Juniper for an "Ishi" bow

[Billinthedesert]

It has been some time since I read Kroger's biography of Ishi, but I seem to recall the Yahi harvested their juniper bow wood from branches, rather than from juniper trunks. What diameter should I be looking for, and from the sky side or the earth side?

[Blacktail]

well bill,i would say the sky side...and branch size is really up to you..but,i have learned from keenan howard that its better to get bigger branchs because there is a better ratio of heart wood to sap wood..the sap wood in branchs is thinner.. that way you dont have to do so much reducing down....i have found that juniper trees have alot of sap and a very little heart..the heart is the back bone in the bow plus sinew backing it...it make a great bow if you do curtain things to it..WHERE DO YOU LIVE...john

[JackCrafty]

I think Ishi harvested the branch staves wherever there was a clear spot that was not twisted.  It's hard to find trunks without twist.  But I suppose it depends on the type of juniper.  Where I live, the juniper is best from the top of the tree or the earth side of the branches.

I would go for 3" to 4" diameter branches.  And Ishi didn't worry about violating the rings when he removed the bark and smoothed the back.  I assume he decrowned the staves and the observers didn't know what he was doing.

[loefflerchuck]

Of the many sinew backed juniper bows I have made, the ones of all sapwood and no heartwood shoot as well as most heartwood. It's all about the reflex and sinew. Like yew juniper will shoot better with rounded edges.  Ishi bow cross section were typical california flat bows. Easiest just to pull the bark off and use the sapwood right under it as the back. Then round the edges on the belly to match

[Blacktail]

thanks for the info..i love learning about juniper..i wish more people used it..hey bill..is this billoregon from PP...just wondering if this the same bill that is freinds with frenchy from the rouge valley..john

[Blaflair2]

I won a juniper stave from bruce, I wish I had more. If u didn't have to ainew back it is enjoy it even more.

[Springbuck]

  If you find a big spready old juniper and wade right in to the foliage, you often find big old lower branches with most of their length in the shade of the branches above them.  Shade means no foliage, so they have often not had anything growing on that upper side of the limb for years and years.  That branch has also been reaching out laterally from the trunk, trying to keep the big spray of needles out in the light as the branches above it have grown over and shaded more of it's length.

The up side of that guy is the one you want.

And BTW ,if you notch the stave at each end asnd bend the branch it will pop off,

[Peacebow_Coos]

I seem to remember that Ishi used Juniper but preferred the California Incense Cedar anyone else or am I going nuts?

[JackCrafty]

I don't know if Ishi "preferred" a type of wood.  He made yew bows as well as cedar and juniper bows.  After contact, I think he made a bow out of ash too but I can't remember.

[Billinthedesert]

Blacktail, yep, Bill from Paleo Planet, and Frenchy's beaver buddy. Thought this might be you.
I live in central Oregon now, between Redmond and Sisters. It's a juniper jungle here!
Springbuck, that's some righteous advice you gave there.
Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread.
The only backed bow I ever made was an Oregon white oak bow backed with silk in TB II. (It blew on me about 300 arrows in.)
So if I make a juniper flat bow, I'll finally be forced to try using sinew and hide glue. Been meaning to for years.

[bradsmith2010]

i read in bowyers bible that juniper was his preferred wood,,

[Newindian]

When I use the branches I prefer the upper side for self bows with a thin layer of sapwood ( often times on the old lower branches that are dried on the tree there is no sapwood on the upper side of the branch) for sinew backed bows I prefer the heartwood from the  underside

[mikekeswick]

Sapwood will make a good bow but I made a spliced at the handle sinew backedd juniper. As it worked out there was more spawood on the belly of one limb.....guess what the sapwood chyrsaled and the heartwood was fine. It also looks much nicer in a finished bow. Go for a biggish branch and aim to make the bow out of all heartwood = sinew.
I wish I had more juniper.

[sleek]

I was working an erc the other day. Had it at brace. Soon as I slipped the string onto the nock it blew up into 5 pieces. It was plenty wide and I was only wanting a 40#. Sapwood backed heart wood. I am trying a miniature boo backed erc now to see if that will work for me.

[Traxx]

Before life at the university,Ishi preferred and used juniper.He did use other woods such as Yew,while at the university and mostly at the request of Pope.It is said that Ishi knew of other people using Yew,but never did himself.He knew that the leaves were poisonous to eat,so yeah Peacebow_Coos,you are going nuts

Incense cedar seems to have been used by the Miwok though.