data crunching: bow wood qualities

[DC]

Also known as Black and Rock, Acer sacherasomething. I looked it up
Thanks Adam

[PatM]

Black and Rock are both considered "hard" Maple  and "Sugar Maple". Very closely related. Hybrids are known.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acer_nigrum

 Manitoba Maple is not a hard Maple.

[adb]

I stand corrected. It's definitely not Manitoba maple then.

[PatM]

Manitoba Maple is one of those puzzles of the Maple family. Most trees show some sort of aptitude for occupying a specific area. Manitoba Maple is like a tower built with Styrofoam blocks.
 It would be interesting to know where it grew originally. I'm guessing sheltered creek bottoms where the trees could hold each other up.

[joachimM]

Mark that hard maple Acer saccharum is right on the regression line for tension and compression. Good, but its three european counterparts score considerably better. I'll look for some tree staves to cut this weekend
It scores very similarly to european hornbeam. Time to make something out of the two logs in my shed :-)

[PatM]

Which European counterparts are you speaking of?
 I see the three on the chart. Very skeptical about those numbers.... I've seen attempted Norway Maple bows.

[jesswprater]

Sorry, if this is off-topic.  :embarassed: I'm sure there could be a million of these questions come up but, has anybody had any experience with American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)? I have heard of people using it for the sole of handmade wood planes, therefore wonder if it might be good for bows.

[SLIMBOB]

Texas persimmon yes.  Seems to be great wood as I am in the midst of finishing one up.  Hard as a lead pipe, very heavy but surprisingly elastic.
I would be interested in seeing where it fits into the mix. Diospyros Texana.

[joachimM]

No such data on texas persimmon. White ebony or persimmon (D virginiana) is closest on both graphs to black palm.

[SLIMBOB]

Interesting.  Thanks.

[DavidV]

Persimmon has some high numbers but has tended to chrysal for me.  Very high compression but even higher tension. Id like to try it with bamboo backings just to see what happens.

[dylanholderman]

That's what I was saying... it's hard maple, or sugar maple, from eastern Canada. Should I have said hard maple, aka sugar maple? All I'm certain of, it's from the genus Acer. Could also be Manitoba maple, another hard maple.

i'm sorry then i thought you said it like they were two different species

[joachimM]

Which European counterparts are you speaking of?
 I see the three on the chart. Very skeptical about those numbers.... I've seen attempted Norway Maple bows.

Field Maple  (Acer campestre). As far as wood structure and SG goes, this seems the best of the three European maples to me. No compression data, however. I have a short stave for a 50" bow curing.

Norway Maple (A. platanoides). I haven't worked with that species yet, but alledgedly it can make good bows, see e.g. http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,5567.0.html this being said, virtually any wood can be made into a decent bow, if you know how to adjust design to the wood specs.
 
European sycamore or Sycamore Maple (A. pseudoplatanus). I cut down a small tree this weekend and got two 2 m x 10-15 cm logs which I split into three staves each. Straight grain, no spiral, ... No great impression on strength when breaking branches... Guess I'll first make a plant-fiber backed 60" pyramid flatbow or something to see how that turns out.

Joachim

[jesswprater]

"Texas persimmon yes.  Seems to be great wood as I am in the midst of finishing one up.  Hard as a lead pipe, very heavy but surprisingly elastic.
I would be interested in seeing where it fits into the mix. Diospyros Texana."

Thanks for the information SlimBob and joachimM! Since I live in Oklahoma, our trees are probably more like the Texas variety than the Virginia variety. The farm I live on has a lot of 8-12" diameter trees. I'll be filing that for future reference. I would sure like to hear how your bow turns out, SlimBob.