Lately i've had the bowmaker's bug like crazy. However, last year i had to dispose of most of my tools, so i can't just rip up boards like i used to. I've always admired guys that can take wonky staves and make great bows from them.
Today i went walking at the oceanside and found a fallen branch of some deciduous tree. Freshly fallen, maybe today. Of course, the first short section of it was rotten, but it's got good wood.
I said aloud, "I need to see somebody right now who can help me." Then i turned around and saw a man standing in his yard. I asked him if he had a hatchet, and he said, "Do you need a bucksaw?" Long story short, i packed the damn log a mile to get it home, and thank you very much kind stranger.
MY QUESTIONS:
tension wood:
i know the tension wood is at the top of the branch, and i suppose this is the better wood...but since i saw the branch on the ground and not in the air, IS THERE ANY WAY TO TELL WHICH SIDE WAS THE TOP OF THE BRANCH??
compression wood:
is it worth making a bow of?
backwards bows:
anybody tried this? how'd that go? what should i look out for?
pin knots:
are pin knots any indication: seems like the little branches would grow from the top towards the sun...does that mean the tension wood is the wood with all the pin knots?
3.5 " diameter:
is this too small to make 2 bows from?
I have never made a bow from a stave like this before, only board bows...what do i need to watch out for?
thanks in advance, radius
