfe in military I uh  - oh well. I'm still gonna try them spears one of these days . OK, back to you wolf.

[wolfsire]

Dane: I thought you were askin me a bout the Atlatl's (note my last name ) got so used to being called Wolfe in military I uh  - oh well. I'm still gonna try them spears one of these days . OK, back to you wolf.

I don't mind being called Wolf, but that is my son's name

[Dane]

Cowboy, sorry about the confusion. I felt like I was in some weird maze of confusion there, lol.

Okay, how about Father of Wolf? One day, your son may have a son, who would be named MacWolf.

Seriously, those woods might be worth looking at, and making bows from the same materials as the natives from your area would be extra cool. There must be collections and anthropology museums where you can study original bows, arrows, quivers, etc. And, you may want to think of trying flint knapping - must be some material in the Nevada desert you can find? Cowboy is one of the resident knapping wizards, and a better judge of such things. Jamie, too. 

All projectile weapons are nifty. Atlatls are a ton of fun, and pretty easy to make (but not to use. Lots of practice, but that is the point, eh?). Slingshots are a lot of fun too. I made a staff sling a while back, about 10 bucks for materials, and was most recently hurtling stones into the Atlantic ocean with it. Totally suprised me how far you could toss projectiles. Yeah, I know, not archery, but still primitive.

Dane