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Author Topic: poplar as bow wood  (Read 31525 times)

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Offline ohiocountryboy

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poplar as bow wood
« on: May 08, 2013, 06:46:14 pm »
Any good? I always see it at the hardware stores and like the look of it and wonder if it can make a decent bow. Thanks for your help. Mike
« Last Edit: May 08, 2013, 06:56:15 pm by ohiocountryboy »
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Offline Newindian

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Re: poplar as bow wood
« Reply #1 on: May 08, 2013, 06:48:05 pm »
No
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Offline sonny

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Re: poplar as bow wood
« Reply #2 on: May 08, 2013, 06:49:12 pm »
makes great arrows though!
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Offline Onebowonder

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Re: poplar as bow wood
« Reply #3 on: May 08, 2013, 06:59:51 pm »
Pretty good for Atlatl darts as well if you need a heavy MASTADON CLASS Atlatl rig. (...and who doesn't need such!?!?!?) >:D ;D :laugh:

OneBow
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Offline Ifrit617

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Re: poplar as bow wood
« Reply #4 on: May 08, 2013, 07:42:04 pm »
Talk to Ryoon. He has a thing for the stuff.  >:D >:D >:D

Jon
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Offline bushboy

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Re: poplar as bow wood
« Reply #5 on: May 08, 2013, 08:02:14 pm »
Maybe google ...potenial bow woods ..by tim baker. Think he stated to look for wood with a specfic gravity of .50 and over as a base line. Basically any hardwood with proper design and good grain can be fashioned into a bow.I think popular is about .40 sg so not the best chioce for a durabile bow imho.
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Offline bubby

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Re: poplar as bow wood
« Reply #6 on: May 08, 2013, 08:04:39 pm »
yeah poplar is 37 or lower based on type, ryoon did make one I think it was 4" wide
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Offline RyanY

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Re: poplar as bow wood
« Reply #7 on: May 08, 2013, 08:26:17 pm »
Best wood around!  ;D Not really but you can definitely make bows with it. Just make it wide and long to give yourself plenty to work with. The downside is how soft it is since it gets dinged up really easily. Should make a good shooting bow if designed well though.
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Offline Joec123able

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Re: poplar as bow wood
« Reply #8 on: May 08, 2013, 08:43:45 pm »
Any wood can make a bow just with the right design. I think poplar works ok for light weight bows
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Offline dmc

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Re: poplar as bow wood
« Reply #9 on: May 08, 2013, 09:15:34 pm »
I think I saw it on a bow handle here somewhere. If I remember right, it looked pretty good.
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Offline Thesquirrelslinger

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Re: poplar as bow wood
« Reply #10 on: May 08, 2013, 09:51:59 pm »
Wide and long. Or light weight. Plus its diffuse porus ring... makes it useless to chase a ring.
But it DOES make amazing arrows... Its light.
 find a red oak, maple, hickory, or other HEAVY strong hardwood 1x2 and you can make a good bow from it:P
I have a half-tillered red oak bow, 70" NTN, it currently draws #95@10"... One limb is pretty stiff. Tips are only 1" wide :o
Red oak seems to take set easy, but it doesn't rise over time. Is there a simple reason for this?
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Offline George Tsoukalas

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Re: poplar as bow wood
« Reply #11 on: May 08, 2013, 10:13:56 pm »
It's a good arrow wood but a marginal bow wood. Red oak is a much better choice. Yiogo
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Offline RyanY

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Re: poplar as bow wood
« Reply #12 on: May 08, 2013, 10:14:04 pm »
Guys, Poplar will make heavier bows if wide enough. The bow I made was built to the extreme and only took 1" of set. As for ring chasing, I've chased rings on just about everything (yew included) so I don't see why poplar would be different. Maybe if I can find time I'll build one that you can shoot an arrow with.

Thesquirrelslinger, I haven't seen red oak behave any differently than other bows if designed well. If you're pulling bows to 95# and only want a 50# bow then that's probably why they're taking set because you're stressing them way more than they ever will be.
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Offline Thesquirrelslinger

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Re: poplar as bow wood
« Reply #13 on: May 08, 2013, 10:32:39 pm »
its with a long string. Plus I want it around 75-80 pounds. I want to make a RO longbow....
Ryoon, Poplar is diffuse porous. It is LESS LIKELY to splinter if you DON't chase a ring. Speaking from experiance.
I mean like it takes 1" of set when tillering to only 5 inches or so, but then it stays that way when you get it to 27".  i find it very wierd.
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Offline RyanY

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Re: poplar as bow wood
« Reply #14 on: May 08, 2013, 10:36:19 pm »
Gotcha. 1" of set a 5" of bend sounds like a broken bow to me.  ???
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