2 Mulberry branches

[Dublin Joe]

I have these two mulberry branches nearly dry.  The longer is 67" by 1 1/4" and the shorter is 65" by 1".

I didn't fix them to a form for drying, didn't even lay them flat.

How would y'all handle them?  I'm not aiming for a hunting bow, just a pair of backyard shooters.

I'm thinking they have a natural reflex and could be tillered "backwards" to approach the 30-40# range. Am I understanding "reflex" correctly?

[Dublin Joe]

Expanding my question a little...

Can anyone steer me towards a "Bows from Branches" source?  Something which covers which side should be the belly, which end the top, etc.

I'm going to be pruning quite a bit around the house (mulberry, pecan, crepe myrtle, and live oak) but won't get any real logs, just branches.  I'd like to be able to turn trash into treasure.

Thanks.

[Osagetree]

If they were mine..... In your picture the backing of the bow would be on the right side or inside curve.
The belly should be showing the growth gings on that side of the limb as well; I mean your working portion of the bow limbs must be all on the same half as the back like this,,, belly side-)))))-backing of bow,,, not like this belly side-(0))))-back.... This being the rings)))) & this (0) being the center of your stick....
I'd work the belly first, until you're through the center. This will leave less surface or backing ring that you'll have to chase.
Then you'll have to chase the whole backing ring the entire lenght of the stick while leaving the limb knots. I mean leave them raised above the backing and on the same ring as the backing. Chase the ring up to the ends of those raised limb knots! This will leave the open or cut portion of the raised limb knots in a none working part of the limb. This will be critical or the backing is compromised.
Once you've cut through to the center or to the belly and the back ring has been chased, you can begin to draw on the backing the center line which should follow the vertical grain in the wood end to end.
Draw on the limb profile lines keeping the width at the fades as wide as you can and while drawing around the raised limb knots and not through them as you go up each limb. At about 2/3rds the lenght of each limb start your profile lines tappering thinner twards the tips to about 1/2". Keep the handle area full width for now!
Tiller the belly until you just start getting the entire limbs to bend by pushing the tips on the floor while holding it in the handle area of the bow pushing the tip down on the floor.
Now twist you a flemish string and on to the tiller tree. Once you're happy with the tiller shape the handle to best allign the string where you want it. A little heat bending may be in order to better allign the tips and string in the center of the handle.
Yoou're good to go    

[Pat B]

Don't chase any ring. Go with what was under the bark for your back. Otherwise do as Joe suggests. Mulberry sapwood makes a pretty good bow.

[Osagetree]

Pat would know about the mullberry more so than I, so if not chasing a ring is suggested then that makes the job much easier!

Thanks Pat for the good advice!!!    

I have mullberry locally but it bears fruit, so is a fruit bearing mullberry good too?

Joe is yours from a fruitless tree?

[Pat B]

Mulberry is mulberry as far as I know. The only kind I have used is the wild fruiting variety. It is usually spread by birds sitting on power lines or along fences.

[Silent Bear]

Chasing a ring isnt necessary with mulberry. If I was working with these pieces I would decrown the back and belly and make a nice d bow bending through the handle

[Dublin Joe]

Mine is a fruitless mulberry, pretty big too.  The trunk has about a 3 ft. diameter.

Osagetree, thanks for the details.  I usually get the big picture but find little hangups along the way.

Silent Bear, I'm glad not to have to chase rings yet.  The decrowning leaves parallel lines where you've evenly gone through a ring, right?  The d bow with working handle sounds right but I have one noob question... Is the D referring to the full draw profile, or the cross section of the bow itself?

Thanks guys, and I'll post pics along the way.

Joel

[Pat B]

I'd leave the back as is and just flatten the belly. With all the limbs on these staves flattening the back would lead to breakage. IMO

[Osagetree]

I agree with Pat.

[Silent Bear]

Dublin, yes the D is the full draw where the limbs and the handle are all bending evenly throught the whole bow.

I would take a rasp and run it right down the middle of the back to slightly decrown but would not touch the knots and leave them as high spots, after this tiller the bow by removing the rest from the belly

[Kc kreger]

Keep us posted!  I want pictures, lots of pictures.  I have an abundance of mulberry, black walnut,black locust (is it one in the same???)and Osage growing around the farm.  Lots of young Osage too!  I've been trying to get the nerve to cut some wood and let it season, but just can not decide where to start  :D

[Dublin Joe]

Alright, Oklahomaleatherman, I'll post lots of pics.

The moisture content is about 13% right now so I think it's too soon to do much more than rough out the shapes.

Should I have a go at straightening while I've still got some moisture?  They each are about 4 in. from straight.

Osagetree reinforced my notion that this curvature might be a natural reflex so making the inside (right side in the pic) the back would be the way to go.  Does anyone think otherwise?

I'm trying to imagine a 26" draw which seems like it would really be 26 + 4.  These aren't that long (65 and 67") compared to my 72" board bows and I figure 30" is pushing my luck.

Flipping them around so the inside is the belly, though, means the 26" is really 22" of draw and they have a brace height built in.  This should mean more draw force gets to the arrow since bracing won't use up very much.  Efficiency is good, especially for smaller bows, right?

They say a little info is a dangerous thing.  It may be but wrapping my head around bowyery is more fun than I've had in a long time, way more fun than dovetails and dados.

[walkabout]

from what i know straightening or reflexing a stave while drying is only making the wood "pretend" to be straight or reflexed(info courtesy of TBB) with that said, i dry staves with the handle clamped down and blocks under the tips to help minimise twist during drying. might not be needed but i feel better about it. someone else might know better but id guess youre better off waiting till the wood is dry and then using heat to straighten them. good luck and post pics along the way.

[Pat B]

Silent Bear, why would you violate a perfectly good back by decrowning? It will be strongest as it is, branch stubs and all. I've never seen a need for decrowning staves. If this bow is well tillered following the ups and downs along the branch and has a flat belly it should make a nice little bow.

[Silent Bear]

Pat, taking wood off of the apex of the crown isnt violating anything, I normally do this when working with tension weak wood but fruitless mulberry is fairly strong and would most likely not be needed in making a 30-40 pound bow at that length if it has good tiller