European Buckthorn Properties?

[TacticalFate]

My campus has lots of buckthorn in the woods surrounding it, and I know it'll make a good bow, but I was just wondering whether this wood was better in tension or compression. Most of the nice straight pieces are about 2-3" in diameter, and I was wondering how I should make the cross section.

[missilemaster]

Buckthorn is one of my favorite woods to work with. It is excellent in both tension and compression. Just be sure you cut it in winter when the sap is down as it is one of the most difficult woods to dry without it checking the heck out of its back. I would debark it, thin it down to just above bow dementions and then seal the back with lacquer or shellac. The sapwood dirrectly under the bark becomes the bows back, no chasing a ring necessary. Also, when you go to cut it, check for the flat side to the trunk, that will tell you if it is twisted or not.

  As far as cross section goes, I would opt for a flatter belly and slightly crowned back for your first.

  Like I said, it is near the top of my list as far as bow woods go, you wont be disappointed!!

  Just out of curiosity, where do you live?

                      -Cody

[TacticalFate]

At the moment, Syracuse, NY, I go to the New York State College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Summers I go back to Brooklyn, where I find myself chasing tree trimmers for possible bow wood. The city ain't a very good place for that, though I did intern last summer in Prospect Park, which contains Brooklyn's last few hundred acres of forest. Lots of non-native Sycamore Maple and Norway maple.

[mikekeswick]

Hard, dense , diffuse porous. Crowned back an flat to mildly crowned belly is best. Some of our stuff here touches 0.9 density....To dry when the sap is up you just need a few plastic bin bags. Leave bark on, seal the ends very well and then wrap up in the bags and seal with sticky tape. Unfortunately you will have to leave it for a few years before it's ready to trough out. You can be lucky drying them quickly bujt thats not the best option with this wood in my opion.