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Author Topic: Purple gold!  (Read 2912 times)

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Offline Accipiter

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Purple gold!
« on: January 05, 2014, 07:30:32 pm »


Got a hold of a very long, relatively wide piece of purple-leaf plum the other day. Just split it this morning and I have to say, it is one of the prettiest woods I've seen, certainly a unique color! Anyhow, I've heard nothing but good things about plum as a bow wood, and I don't want this piece to go to waste. Any thoughts about the best way to season? I have it split and drawknifed till just past the pith. Bark on, ends are sealed with glue and its sitting in my 97% RH garage at the moment. I'm hoping to rough it out tomorrow, should I seal the belly with anything, strap it down?

Also, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on optimal designs for this piece. I'm shooting for a hunting bow, 50-55# at 26 or 27". This stave is about 6'6" long, 2" wide and 1" thick exactly in the middle. Can I do a stiff handle with that thickness?

 
« Last Edit: January 05, 2014, 11:33:48 pm by Accipiter »
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Offline burn em up chuck

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Re: Purple gold!
« Reply #1 on: January 05, 2014, 07:35:00 pm »
   dip the ends in paraffin about 2in. and let her sit in garage about a year.

                                                                      chuck
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Offline toomanyknots

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Re: Purple gold!
« Reply #2 on: January 05, 2014, 07:45:41 pm »
Oooooooooooo, pretty wood!
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"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline Danzn Bar

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Re: Purple gold!
« Reply #3 on: January 05, 2014, 07:45:59 pm »
 8) piece of wood....
DBar
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Offline Trapper Rob

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Re: Purple gold!
« Reply #4 on: January 05, 2014, 08:33:24 pm »
Pretty wood.
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Offline rkeltner

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Re: Purple gold!
« Reply #5 on: January 05, 2014, 09:00:52 pm »
I look forward to the future of this stave!!
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Offline StickMan47

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Re: Purple gold!
« Reply #6 on: January 05, 2014, 09:43:41 pm »
Beautiful wood indeed! How did you find a piece that long though? I got some purple leaf seeds last summer from a tree but the longest piece of wood on that thing was 3' tops. Couldn't harvest any wood from it as it was on private property on the job site I was on.
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Makin fine firewood, one bow at a time!

Offline Accipiter

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Re: Purple gold!
« Reply #7 on: January 05, 2014, 09:52:15 pm »
There's quite a few plum trees with branches this long or longer around Portland. Some of the street trees get huge, (think 1' diameter limbs) but I cant grab those : ( I think they just grow well here. The problem is finding them straight and without severe twist. This stave has some decent twist as it is, and it was the best I could find.

Thanks Chuck, I dont have parafin, but I bet beeswax would work right?

any thoughts on designs? I was thinking 8x1x1 stiff handle (I'll put on a riser), 2" fades going out to around 12 or 16" and then pyramid to 3/8" nocks, 66 inches ntn. Does this sound doable?
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Offline Badly Bent

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Re: Purple gold!
« Reply #8 on: January 05, 2014, 09:56:05 pm »
Real nice stave. Don't have any experience with it myself but it seems I've heard it can be tough to season without checking and I think maybe I've heard of people wrapping it in plastic to dry slowly and gradually punching small holes
in the plastic covering over time to slowly release the moisture. Again not sure about this but hopefully someone with some experience will chime in and give you better advice if I'm wrong, be a shame to lose a stave of that quality.
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Offline Bryce

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Re: Purple gold!
« Reply #9 on: January 05, 2014, 10:09:20 pm »
GAAAAAABE!!! This gentleman is asking for advise on plumb!


Plumb is a fantastic wood both in compression and tension! Sadly the purple goes away:(

Seasoning can be a pain even when sealed properly. Seal it up real nice and thick and then close it up in a garbage bag for awhile.
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Clatskanie, Oregon

Offline bubby

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Re: Purple gold!
« Reply #10 on: January 05, 2014, 10:37:49 pm »
That's exactly who I thought of Bryce, he's the plumb king
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Offline Accipiter

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Re: Purple gold!
« Reply #11 on: January 06, 2014, 12:37:49 pm »
Alright, I'm gonna rough it out, and then slap some glue on the belly, and glue + wax on the ends. then its going in my garage for two months. Since that's also the approximate amount of time it takes for small puddle to evaporate in there, I think I won't have to worry about it drying out too fast
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Offline Carson (CMB)

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Re: Purple gold!
« Reply #12 on: January 06, 2014, 02:24:49 pm »
T hat is a pretty piece of plum! 
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"The bow is the old first lyre,
the mono chord, the initial rune of fine art
The humanities grew out from archery as a flower from a seed
No sooner did the soft, sweet note of the bow-string charm the ear of genius than music was born, and from music came poetry and painting and..." Maurice Thompso
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