Type of Wood

[litekpr]

My bear tree (5 bears) is an Ash the size of a telephone poll.
This year I had my first bowkill from it even though it was chosen for a rifle spot.
It is slated to come down this winter and given the amount of time I have spent in this tree, the landowner has agreed that a chunk is coming to me(he likes bearmeat too.)
Is it Ash used to make bows?
If so is this the best wood to use?
How big a piece is needed?
How long will it keep before having to make it?

[ironfistcanada]

White Ash is a good bow wood especially for your first bow. I would use Hop Hornbeam for a top line Selfbow. You can use Oak, Cherry.Locust Apple Hawthorn they all grow in N.S. dont forget good old Maple. You can age the wood with a heat box or naturally dry it in a cool dry place for 9months to a year. The moisture content should be checked occaisionally. There are lots of good bowyers here that can give you a hand when you are ready to build. Give it a try you will be surprised what you can accomplish. John.

[litekpr]

Holy...lots of types.
Now I would think apple would be hard,hard to find a piece to use for starters, but wouldn't that be pretty.
Hop Hormbeam, first I've heard of that.
So my pegs have been in the same places and they only go in about 3-4 inches, Ive noticed a little blackness at the holes.
Is there a better cut of the wood that I should consider, center of the log?
I know there is a way that you mill lumber that is wasteful and makes the grain look much nicer, hence with the waste it is much more expensive. This won't matter in this case. Taxman hates the barter system.
Or will I want the grain straight up and down?

[POINTY STICKS]

I've used both ash and maple to make bows. both were very nice shooting bows. I beleive that the prettiest selfbow i've ever seen was made from apple . Best part of getting a logs worth of wood is you can ferquently get more that one bow(if tree is big enough) and you can make your arrows out of the same tree.

[alpo]

welcome litekpr, but be careful as many here can tell you, bow building can be addictive.
the trick is simply "letting the bow out of the tree", takes a while to find them sometimes, but like PS says, with one log you get 6-12 or more chances. On NSH.COM, sticks has a thread that covers most every thing, back a couple winters.
and on another site i saw it decribed as spring is scouting season, summer is fishing season, fall is hunting season, and winter is bow building season. Always something to look forward to.

[POINTY STICKS]

Just thinking litekpr, you took a deer from that tree this season , maybe you could take one with the tree next. Selfbows are just one of those thing once you've made one and shoot it your hooked. I went to the other extreem. Must poeple look at a tree and wonder how many bows, But i see thousand and thousands of arrows. Still fun ;D

[archeryman57]

The holes in the log might be a place to line up your wedges. Are they in a straight verticle line? The outside of the log is where your bow lies in the wood. Some times you can get what is known as an inner split which lies farther in the log. Usually this is where there will be more pin knots and they create more of a challenge for the bow maker. Cut it in the winter, split it into 3inch wide staves and work them down close to bow dimentions. This will allow the wood to dry quicker. Tie them back to back with blocks in between and that will induce backset as they season.

[litekpr]

57...The steps were kinda lined up like the old telephone poles, almost at the stand they spiralled a little to allow easy entry 20-25ft up.
This prob won't be a problem as I can get as much of the tree as I want. The tree is probably 50ft high and 3ft at the base.
When milling what dimension pieces do I want?
For drying them is there a mold type something I should manufacture...if so do you have pics?
Log will be cut soon after xmas.

[archeryman57]

From a tree of that size there might be as many as fifty staves or more. Staves should be six feet long and three to four inches wide. Billots can be had at about forty inches long. These will be slpiced together after they season. A form is not required for drying but I do like to tie them back to back with a couple of blocks in between. These can be in the center and should be about two inches thick. The final width will be appr. two inches and the thickness should be two inches in the center tapering to 3/4 of an inch at the tips.

[litekpr]

PS...cheatin here a bit to get posts up..lol
Unfortunately this was not the tree, the boys were cutting there then, I was about 500m north of it on the same trail. Haven't taken a deer from that tree.
For some reason the deer don't seem to come on that ridge very often,only bears, can't understand it because there is alot of beech there, maybe because of the bears?
This is exactly my thought...kinda a full circle thing of getting a bow from the tree.
I'd be surprised if this was done in time for next year but how sweet would it be to get my first deer with a bow from this tree?
Maybe that is the purpose of Brutus being "still on the hoof" my 05' nemisis.

He's waiting and growing even bigger, the last time I picked a deer it took three years, there was some beer drank when he came home with me.

[archeryman57]

It is possible to get one built from that tree if you start right away. I have dried wood in as little as one month.

[litekpr]

LOL...Now that sounds like a nudge...
Was it the picture? He's a brute. ...lol

[archeryman57]

Well when antlers with an inside spread of 21"+ like that one are scored they should be well into the 150-160 class. Also think I am helping with your postings. The number one point that I can see is about 7-8" high.