?? Knot on back of crab apple

[snedeker]

I have shaped up an unusually nice straight stave of c. apple, with a pretty good sized knot in the center of the back that I was able to place a couple inches below the taper area, i.e., 15" or so from the tip.  It stands proud of the back about the size fo a cross sectioned billiard ball.  I presume I want to leave it and scrape off the belly under it - like with a curved edge?  The belly can't be flat under it right? or it wouldn't bend enough.  I also left it a little wide in that area - extra 1/8"

I haven't really encountered many big knots like this before.  A good test.

Dave

[armymedic.2]

my reading says you are ight to curve with it, but i have no experience with anything like that.  crab apple?   never heard of that before.  what's it cast like?  sounds cool

[Otoe Bow]

AM.2:  I think that's the local vernacular for Osage or "Boe-Dark", or as the french say Boise-d-arc.  I may be wrong, cause I heard it also called Hedge Apple or Horse Apple. 

What do you say Dave?

By the way AM2, nice bow on your other post.  It looks very Mid-Evil, and as my grand-dad used to say, "Hell for Stout".

Otoe

[Pappy]

Otoe,it's not Osage,it is more like an apple tree with little apple looking fruit on it.
Snedeker I would do what you plan on thinning the belly,you may have to leave it a little stiff there also,you just have to see how it bends.
   Pappy

[DanaM]

Up north what we call a crab apple tree is a apple tree with small sour apples. Their excellent canned. yummmmmy

[snedeker]

I identified the tree as Malus coronaria, the native crab apple of eastern US.  Cultivated apples were from a species brought from the old world and there are many hibred things called crabapple.  The wood is pretty siimilar in all, a hard, heavy white wood approaching hickory in specific gravity.  However, most crab apples are far from straight and very knotty.  A gentleman made a fine bow from c. apple last summer I recall, with lots of knots like the one I mention.  M. coronaria has fruits about 7/8 inch in diameter, green to golden, getting red when ripe.  I got this stem on a power line cut edge in a pretty wasty area in high ridge woods country last year.  It was extraordinarily straight, sort of a flattened profile, IE, 2.5" across on one axis and 2" the other way.  Managed to get just the one knot designed into the bow, and above it some charactier snakiness.  I have it at 65" long and about 1 5/8" wide.  It was scant inch thick at the handle area, so I built it up there with a few 1/8" thick scrap lams (boo, mahogany, and hickory).  More later.

I found the link to last years crab apple by J Duff - not all that knotty in fact, but snaky

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,253.0.html

Dave

[Pat B]

Crab apple is a true apple(Malus) . As a matter of fact most domestic apples have crab apple root stock grafted on for hardiness and vigor.
 Dave, I would do as Pappy said. Keep the belly flat and you will probably have a flat area where the knot is.
  I am surprised you found a crab apple that wasn't twisted.    Pat

[Otoe Bow]

Thanks guys on the info.  I don't know that I've ever seen a crab apple tree. I've got three apple trees (type unknown) in my yard that normally produce more fruit than I can give away.  The late freeze we had on Easter weekend must have affected them this year in that I've not picked one single apple this year.  I can see where the wood would be very snaky. 

Dave:  We'd love to see some pics.  What you guys do with all those pieces with "character" is truly fascinating. 

Otoe