Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: eddiebojones on March 01, 2010, 03:07:13 pm
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Anyone dared to take the chalenge of making their bow from red cedar, and if so can I get some pointers? New Guy
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They sure have try a search in this section also Marc St.Louis made an english warbow with a 100#draw weight.
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Eastern Red Cedar or Western Red Cedar? ???
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Eastern Red Cedar or Western Red Cedar? ???
ditto. there is a big difference ;D
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Western Cedar for arrows and Eastern Cedar for bows.
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Western Cedar for arrows and Eastern Cedar for bows.
What Eddie said, western red cedar is a cypress, Eastern is a juniper. Cypress makes good arrows, junipers make good bows.
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I made one outta western red. It wasn't a good idea. Lasted about 500 shots. Heck of a bend though. 35# at 28 in. Bow is about 52" long.
(http://s55.photobucket.com/albums/g124/rossfactor/?action-view¤t=incensecedardrawn.jpg&newest=1)
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(http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g124/rossfactor/incensecedardrawn.jpg)
there. Not a real pretty tiller.
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well from what i have heard here in texas the karankawa indians made there bows out of ceder earlyr today i was thinking of making a ceder bow in the future
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I've seen quite a few good bows made from eastern red cedar. Like most junipers, it does well with a sinew backing, too.
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There was a fast one I saw at PatB's get together the year I came up. It had a lot of sapwood and was pretty darn fast and smooth.
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well from what i have heard here in texas the karankawa indians made there bows out of ceder earlyr today i was thinking of making a ceder bow in the future
oops made a mistake they made there bows out of mesquite had the wrong tree in my head lol
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Right or wrong, cedar still makes a nice, pretty bow!
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Just Childrens Bows so far......
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Hey Eddie (Jones), good to see you over here. Based on where you are in Texas I believe you are talking about western cedar. It grows more like a bush than a tree most of the time. The cedar we had in Nebraska looks a little like a Christmas tree with a single trunk. I always thought that was eastern red cedar. I guess I never knew for sure though. Maybe I'll go look it up. Both down here and up there it is basically a weed and the farmers hate it for taking over pastures.
Did you ever find and cut hickory on your place?
George
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I've made a few ERC bows. Some explode. Here's a takedown with fake snake paint.
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Here's another...
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And one more. This one's backed with triggerfish skin. Tough stuff.
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I made a sinew backed ERC. I chased a ring and backed it with 3 full layers of sinew and one crowning layer. I tillered it to 26" and was to the point of finishing it then it blew up >:(. I'll try ERC again, but not for a while. Seeing all the ERC bows that shoot, I guess it depends on the quality of the stave you start with.
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Man, those are pretty bows! Of all the woods out there, I think ERC has to make the prettiest bows, to my eyes. There's lots that look really good, but I like the way the wood looks on the cedar best I think.
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I would lean more to saying they are eastern because the cedars I have are giants that would take 2 people to hug them. No bushes here. Ha Ha Mexia Texas Great sap wood for sure I downed some dying saplings about 12 inches in diameter and about 2 3rds is sap wood with small heart wood. I got 3 staves from each of the 2 trees and will put them in the smokehouse after I whittle them a bit and tie them down.
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Glad to see you are here gstoneberg (GREAT)
Awsome work there stickhead (Motivation for sure)
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I would lean more to saying they are eastern because the cedars I have are giants that would take 2 people to hug them. No bushes here. Ha Ha Mexia Texas Great sap wood for sure I downed some dying saplings about 12 inches in diameter and about 2 3rds is sap wood with small heart wood. I got 3 staves from each of the 2 trees and will put them in the smokehouse after I whittle them a bit and tie them down.
Good deal Eddie, I'm glad I was wrong about the cedar. You interested in trading some cedar staves for osage? The cedar bows in this thread are just gorgeous and I got the itch to make one bad. Let me know when you want to work on them and I'll drive down. 12 inch saplings, that is funny.
George
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I would be glad to trade some cedar for osage or just let you have all you need. I have plenty of cedar trees of all sizes on the place. Just call me anytime George.
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I love ERC but it does make me flinch. I've had two explode in my hands and wack me in the face. But they are beautiful an when they hold together they zing an arrow. Here is the one of the three of mine that held together. Probably was the only stave worth making a bow out of too.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v652/kshipley85/100_0798.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v652/kshipley85/100_0794.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v652/kshipley85/100_0796.jpg)
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Nice. Looks like that bow has some weight to it too. I have punched myself in the face before, it's a bummer for sure. I still want to try it. Did the bows that broke fail from the belly or back?
Eddie, I'll call you and set something up.
George
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I've made one about like kship85's and it was 50lb @ 26". It held together for a year of shooting and then I gave it away. I cut the tree down in Arkansas off my grandfathers place. Was on of the fastest fifties that I've made... I have also made a few kids bows with it... Pretty stuff!
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Nice. Looks like that bow has some weight to it too. I have punched myself in the face before, it's a bummer for sure. I still want to try it. Did the bows that broke fail from the belly or back?
Thanks, yeah it came in at 75 lbs at 27 inches and it scares the crap out of me every time I pull it back, lol. The two that I have had fail both failed on the back. The first one was a short bow that I believe I just drew too far back. It was unbacked and had shot a hundred arrows or so before it went. The other one that blew had some weird indentations on the back, like little valleys everywhere. It was backed it a cotton canvas and I am almost 100 % certain it failed because I was not thinking and left it in the back of my work shop above the stove for about 5 days where it spent a lot of time at around 90 degrees and 30 % humidity according the my thermometer/humidity meter. Never thought about letting it rehydrate and I am almost sure it was low moisture content that caused its demise.
Kip
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Hi Guys, I figure I'll jump in for my 2 cents worth. I like ERC and similar junipers for bow wood. Not everyone is so enamored. I offered to trade one of my juniper staves a while back and was rebuffed. The guy said he already had plenty of cedar "it made good bedding for his turkeys." The stuff I collected in Cherry county Nebraska is Rocky Mountain juniper. Other parts of Nebraska have ERC. Jackcrafty has posted some nice bows made of ASHE juniper collected in Tx. These junipers are all very similar in wood and overall appearence. The seasoned wood smells good and works well with hand tools. The wood is reputed to be much better in compression than tension and a backing of some sort is often suggested for longevity. That said I've made some unbacked ELBs that have worked just fine.
Here are a few of my efforts.(http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc270/May-Pumphrey/rafflebowDebbiesfulldraw.jpg)(http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc270/May-Pumphrey/plainsbowsource2.jpg)
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and two more(http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc270/May-Pumphrey/CedarDbowandoldpost-1.jpg)(http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc270/May-Pumphrey/cedarELBleftside.jpg)Ron
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made this last year, Erc seems to hold up good in this norther cal 70 to 80% humidity, Dryer climate might tend to explode it.
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