Schooling needed - species / grain

[Knosaj]

Is there someplace I can read up on these two things and how they relate? Or am I over thinking it?

If it exists I'd like to study on something like," hey jack, if you use this wood, you better have perfect grain, or if you use this exotic hard wood, then you should back it with something like maple. Etc.

Also grains, I realize they are important and when I was sorting through the lumber, I would find a nice piece that would would have what I thought near perfect end grain ( running straight up and down) the almost parallel long grains running the length of the board on say two sides, but never all 4. I realize that would make poss 2 sides flat grain. There again, are the flat grain sides the belly and back sides, or does the end grain run in the same direction as the arrow?

Confused yet?

I went to a wood supplier today and looked through all sorts of wood. Prob at least 50 species of all types. I focused on Osage, hickory, red oak, and maple bins. They also had some yew bt it didn't seem fit for a bow. At any rate they had ALOT! I also read someplace that maple was really difficult to successfully make a bow so I backed out on that piece.

Found what I thought to be great red oak, and another maple. Both 2x2. But I started second guessing and figured I'd pass until I figured it out.

Thanks again

[Marc St Louis]

Perhaps you should try and get together with an experienced bowyer near you

[Knosaj]

Ok this simple page explained some of it.


There is a note saying that red oak makes nice 30-55 lb bows and some ash up to 85 lbs.

This general info would be nice to have too. I'd hate to make a bow too strong to pull back, thin it up then it break because I used he wrong species




http://www.primitiveways.com/board%20bow%202.html

[RyanR]

The Traditional Boyers Bibles give a lot of good information. You just have to sort through it. Don't be afraid of breaking a bow, we all have. Thats part of the learning curve. Good luck.

[huisme]

You can lighten a bow until it's a ribbon as long as the tiller's right. You don't need to worry about picking a wood that can be made light enough; I made a fifteen pound black locust bow that was thinner than a pencil, and a seventy pound black locust as thick as my thumb at mid limb. The only problem with that heavier one was my inexperienced tiller.

Maple has always seemed pretty easy wood to tiller. Not sure where you would have read it's no good. I always tell people whoa re interested in trying to get hickory or red/white/live oak, be careful about the grain in the oaks and use a backing.

Try the Traditional Bowyer's Bible, and go break a few figuring it out

[BOWMAN53]

Stick with hickory, by the time you go through two or three boards you'll know exactly what you need to know about boards.

Heres a list of woods i would say are best for a new bowyer,


Hickory
hard Maple
White oak

Stay away from red oak, it'll only give you head aches. Master the self bow then move on to other things. 

[willie]

there might be something here

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,39116.0.html

[Knosaj]

Thanks.

I had been looking for this type of link thread. Perfect!


Quote from that page, guess I should relax! Haha

"New bowyers tend to be obsessed with wood data sheets and will spend hours looking for the "strongest" wood with the "best" physical characteristics.  That's OK.  We all go through that stage."

[Knosaj]

Ok, I just was looking through the bowlers bible! Exactly what I needed!

One of the most important things I've picked up so far is that you work with the grain of the wood, following it. Not cutting through it