Dogwood For longbow?

[KShip85]

Just checked out a wood properties website and noticed dogwood seemed close to pacific yew in many aspects ad was wondering if anyone has attempted an elb design with it and if so the specs on the finished bow.  I would like to make an elb design warbow from itand was wondering how much it could take.  Thanks got the help!

Kip

[wodpow]

 There are different woods that are called dog wood but most don't get  big or straight enough  if there big to make a stave the only so caller dog wood I have found you can make a bow from is a red twigged tree that you can make shoot arrows from if you find one about a big as a baseball  or bigger you should be able to make a ELB the ones I have seen were made with just the outer bark removed for the back. The bows I have made from it all have silk or rawhide backings because of the high crowned back the bigger the tree the lower the crown.Higher poundage means more stress to the back of the bow keep it long should help spread out the flex and you might get by without a backing .

[Hillbilly]

Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) is a good-sized tree, and is good  bow wood. Its properties are probably closer to hickory or hophornbeam than yew, though. It is a dense, heavy wood and makes good flatbows, I don't know how it would work in a longbow design, you would just have to try it.

[Pat B]

Flowering Dogwood(Cornus florida) the one that blooms white in the spring before it's leaves come out is probably what you have. There are tree type dogwoods and shrub type dogwoods, all are Cornus genus.   Flowering dogwood has very hard dense wood that makes great bows but I don't know about ELB style bows. I have not made a bow from dogwood yet but have a few staves.
  My guess is that it will but I would opt for a flatter belly than a traditional ELB. I'm sure an American Longbow(ALB) would work out fine for this wood.  I also don't think that Dogwood can be compared with yew even if their numbers are similar.