Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Kitsu on March 05, 2009, 08:51:01 pm
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i found a BUNCH of HHB in my yard, was wondering... when i split it into staves they do not seem like much of a bow wood, (not too flexible yet)
it appears denser then any wood ive worked with, although not many woods are hard to work with if u know how, but still was a pain to split etc, it was about 3.5 inches thick and had a little bend in it, it doesnt feel like much of a bow wood as i said, ifs VERY VERY STIFF To bend and unlike most woods ive seen, if you try to even bend a shaving at all they snap, is this fortelliing the future, is my bow going to snap in my face, i hope not......
Only time will tell,
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if it is hhb its good bow wood
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i read somewhere that HHB is good when its a smaller sapling but may become brittle as it gets older, and this is going to season a while first, but i have a bad feeling, its WAY different then maple or oak, diff textures and everything,
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i aquired 5 logs of this recently,also was given an hhb bow ffrom the guy.the bow is close to 10 yrs old,pulls heavier now than when it was first tillered.
right now it pulls 63# @ 22"
i wouldnt call that brittle.
and yes it is differant than maple or oak,but thats comparing apples to plums.yes both are a fruit but yet neither are alike.
dont worry about using hhb,if ya dont want it trade it on the trading post,lots of people here would be happy to get some.
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Are you sure its HHB? If so then its good wood :)
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Love HHB. Are you sure that is what you have got. Show us a picture. If it is, it will make a fine bow.
Pappy
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If you got Hornbeam you got fantastic bow wood. Just about to finish a hornbeam bow up and it is powerful bow wood. I would like to see a picture of your logs also. Dean
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It is good wood. One of the nest white woods. Jawge
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I think I've made four hhb's, and all are good bow's. It's my favorite white wood for bow making. They usually have some character due to their usually not being straight logs and the backs are not as smooth as most white woods. They are a booger to split! ;)
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If the wood snaps then it's not likely you have HHB. It splinters when bent too far
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alright, i am 99 percent sure it is HHB, i have had 3 friends all confirm it, the wood had little creases in it like muscles, and it was a beast to split, it split straight but took me about a half an hour, other than that, the wood seems to not want to bend at all, its about 2 inches thick and if i stand on it it will barely bend even when i jump, however some of the thinner pieces i cut from it dont bend well, they arent as springy
it MAY be too late for pictures but ill try, if i had a camera i would show you my other bow as well... but unfortunately my mom STILL, hadnt got around to getting me the camera, its kinda getting me mad, well, if my parents are upset that may be the reason for the camera, either way my parents are not AS mad considering they know my grades are better then meets the eye :P
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did the bark look like this? if so then it is hhb,you dont trust it or want it,send it to me i would be happy to take it
(http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/4071/1000189.jpg)
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Hawkeyes, wood doesn't have to be easy to bend to be good bow wood. In fact, flimsy wood is not what you want. You need stiffness in order to make good draw weight without having so much mass weight. ;)
The wood you have may be American Hornbeam. It has ripples in it that look like muscles. Some poeple call it blue beech or musclewood.
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Your correct,that is eastern hophornbeam,and it is a very good bow wood.Make sure it's good and dry before tillering,but,while it's green, you can go ahead and rough out your bow,floor tiller,and clamp it in reflex.Leave it on a simple reflex form for a little over a month,and it will hold most,if not all of the induced reflexAlso,HHB is also greatly improved by heat treating the belly. Hope this helps. God Bless
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wow, im going to have to go with what saw filer said `````\/
Hawkeyes, wood doesn't have to be easy to bend to be good bow wood. In fact, flimsy wood is not what you want. You need stiffness in order to make good draw weight without having so much mass weight. ;)
The wood you have may be American Hornbeam. It has ripples in it that look like muscles. Some poeple call it blue beech or musclewood.
hrmm, so its more likely that that HHB, well, thanks, will it work as well as HHB, because, i dont want to sound like a treehugger... but i cut ALOT of these and cut into staves debarked etc, and if i did for nothing and wasted these, ima be really mad >.<
did the bark look like this? if so then it is hhb,you dont trust it or want it,send it to me i would be happy to take it
(IMAGE REMOVED FOR POST SIZE)
actually this is the picture i used to identify it, :P (http://www.adirondackwildlife.org/ironwood_bark.jpg)
I think I've made four hhb's, and all are good bow's. It's my favorite white wood for bow making. They usually have some character due to their usually not being straight logs and the backs are not as smooth as most white woods. They are a booger to split! ;)
yea, its hard, >.>
i aquired 5 logs of this recently,also was given an hhb bow ffrom the guy.the bow is close to 10 yrs old,pulls heavier now than when it was first tillered.
right now it pulls 63# @ 22"
i wouldnt call that brittle.
and yes it is differant than maple or oak,but thats comparing apples to plums.yes both are a fruit but yet neither are alike.
dont worry about using hhb,if ya dont want it trade it on the trading post,lots of people here would be happy to get some.
i dont know about trading it atm, my parents think im wierd as it is because i make bows, they will prolly think im wierder if i am trading off staves for other staves etc, but thanks for the offer, ill try and convince because i have PLENTY and i ran out of red oak :P i have a few trees like 3 feet thick and NO WAY am i cuttin those things lol
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If the wood snaps then it's not likely you have HHB. It splinters when bent too far
yeahhhh... found that out, tested this on one of the smaller im going to have to say broomstick thickness, and when i broke it looked like a big broom, that what it should do right?
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Thats eastern hornbeam AKA"muscle wood" or iron wood. makes nice bows, very dense something like 50 rings per inch if i remember right from last bow i made. nice muscular looking back very unique -jesse
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Thats eastern hornbeam AKA"muscle wood" or iron wood. makes nice bows, very dense something like 50 rings per inch if i remember right from last bow i made. nice muscular looking back very unique -jesse
ummm i hope i didnt do a bad thing i kinda thinned it down to about a qtr inch at thickest (its a shortbow so i figured it should be thinner) <--- That, and i want it to be dry by march 20th, so i can finish it up and seal it and send to cousin for birthday,
the bigger one i have i still have it as a stave, i want to be sure it looks its best, and drys naturally :P (that and i may be able to get a trade eventually, idk but if someone can offer me some white oak, or red oak, itd be great,) if not, i plan on making a nice flatbow or longbow from it, all depends on what i feel would work best, well, ill keep you posted on this
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Sorry ,sailordad's picture is eastern HHB,while your picture is American hornbeam,but it is good bow wood as well. God Bless
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Sorry ,sailordad's picture is eastern HHB,while your picture is American hornbeam,but it is good bow wood as well. God Bless
i figured that, thanks =3
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i know what my wood is ;D
i posted it to see if thats what his was like since he hadnt posted a pic of it at that time yet.
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did the bark look like this? if so then it is hhb,you dont trust it or want it,send it to me i would be happy to take it
(http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/4071/1000189.jpg)
wow, at first i was doubtful but i looked around again, and found a BUNCH of this, most of it is about 5-6 inches thick, and quite straight, i sawed one down and i plan on taking pictures ON MY OWN, because my mom wont even do it, on top of that ill take a pic of my maple longbow (finally),
im taking this into my own hands... but yes. i will do it...
well, im glad i figured out the difference now, :D and i plan on trading it out because i would be glad to get some hazel or oak staves sometime, WHEN I DO TRADE IT i will give a WHOLE LOG, (depending on how fast you can get here i may take bark off or leave on) if this topic is getting too out of hand lock it or move it, idk but as of now i am wondering if anyone wants it enough to come to where i live, bring their stave/log, and trade for mine,
thanks,
Hawkeyes