bow wood question

[hicklife1989]

 do all hickory species of tree make good wood for bows i live in south carolina and trying to find good wood for staves any one know of good wood around eastern southern united states

[Springbuck]

Not all.  If you use the correct design for the wood and the correct piece of wood, you can make a surprisingly good bow out of LOTS of wood species, but some are better than others, and some bow styles really shouldn't be made of some woods.

  That said, you can make a really fine bow out of several species native to your area and many introduced, too.  I hit this website   http://www.scwf.org/native-plant-list/  and came up with

American Holly, Eastern red cedar, several hickories, several oaks, sugar maples, white ash, cherry laurel, wax myrtle, wild cherry, yaupon holly, hawthorn, dogwood, wild plum, hophornbeam, musclewood, persimmon, red mulberry, serviceberry, etc....  I'm missing some.

Get a good idea what you have access to and let us know. 

[Stick Bender]

I have used Pig nut & Shag bark and really cant tell much difference the Pignut I have has a little smoother back but performance wise I dont see any differences !

[Pat B]

I'd say that all hickories do make good bows, even pecan which also is a hickory. You should have red and white oak(other oaks too), maybe hard maple, sugar berry or hack berry, persimmon, Eastern red cedar, sassafras and others.  China berry?
 Where in SC do you live?

[S.C. hunter]

hicklife,
  Pignut, is supposed to be the better, but as others say it is all good.    Pignut tree's have only 5 leaves on the stem. If you look farther up the tree the bark is smooth instead of furrowed. Small pear shaped nuts.  It was used to make "picker sticks" for weave looms in cotton mills. If you are familiar with them you know how tough it has to be.
 Hick, get yourself a copy of  National Audubon Society, field guide to tree's, eastern region.  It's well worth the money.
  Keep that Hickory dry in a heat box while working on it, until you seal it.  soaks up moisture like a sponge here in South Carolina with our humidity.
    Steve

[BowEd]

I once made a bow from winged elm from a stave I got from a fella at Twin Oaks who was from South Carolina.It was a lot better elm density wise than the elm I had here in Iowa and made a lot better bow too.If your unsure of a tree I'd suggest taking a field guide book of the trees in your local area with you while roaming.

[Jim Davis]

Probably 10 or 15 years ago I talked to a S.C. state forester who said all the Osage in the state had been killed off years before by some blight or fungus. I suppose he might not have known about your  examples.

As for hickories, pignut is best, but pretty much any hickory will make a bow. Just make it a couple of inches wide at the fades and follow whatever design you want.

[Springbuck]

2" diameter bamboo actually gives you lots of options, as well.

Also, don't think in terms of BIG trees, yet, unless one falls in to your lap.  Look for thickets of small trees growing close together and find a tall, clean, mostly branchless sapling, not twisted or leaning, 5" in diameter or smaller, 3-4" is perfect.  Hickory, maple, ash, elm, black locust, cherry, hawthorn, plum, hornbeam, and mulberry often grow like this in clusters. Look DEEP in the thicket, where the older forest opens or clears.  Such a stave will get you a nice flatbow or BITH of hunting weight.

[S.C. hunter]

Jim,
 That forester Is mistaken. I grew up in this area, and remember finding Osage Oranges in the fall. At that time I, or anybody I asked didn't know what they were.   Now that I know I have gone back, and found lots of it.  Most of it is useless for bows, some I cant get permission to cut, etc.    I don't think It does really well with the soil here.
 I am going to plant some on my land, and fertilize it, see what happens.
   Steve

[Springbuck]

Sheesh, why can't I read these days?  You said HICKORY trees!  Sorry.

[Stick Bender]

Hunting the Bamboo backed bow by Dean Torges DVD is a amazing vid he covers all types of bamboo backed bows and covers every thing in clear steps it helped me a lot !

[Jim Davis]

Jim,
 That forester Is mistaken. I grew up in this area, and remember finding Osage Oranges in the fall. At that time I, or anybody I asked didn't know what they were.   Now that I know I have gone back, and found lots of it.  Most of it is useless for bows, some I cant get permission to cut, etc.    I don't think It does really well with the soil here.
 I am going to plant some on my land, and fertilize it, see what happens.
   Steve

Steve, where are you in S.C.? I get over there once or twice a year and would keep my eyes open if I knew where to point them...

[S.C. hunter]

Jim,
  I am in Anderson ( upstate ),I grew up in Abbeville, that's where most of it is.   It would be hard to tell you, would have to show you, It is scattered, a lot of it in the city limits.  I have found some here around Anderson, and as far down as McCormick county.  I run across some while hunting, and scouting.
  I think that Forester may have been thinking about American Chestnut, It has been wiped out by some disease here

[Springbuck]

what about plain bamboo bows not bamboo for backing  like this www.meadlongbows.com but want to make the whole thing not from kit.

This is totally possible.  Lot of little skills to learn along the way, but a lot of it, about curing, working, and tempering bamboo there are youtube videos for.  However, not all bamboo is suitable for every task, so as I said, lots to learn.  Bamboo backed bamboo is totally possible.    I personally cannot figure out how Mead Longbows hardens the belly side of their bamboo so well.

For backings, you cut nice sound and strong bamboo from as large diameter as possible, and dry it.  Then, you split it and flatten the inside, as you say.