Well, so much for German Beech

[islandpiper]

A few weeks ago I bought some hickory and some ash and happened to see a pile of really nice looking German Beech.   It was straight and clear, end to end and at about $2.50 a board foot I just had to have some.   

Well, today I laid out a bow and headed for the bandsaw.   I sawed out one side, as usual, and stopped the saw.   I like to take the off-cut and flex and bend it just to get a feel for the stick.   Well, this stuff bent and POPPED, leaving long, ugly and sharp splinters.   

I took the remaining scrap and ran it through the abrasive thicknessing machine and got a 3/8" or so stick.   Bent that and BANG!   Long, ugly and sharp splinters......

No, I didn't saw out the second side of the bow.  The remaining beech will become wooden spoons or salad sets or mandolin necks or something.   I'd be pretty leery of a bow made of that stuff.   

OK, back to the hickory pile. 

Piper

[orcbow]

Piper-

Sorry to hear that, at least you didn't seem to have too much into it. I have a bit of American beech I'm wanting to try, a quarter-saw board, but I will back with something. I have not heard of any beech-wood bows (yet), so I don't know if it works well, probably it's just average.
 

[islandpiper]

orcbow, the shape of the splinters in the break caused  me to simply put that half-sawed stick back in the corner.  I have seen broken wood, some looks more friendly than others. 

Later in the day I sawed and thicknessed some offcut hickory and ash and red oak to the same dimensions, and bent them with no trouble. 

No beech bows here.  Lots of stock for wooden spoons. 

piper

[AndrewS]

@islandpiper
In German we don't use Beech for Bowmaking! You can made fine furniture. And it makes a good heat in your fireplace....

We have a tree that is called "Hainbuche" but that isn't really a Beech (Buche). That's a stuff like HopHornbeam...

[recurve shooter]

ive never even heard of the stuff. i guess we know why now. 

[Boro]

Croatia is crawling with beech. At least the high grounds. Beech is also good for steam bending, not much use with this information but there You go. Maybe for ears for asiatic bows. Naturally, I heat my house with it.

Boris