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Main Boards => The Bowyer's Bench => Topic started by: WINDTALKER on July 17, 2009, 11:46:00 PM

Title: chokecherry for bow wood?
Post by: WINDTALKER on July 17, 2009, 11:46:00 PM

Was wondering if chokecherry would make a good bow? cut one down on a jobsite and got 4 pieces that are 5 inch's around and 6 feet long.

Title: Re: chokecherry for bow wood?
Post by: Dano on July 18, 2009, 10:54:00 AM

Here's a handy link, Can't help ya much more.

 http://onemississipp.googlepages.com/bowwoods

Title: Re: chokecherry for bow wood?
Post by: Eric Krewson on July 18, 2009, 12:46:00 PM

Go over to Paleo Planet and do a search in the bow making section for choke cherry, lots of info. Lots of people like it for bows on that site.

Title: Re: chokecherry for bow wood?
Post by: Roy Steele on July 18, 2009, 03:26:00 PM

I've made a couple light bows a 42# and a 46# these bows came out fine.

Title: Re: chokecherry for bow wood?
Post by: Springbuck on July 19, 2009, 04:38:00 AM

I love it. It is heavier than cherry, tho still light and more scrubby.  I think it acts more like plum.

  Those are pretty big staves.  It does like to twist, usually like 45* through a stave, and in my experience, due to small stave diameter, you are limited as to how wide you can go.  But, I have made some crowned, flat bellied, fairly parallel limbed, and fairly deep cored long bows, and it works great.  It will cryshal on you, but a longish design and elliptical tiller, not quite ELB tiller should get you a good bow.  They have light tips and shoot sweet.  A shorter, wider flatbow is possible, too.  I've seen it sinew backed.  Your staves sound like good ones.

  It is much stronger in tension than black cherry, and a mild crowned back will take a heat-tempered belly.