Curly-leaf mountain mahogany methods

[Willibow]

I live about 30 minutes away from the sierras, and am aware of a whole bunch of mountain mahogany growing within a few minutes walk from the roads.

Is curly-leafed mountain mahogany suitable for self or backed bows? And if so, should it be treated like a white wood or a ring chased like Osage?

I've got to go out and see if any branches or small trees look suitable to turn into arrow flingers. I'm hoping for some one who has worked this wood before or who has secondhand knowledge to give some advice about how to treat any harvested wood.

Thanks again!

[aaron]

I've never done a bow from it, but I have made a rabbit stick, atlatl, and other projects. It is so hard and dense that you will be amazed. That stuff makes osage seem like balsa! I sealed the ends after cutting and had only minimal checking.

[wizardgoat]

Its not a common bow wood, I believe it was used for arrow fore shafting.
If you can manage to find a bow size stave I would try a self bow, save the sinew for a lighter wood

[alwayslookin]

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=23571.0 check this out

[Willibow]

Looks like it can be made into a pretty sweet bow. Now I just have to go out and find a long enough piece and hope it doesn't warp or check in my low humidity desert environment.

[Blaflair2]

U could maybe rough out the bow and clamp it in place how u want the profile to look to prevent warping. Someone did something similar on here. Different wood though

[Willibow]

Won't the bow check if the whole thing is roughed out before dry? Should the bow be sealed if it's roughed out green? Never done it this way.

[loefflerchuck]

Mountain mahogany is a great bow wood. It is near impossible to find a stave suitable for a bow yet it was a favored bow ni the great basin. Bow fragments have been found in dry caves in Utah and Nevada. There is for sure 1 and probably 2- 1/2 bows of it in the Natural history museum in Salt Lake City. More recently it was a favored wood of the Ute, Paiute, Apache, Navajo and other southwest tribes.
 because of this I needed to try it. Spent a few hours looking for some in a place where many grow. Made a couple self bows 35" long or so and a 46" sinew backed bow from a stave full of little knots. Shot it for a while at 23" draw. A few shots at 24" and she exploded. It may have been favored for early bows as you do not need to follow a ring. You can cut through grain and twist and even ignore small knots. If you are lucky enough to find a nice stave it shoots quite fast too.

[Willibow]

Thanks loefflerchuck. How do you handle the staves you cut? I've only ever worked boards, so processing live wood is unfamiliar to me and I am hoping for all the pointers I can get. 

[mikekeswick]

Work it down to floor tiller then seal the back with pva or similar. The thicker wood is the more likely it is to check. Be careful of the center pith as well as wood always wants to check to the center eg. coat the whole section around the handle area/anywhere you are close to the center with pva.

[loefflerchuck]

Exactly what Mike said. The only checking I had was with split logs and they went from the center in.

[Willibow]

Thanks guys. I'll report back next time I have a chance to go into the mountains and look for a piece or two.