Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: smokeu on May 01, 2009, 07:50:34 am

Title: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: smokeu on May 01, 2009, 07:50:34 am: Thought It might be interesting to see what everyones favorite bow wood is, and an explanation if you feel like it.

Thanks,

Mike
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: Olschool on May 01, 2009, 08:01:52 am: I love that Osage
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: George Tsoukalas on May 01, 2009, 10:28:38 am: :) Jawge
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: Little John on May 01, 2009, 10:33:01 am: Havent tried them all but osage gets my vote. Kenneth
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: coyote pup on May 01, 2009, 10:34:48 am: Black Locust heartwood. Pretty, strong, fast, native, easy to split and work.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: John K on May 01, 2009, 11:53:19 am: Red Elm is my new favorite ! Or FREE wood :D
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: NTProf on May 01, 2009, 12:58:31 pm: Maple
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: Jmilbrandt on May 01, 2009, 01:28:24 pm: Any wood I can get my hands on! :D Though I really like Rocky Mountain Maple.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: Dauntless on May 01, 2009, 01:47:45 pm: Haven't tried many yet, but Chokecherry gets my pick: It's almost indestructible. I prefer staves over boards too. All my board bows are ugly or in pieces.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: Kent D. on May 01, 2009, 01:49:09 pm: Ive grown to love ipe. Osage is still one of my favorites.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: NOMADIC PIRATE on May 01, 2009, 05:26:08 pm: YEW !!!!!! ;)
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: JustAim on May 01, 2009, 07:13:46 pm: My favorite kind of wood is anything that can throw an arrow after l'm done working on it. :D
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: osage outlaw on May 01, 2009, 08:12:05 pm: I have only used Osage so far, but I am really impressed with it. That stuff can be as tough as steel.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: Justin Snyder on May 01, 2009, 08:22:17 pm: Quote from: George Tsoukalas on May 01, 2009, 10:28:38 am
:) Jawge
Me too Jawge. ;D ;D
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: Traxx on May 01, 2009, 08:24:19 pm: Hickory for selfbows.It seems to favor,the dry climate i live in.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: Adam Keiper on May 01, 2009, 10:34:14 pm: Haven't found anything that I like more than osage.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: Timo on May 01, 2009, 11:07:37 pm: I can cut osage out my back door,so I'd have to go with it,besides I feel, for day to day abuse and use, it is the best.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: Joe M on May 01, 2009, 11:47:01 pm: I like Birch with a Maple or Hickory backing along with an additional silk backing with all combinations glued up with TiteBond III...

However, Birch is my favorite wood at this time, though I've used many combinations of Birch, Maple, Hickory, and Ash.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: DustinDees on May 01, 2009, 11:58:12 pm: i have only had the chance to make board bows, and only used hickory and red oak, the hickory is the obvious winner of those 2 for me.

Dustin D
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: aaron on May 02, 2009, 12:01:20 am: vine maple.
it's common where i live, no sapwood to deal with , hardly checks while drying.its amall diameter, usually 2-6 inches. snakey. but mostly 'cos its easy to get.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: adb on May 02, 2009, 12:30:29 am: Yew, osage, & maple... in that order.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: Gordon on May 02, 2009, 08:26:56 pm: Yew with osage coming in a close second.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: mspink on May 03, 2009, 12:04:25 am: Every now and then i can get maple to hold together.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: ravenbeak on May 03, 2009, 01:11:26 am: yew for me
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: staveshaver on May 03, 2009, 02:12:35 am: there is nothing like the fiery grain of that golden beauty.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: majsnuff on May 03, 2009, 07:35:10 am: I like them all, but prefer those that I can harvest myslf. Yew, Serviceberry, Wild Plum, and Mountain Maple. Gotta admit though that my best bows have come from Osage staves ,Vine Maple, and Ipe that I bougt on line.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: Illuminati on June 25, 2009, 03:55:50 pm: red oak here because i live in city without a backyard lol, ive done 3 bows so far and none needed a backing, red oak is the stuff

illuminati
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: johnny on June 25, 2009, 04:07:30 pm: dogwood, black locust, mullberry and ash...
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: JackCrafty on June 25, 2009, 06:39:38 pm: A thick, clean piece of straight ashe juniper sapwood from a leaning trunk 8" in diameter is a rare gift to be cherished.

Otherwise, osage and mulberry. Hickory is close behind.

Also, red oak is not as bad as I once thought...it's climbing the list.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: cracker on June 25, 2009, 07:27:46 pm: Whatever is available.Ron
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: nugget on June 25, 2009, 11:01:35 pm: Eastern Red Cedar is my favorite. Fast easy to work and light. You can leave it unbacked with sap wood, or leave it with thin sap wood alot of heart wood and back it. Other than that Osage is second with Black Locust as a third.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: woodstick on June 25, 2009, 11:07:08 pm: well iam a southern bow builder so, osage without a doubt. its all over here in okie land.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: burn em up chuck on June 26, 2009, 12:02:32 am: in order, yew, vinemaple,and the knew one is oceanspray, i hope to expand this list alot this year.

chuck
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: yazoo on June 26, 2009, 11:30:00 am: you mean people build bows out of woods besides osage ???
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: Ohio John on June 26, 2009, 11:51:31 am: osage .... though even with the osage I still break 2 for every good bow....it takes time and practice to make good bows. My new place has lots of ash, hickory, and sassafras so I will be trying some other woods and reporting back sometime next summer
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: dmann on June 26, 2009, 08:34:04 pm: Black Locust and the Mulberry. Both are good for pretty much any type of bow.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: George Tsoukalas on June 26, 2009, 09:23:02 pm: Osage, hickory, black locust and the oaks are my favorites in no particular order depending on my mood. I usually hunt with hickory because it's local and osage is not. Makes me feel atavistic. :) Jawge
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: xin on June 26, 2009, 09:24:17 pm: Osage, best for any parameters applied.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: sulphur on June 26, 2009, 11:37:24 pm: morning ;D i am getting older though.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: sailordad on June 27, 2009, 12:00:24 am: Quote from: sulphur on June 26, 2009, 11:37:24 pm
morning ;D i am getting older though.

ROFLMAO X2 :D ;D :o ;D :D
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: rossfactor on June 27, 2009, 02:47:55 am: Nice straight Purple Leaf Plum sprouts about 2.5" in diameter. The first bow I ever was happy with was from one of these, and I've never forgotten it. Gonna try another one pretty soon.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: Ryano on June 27, 2009, 07:22:14 am: For self bows osage wins hands down. There's no other wood I've tried that can do what osage does, including yew.
For laminated bows, Ipe is the best thing I've seen.
Title: Re: Whats Your Favorite Bow Wood?
Post by: venisonburger on June 27, 2009, 05:08:53 pm: Maple
VB