It's only for practice, after all...

[MattZA]

Pat, I didn't mean to suggest the answers were offensive. I just meant that people clearly feel strongly about it. I was expecting a kind of "well it might be okay, but I don't know" kind of response.

I know and appreciate that there are some excellent bowyers here. It's why I posed the question.

After all the advice I think I'll probably just put the tools away and only take them out again when I have decent wood. Or maybe I'll use a bit of the bad board for some tip overlays. They do have a gorgeous gold colour that'll look excellent against my massaranduba red.

[BowEd]

Sometimes an answer to a question is not what we want to hear.

[Marc St Louis]

Have you considered backing it with something?  This an unknown wood to me and may in fact be an excellent bow-wood

[Pat B]

Where do you live, Matt?  Have you tried our Trading Post?

[sleek]

If you can go buy hickory axe handles, you have bow wood. 2 handles if good grain ( they usually are ) and similar ring structure will yield a 40-50 # bow at 26 inches using a take down sleeve.

[MattZA]

Marc, I've used it before, and it seems to be a good wood. Not Osage, obviously, but slightly better than Ash, from what I've read. Definitely better than red oak.

Pat I live in South Africa, which complicates things. It means I don't have access to: red oak, maple, osage, hickory, ash, elm or yew. To all intents and purposes, the only readily available woods in order of quality are massaranduba, garapa, meranti, mahogany, pine (har har).

[PatM]

Marc, I've used it before, and it seems to be a good wood. Not Osage, obviously, but slightly better than Ash, from what I've read. Definitely better than red oak.

Pat I live in South Africa, which complicates things. It means I don't have access to: red oak, maple, osage, hickory, ash, elm or yew. To all intents and purposes, the only readily available woods in order of quality are massaranduba, garapa, meranti, mahogany, pine (har har).

 Get some Massaranduba then.  It's very good bow wood.

[MattZA]

I will when I get the chance. Fortunately it's pretty reasonably priced in board form. Costs me the equivalent of $5 for a board that'll make a 60" ntn bow.

I'm just not in the area at the moment. Hence the OP.