an apple a day

[sailordad]

  ok so a gut i worked with called and left me a message,wish i would have been home sooner.
his message says that his neighbor is cutting down a couple of smaller apple trees and trimming up a large elm,he also stated that the tree removal guys were
going to be ther shortly with the brush grinder truck. i got home 15 minutes after he called and drove right over, a whole 8 block away.
wouldnt you know it they were already there. i seen them carrying apple tree limbs to the grinder.i yelled "hey hold up there a minute would ya"
ya mind if i take that last stright limb you got laying there from that apple tree, he says" nah,go ahead. you must be the guy thats looking for wood huh"
i said " yup,thats me". he then point to a pile of apple wood thats still laying there,only it was already cut inot fire place logs,damn.
i asked if they had any decent size pieces of that elm left yet,nope already chipped up,bummer.

however i did manage one piece of apple thats about 74 inches long,pretty straihgt for apple,about thre inches across on the large end and two inches across on the other.
i was wondering what is the best way to prep this piece of wood so as it can be used for a bow. would like to get  a long bow out of it,lower poundage for a target bow for the little lady a.k.a. the wife 







any input is always appreciated
i guess what i mean is, should i split this length wise or leave it whole? if i split it where should i try and split it,being that the heart wood is way off center on one end?

should take and peel the bark off,or not?                 


                                                                                               peace,
                                                                                                       tim

[mullet]

Looks ood to me, ought to work. Send me half and I'll let you know.

[Ryano]

I'd just remove material from the belly side with a draw knife and leave the grip area thick. It doesn't look thick enough to split. Apple is good bow wood, just be careful of where those limbs were comming out of the branch.

[sailordad]

would i want to use the side that has the growth rings tighter together as the back then? like it shows in the first pic.

[JackCrafty]

Hmmmmm.....a longbow from apple.  It should work.  If it were me, I would be more concerned with where the knots are rather than were the tight rings are.  The back should not have any knots in it...or as few and as small as possible.

I would also remove the bark, rough it down to near bow dimensions, steam straighten it, apply a sealer (like wood glue) over the knots and ends, and dry it very slowly.  I think apple checks badly, if I remember right?

Yep, (I just looked up apple wood on a woodcarver's forum)....apple will check badly if you're not careful with the drying process.  It also becomes harder and harder with age.  Power tools work better than hand tools when shaping it.

[Bowbound]

all i know is that apple can be very hard. I believe in the middle ages apple was used for splitting wedges!

ohh and,

An apple a day keeps the doctor away

[Papa Matt]

I wouldn't split it. I'd just seal the ends, and put 'er away for a few months.

~~Papa Matt

[Kegan]

I've been wanting to make an apple bow for a while, but have yet to come across a legitimate piece.

Someone showed me an old apple bow he made back in 1953. It looks alot like a Hill bow, only reflexed and with a intricately carved grip. Never got pictures. It's very hard and took very little set, but showes several drying checks left in the edges of the limbs and handle. The man said he took a total of four deer with it, two of which were at 65 or so yards.