i have access to about 3 or 4 cherry tree stems.they are all between 4 and 6 " in diameter.
7-8' long.
pretty straight.
does cherry make a decent bow.
any ideas
thanks
wayne
ive seen a lot on here and elsewhere about cherry. i wish i could find some that need...pruned.
yup, hova.
seen heaps about risers and handles, never actually read anything about self bow staves.
maybe just missed it, dont always get a chance to get on trad gang as much as i would like.
Do you know which variety of cherry it is...black cherry or choke cherry? Either will make a good bow but I believe the choke cherry is better. The bark of choke cherry makes an excellent backing material.
thanks for the replies,
pat, how do i tell the difference.
thanks
Black cherry has a somewhat scally bark and the choke cherry has a smooth, shiny, coppery colored bark and wraps around the tree instead of growing lengthwise like most barks.
once again, thanks pat
i will look tomorrow before i cut it down, maybe get a few pds before i cut it.
thanks
wayne
i have read that cherry is a good compression wood.
I've made 2 bows from choke cherry.They came out nice.It surpised how snappy the 2 th one was.Never used black cherry.
Hi guys. Been browsing for a while but have never participated, so here goes. My mentor who has passed on made several bows from black cherry here in Minn. They were all 66" - 68". One of them was his favorite bow for quite awhile.
in TBB II. in the chapter bows from boards. it states that for it's mass, black cherry is stronger and more elastic in compression than most other woods. but, it is slightly weaker in tension. a bow designed to take advantage of cherry's compression properties will more than likely break in tension. a moderately strong and elastic backing brings tension strength safely up to normal, resulting in a limb of exceptional energy storage per mass. there is also a black cherry pyramid design bow pictured. unbacked.
i cut the stems today, and will split them tomorrow after work.
so.... are these heartwood bows, there seems to be a heap of sapwood around the heartwood.
chase a ring??, and back with sinew or rawhide.
or plane /spokeshave it smooth and back with bamboo.
i really like buiding longer , bend thru the handle flat bellied longbows right now- 68" ntn at about 60#, and i glue in about 2.5" of reflex in the backing lamination.- they shoot well, and accurately- no handshock , draw smoothly- i sure like em!!!
would this work,
or is cherry better suited to other designs.
does it respond to heat/steam for reflexing tips etc.
i think it is black cherry, the nearby residents say that this tree produces small black fruit about the size of a thumb nail.
the bark on the smaller limbs is kinda reddish/purpleish.grey brown and a little rough on the bigger stems.
white sapwood, dark brown heartwood.
when a 1/2" size branch is snapped, the barks seems to break real easy- bark doesnt seem real tough at this stage.
anyway, any ideas.......
here is a picture of black cherry bark and leaves. hope this helps (http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h356/donny-szymanski/th_scan0002.jpg) (http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h356/donny-szymanski/?action=view¤t=scan0002.jpg) .
thanks for the pic don,
but dont see it,
on your photobucket profile neither.
thanks
wayne
Sounds like black cherry. Use the sapwood right under the bark for your bow's back. You will have to work a bit to get the bark and cambium off but that's what you want. You can easily make that bow you described. If you get the back ring clean you should not need a backing but if you are worried about it use rawhide.
sorry fujimo. after i posted it i accidently deleted it. i put it back
awesome pat, thanks
2' wide at the fades going to 3/8 or 1/2 ' tips, or would you run the limbs parralel for half the limb then taper
thanks don
I'd go out 6" to 8" at least, especially if it were my first just to get a feel for what the wood can handle. Maybe even go half way out the limb before tapering. Start your tips at 1/2" and narrow them later. I leave tips and handle areas wide and thick until at least the first low bracing incase some minor adjustments need to be made.
thanks pat
i will try that.
I have lots of cherry around here so am interested in how this one works out. Keep us posted and don't hesitate to do a build-along if the fancy takes you :) Also lots of pictures wouldn't hurt either.
For the more experienced, what would be a good backing to aleviate the tension problems and take advantage of the compression attributes.
I have heard that cherry makes a very fast smooth bow, but can be brittle. Would love to find a system that takes full advantage of this wood. it is one of my favorite woods.
Elm or hard maple would make a good back for cherry. Thin hickory might and there is always rawhide and sinew too.
so dumb question.....
what is hard maple, as apposed to other maples, and what other maples are there, and where does one find hard maple.
Ta.
black maple and sugar maple are both also known as "rock maple" or "hard maple". black maple is closely related to sugar maple.it is often treated as a variety of sugar maple. the ranges are similar but black maple is more common throughout iowa. sugar maple extends farther into canada in the northeast. both are tapped for syrup. sugar maple is in extreme SE manitoba east to nova scotia, south to north carolina and west to kansas. don
i get my information from NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY field guide to trees. eastern region. don
ta don
wayne.
Don, that is a book any wood bowyer should have and study...unless you are from the West. Then it is the Western Region edition.
thats actually why i bought the book
so not to hijack , but can sugar maple make a good selfbow? got 3 massive sugars at my ma's place just itchin to be pruned...
-hov
Sugar is an excellent bow wood.
I have found a source that specializes in edge grain lumber and I bought a cherry board. Is there any way to tell what kind of cherry it is?
not trying to be smart but wouldn't your source know what type of cherry it is?
don , lots of places either use a generic term (like pecan for hickory) , or are just part of it. ipe at my sawmill is just listed as exotic walnut . they also have listed jatoba which is the same thing...
im sure theres a way to figure it out , post a pic of what you got... id even hit half of the piece with a little water or acetone to show the wet colors...
-hov
Bona, it is most likely black cherry(Prunus serotina). It is a common furnature grade wood. Ash or maple backings would work well for that cherry. Did they have either of these or hickory. If so get a board that is 2" thick and cut backing strips from the 2" side.
what if you wanted a backing for a pyramid?! 2 inches would hardly do it...
just messin with ya. i might have to check out the local supply of this.
black cherry (prunus serotina) is the species of cherry that is used in the TBB II. chapter 2, bows from boards. mark baker wrote this chapter. there is a pyramid design black cherry bow on page 29. it is 53#@28". grip is 6" limb width is 3" just above the grip then they taper in an even line to just over 1/4" nocks. i can't find the length though. this bow is not backed. also, the nocks are too small to cut string grooves. instead, a shoulder of fiber is wrapped on and glued. i'll see if i can find if he wrote what the length is.
fujimo, sorry if I hijacked your thread. I would like to rawhide back my cherry bow.
don s, I think that bow was like 72" atleast. If I hadn't been so rushed the day I was there, I may have tried to find out. Quess I could call them.