Author Topic: Hey, Del the cat...  (Read 1996 times)

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Offline MaceG

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Hey, Del the cat...
« on: November 07, 2009, 01:02:42 am »
    What kind of maple did you use for that 89er?
Set happens - Jawge

Offline Del the cat

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    • Derek Hutchison Native Wood Self Bows
Re: Hey, Del the cat...
« Reply #1 on: November 07, 2009, 03:49:23 am »
It was taken from some mature woodland, my guess is that it had been a managed woodland, probably coppiced until WWII and then left, you can see from the pic that the tree had been copiced many years ago and had since grown to maturity and fallen under it's own weight.
I don't know what sort of Maple, but there is a load of it growing in the woods around here.

Accurate tree identification is a nightmare, as there are so many very similar, the bark can be very different even on a single tree.
There is a lot of Beech, Oak, Hazel, Hawthorn...but no Yew in that wood. You can see a big fallen Silver Birch hung up diagonally in the back ground. The piece lying behind and to the right is the bit I split and used.
I'm not too enamoured whith Maple, it's ok for a flat style or a a core, but I wouldn't recomend it for a longbow.
Here's a close up of the log.

Here's a guy at the club shooting the 89" bow

And a slightly smaller bow I made from the same timber as a test piece ::)

Del
« Last Edit: November 07, 2009, 03:57:48 am by Del the cat »
Health warning, these posts may contain traces of nut.

Offline MaceG

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Re: Hey, Del the cat...
« Reply #2 on: November 07, 2009, 02:33:03 pm »
     Thanks Del,
 I've been working on an 80 incher using red maple. Found out red maple and dry heat don't get along...tick...snap. So I'm having another go at it. No heat this time.
Set happens - Jawge