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Offline haida gwaii

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yellow cedar bow?
« on: July 07, 2012, 03:13:52 am »
Has anyone out there made a successful yellow cedar bow? Aka Alaskan yellow cedar or cypress. Specific gravity of 42 so relatively weak. In my area we use it for a lot of things and it is very nice to work with if a little brittle.  I hear references to coastal native bows made of it but never could dig up any real info and the learning attempts I've made have ended with a snapping sound.
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Offline MWirwicki

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Re: yellow cedar bow?
« Reply #1 on: July 07, 2012, 09:49:47 am »
Tried it once a long time ago.  Can't remember why but it was unsuccessful.
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Matt Wirwicki
Owosso, MI

Offline Alaric

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Re: yellow cedar bow?
« Reply #2 on: July 07, 2012, 10:36:48 am »
I made a bow from Northern White Cedar. I shoot well but developed frets the full length of both limbs, this might have been do to repeated overdrawing the bow as much as the fault of the wood. It was made from a blow down I found while on a camping trip in northern Maine and measured 57" NTN. I never weighed it and now it is a display piece.

Richard

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Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: yellow cedar bow?
« Reply #3 on: July 07, 2012, 06:38:54 pm »
Pity it took on such bad frets, that is a beauty. 

If you are going to try it, and there is really no reason you shouldn't, make sure it is wider than you think it should be.  If it shoots sluggish, start narrowing the limbs a little at a time to see if you can get a little more out of the wood before it frets. 

Good luck and post pics.

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Guns have triggers. Bicycles have wheels. Trees and bows have wooden limbs.

Offline DarkSoul

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Re: yellow cedar bow?
« Reply #4 on: July 07, 2012, 07:04:41 pm »
I would think there's a lot of better bowwoods out there. Is there a special reason why you want to use yellow cedar? Is it going to be your first bow? It's certainly a nice woods (also for arrows), but just not great for bows. Doesn't seem like an easy beginners bowwood to me.

If you insist on using it, I think compression wood would be best, as with many conifers. Try to locate a curved trunk, or the lower side of a horizontal branch.
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"Sonuit contento nervus ab arcu."
Ovid, Metamorphoses VI-286

Offline RobWiden

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Re: yellow cedar bow?
« Reply #5 on: July 07, 2012, 09:55:30 pm »
    haida gwaii - PM sent.
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If I knew what I was doing, I'd probably be bored with it, and I wouldn't be here.

Offline danlaw

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Re: yellow cedar bow?
« Reply #6 on: July 08, 2012, 03:39:38 am »
Watch out for old growth YC that's been logged- cants are full of invisible cracks that don't show up until the bow lets go. I had quite a black and blue face once from that. YC is quite soft as well and needs to be babied. Coastal natives liked YC but used only young trees about 4" across.
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Offline Bryce

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Re: yellow cedar bow?
« Reply #7 on: July 08, 2012, 03:50:13 am »
Try the top of an old yellow cedar
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Clatskanie, Oregon

Offline haida gwaii

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Re: yellow cedar bow?
« Reply #8 on: July 11, 2012, 04:45:42 am »
 Hey. Thanks for the replies. No I've made other bows- there is quite a lot of yew here and I mostly use that - I was just wondering if anyone had made a yc bow.  (I'm sure someone has - but who?) I think it's probably like a few of you said - I need to find the right piece of old growth tight ringed probably heartwood - an extra strong or dense stave of it. It is very easy to find clear straight yellow cedar here so I wish it was a good bow wood... 
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