Oak

[Jjpso]

Hello guys.
I will try to do my first bow from a stave, and I have acess to a lot of oak - not sure about the species i live in Portugal, we have a lot of diferent types of oak...
The question is, whats the best time to cut it? Do i split it and seal it or just seal the ends?
Is the back of the bow just under the bark or do i have to chasse a ring?

Thanks for the help, this is really a great place!

Joćo Pedro

[tattoo dave]

Not sure what season it is in Portugal, way up here it's not the best time of year to cut. I don't make many stave bows, but the best time to cut is spring and early summer, when the sap is running. I usually split, peel the bark, then seal the ends.

I think oak is okay to use sap wood just under bark, but I'm not positive. Somebody with more stave experience will chime in, i hope.

And Welcome to PA, if nobody has said that yet. This is a great place!

Tattoo Dave

[BOWMAN53]

oak fall under two catagories. red and white. if the lobes of the leaves are rounded its white oak if they are pointy its red oak. white oak is the better of the two.

[Jjpso]

Tattoo, its early autumn now, its around 15celsius by day and 8celsius by nigth.
Bowman, i believe those species you pointed are northamerican ones, i dont think the european ones fall in those two categories...

[DarkSoul]

oak fall under two catagories. red and white. if the lobes of the leaves are rounded its white oak if they are pointy its red oak. white oak is the better of the two.

The topic starter told you he lives in Portugal. Your red/white oak classification is totally redundant here.

Most oaks are very fine bow woods. You can just use the wood directly underneath the bark. Or you could chase down to a heartwood ring, but that is not strictly necessary. Any time of year is good for cutting bow wood. The advantage of cutting in spring or summer is that you can just peel the bark easily. But that means you'd have to wait another half a year before you can even start making a bow! So don't wait, but cut a tree right now. Split the log and seal the ends. Remove the bark carefully.

[mikekeswick]

Darksoul +1
Dead on.

[Jjpso]

oak fall under two catagories. red and white. if the lobes of the leaves are rounded its white oak if they are pointy its red oak. white oak is the better of the two.

The topic starter told you he lives in Portugal. Your red/white oak classification is totally redundant here.

Most oaks are very fine bow woods. You can just use the wood directly underneath the bark. Or you could chase down to a heartwood ring, but that is not strictly necessary. Any time of year is good for cutting bow wood. The advantage of cutting in spring or summer is that you can just peel the bark easily. But that means you'd have to wait another half a year before you can even start making a bow! So don't wait, but cut a tree right now. Split the log and seal the ends. Remove the bark carefully.

Darksoul, Thanks for the help!
After i split the log and seal the ends, should i also seal the back?

Thanks again!

Joao

[Hrothgar]

"should i also seal the back?"  Only if you choose to debark the stave now, you could leave the bark on for a month or so and then remove the bark without fear of cracks.

[bradsmith2010]

roughing out a bow while green is an option as well,, just seal the back and handle fade area to prevent checking,, also clamp down the roughed out bow to keep it from warping while drying