Need a suggestion for starter Stave

[Charlesmaximus]

Hello people of Primitive Archery!  I am completely new to this art form.  That being said, I want to know if you guys have any suggestions on a type of tree to use for a first attempt.  I have a Mulberry tree I may be able to cut down on my property.  I live in East Central Indiana near the Ohio line.  Any and all suggestions are much appreciated, thanks.


-Charles

[Thesquirrelslinger]

Try a board stave, they make learning easier- no knots, humps, dips, etc. But mulberry will make a GOOD bow. Its a cousin of Osage, which is an amazing bow wood.  Choose a piece of hardwood(hickory, ash, red oak) with parallel rings on the back(a series of parallel lines running down the back). It will help you learn tillering without ruining expensive and hard to get tree staves.
Black locust teaches you to tiller, pretty much any hardwood makes a good flatbow- ash, elm, hickory, black locust, honey locust, oak, hard maple... the list goes on. I just started making hunting-weight bows a few years ago... Red oak 1x2 makes a nice good longbow. I don't live too far from you, find your nearest Home Depot and get a 70" red oak 1x2. Then leave the central 12" full width, then narrow to 1 1/4 9 inches from tip, then narrow to 1/2"tips.  thin as neccessary to get correct tiller. That makes a nice, fast, low-set longbow. Also- with red oak, you want to keep the belly as flat as possible.

[Pat B]

Mulberry will make a fine bow. You should have osage in your area. It may be called bodoc, hedge, hedge apple or other names. Red oak, white oak, ash, elm, Hophornbeam, hickory are all from your area. Maybe even Eastern Red Cedar.

[Joec123able]

Mulberry is perfect beginner wood just need to find nice straight grained pieces with little to no knots and you'll be good to go

[munkinstein]

Hello people of Primitive Archery!  I am completely new to this art form.  That being said, I want to know if you guys have any suggestions on a type of tree to use for a first attempt.  I have a Mulberry tree I may be able to cut down on my property.  I live in East Central Indiana near the Ohio line.  Any and all suggestions are much appreciated, thanks.


-Charles

Is the mulberry straight and without knots.  Most of the mulberry trees that I see here in Ontario are quite gnarly,  I'd suggest hickory, ash or maple.  They grow pretty straight, are pretty easy to season, and make good bows.  Of course if you can get your hands on a straight piece of mulberry it can make a wonderful bow.  I'm pretty inexperienced, but have read widely on the topic of bow wood.  There are many others here with far, far more experience than me with regards to appropriate bow woods.  While you are waiting for your stave to season you should grab some red oak, hickory, maple, or ash boards from a lumber supply store and make a few board bows.  They will make nice weapons.  There are also a ton of build-a-longs on youtube, and here.

[DuBois]

Welcome Charles and trust these guys that been here a while to tell ya true. I am somewhat new and have been amazed by the knowledge and fellowship on here. Good luck and keep us posted. Marco

[Scallorn]

Welcome to the forum! Mulberry is good, but usually works best when you chase a heartwood ring on a larger tree. Trying to expose a single ring on the back of a stave can be difficult at times, especially if the tree has knots in it. The beauty of woos like hickory, elm, and other white woods is that after you cut the tree you can strip the bark off, and that is the one growth ring already established. Also, hickory is a lot easier to find in good straight pieces. Hope this helps

[Joec123able]

Welcome to the forum! Mulberry is good, but usually works best when you chase a heartwood ring on a larger tree. Trying to expose a single ring on the back of a stave can be difficult at times, especially if the tree has knots in it. The beauty of woos like hickory, elm, and other white woods is that after you cut the tree you can strip the bark off, and that is the one growth ring already established. Also, hickory is a lot easier to find in good straight pieces. Hope this helps

Actually the sap wood works good too every mulberry bow I've made I've just pealed the bark ofF an made it the back it works fine

[Charlesmaximus]

Wow guys, wonderful feedback!  I will try and get a straight piece from one of the two Mulberry Trees I have.  While it is seasoning I will go get some Red Oak 1X2's to learn with.  I will keep checking in with anything I find out with the Mulberry Staves.  Thanks again for all the help.



-Charles

[Charlesmaximus]

Here is a pic of one of the Mulberry Trees.  When I took a second look at it I noticed the original trees had been cut down.  Now I have a bunch of (suckers?) that grew up from the stumps.  Anything useful here? 


-Charles

[Joec123able]

I see something usefull those berries ! Lol there pretty good. But if you can find a straight piece that's long enough, cut it.

[Del the cat]

That looks like a great source of staves to me.
Remember it's easy to make a bow... it's hard to make a good bow.
I'd say cut a length (or two) split or saw it and while the best half is seasoning get going on the other half.
If you work it geen it will season quicker, it may well take some set if you bend it too soon, but with a bit of luck it can be dry enough in a month. Even if it's still a bit green it will make a shootable bow and teach you a good deal.
Getting started is the key, the fisrt attempt or two gets the ball rolling and gives you a feel for it more than any reading.
Del

[Charlesmaximus]

     Sweet, sounds like I'm gonna be ruining Mulberry staves for quite some time then, lol.  Seriously tho, after I posted this I searched -suckers- and learned that they are useful.  Won't jump the gun next time until I've read up a bit!  You people are super helpful.

-Charles

[burn em up chuck]

  welcome, and i agree those mulberry wood be a great start, this site and books are great resources.

                                                                                               chuck