vine maple

[fujimo]

So my good friend Rob Widen gave me two sticks of v.m.
i have split them and am rough shaping them, the question is, the branches were only 2"diam at the butt end, so i am gonna have to make them a little narrower than 2", and combined with the high crown, i am sure i am going to get some significant string follow.
been thinking of
1.decrowning the back, a little bit, and backing with silk- if there is enough wood to still give me the required draw weight- 50# at 29.5"
or
2.should i decrown and sinew it- or
3.leave it crowned, and sinew.
what would you guys do?

i have read the optimal m.c. for v.m. is 10 to 12% - is this correct.

design as per other white woods- as wide as i can out to mid limb, and then taper to nocks???

[Osagetree]

Wish I could help Wayne but I've never even seen vine maple...

[fujimo]

thanks Joe.
this is my first time with Vine Maple.
rob marked the tension side of the shoot, and they were kinda straight- character, but straight, so  when i split it on the bandsaw to get a tension side stave and a compression side stave- man as i was cutting the the tension side stave just started pulling into reflex radically, and the compression side was following it somewhat, so in the end i landed up with a stave that had a huge amt of reflex, and one with quite a bit of deflex- incredible stuff!!
can just feel the spring in it!!
i have read that the compression side will also make good bows, i might try a "reverse " bow with the compression stave. sinew the belly, and tiller from the crown( back)- thats the way it wants to bend into"reflex" for me- so maybe i wont fight it.

[Blackhawk]

Vine maple is found primarily on the west coast from British Columbia to Northern California and usually within 100 miles of the Pacific Ocean.  It is very popular  for selfbows out here.

[coaster500]

Wayne I've only made a couple of VM bows. One was backed and one was not. The last one wasn't. The back was the wood directly under the bark I did not decrown but I am sure the stave came from a stock much wider than two inches. I used dry heat and toasted it pretty good but still got some string fallow. I have no experience with sinew and vine maple. My VM was fairly short but a pretty snappy shooter. It was 58"s  50@26 and tillered out to 27"s.
 http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c210/coaster500/Vine%20Maple%20Bow/?albumview=slideshow

[Mark Baker]

I built a vine maple bow last year....first one I ever did, and it came out great.   Killed a decent buck and filled an antlerless tag with it.  Easy to work, and very resilient wood.  My wood was probably quite a bit drier than your, due to where I live, and the fact that I'd had the stave for some time - years.  

My "back" was the wood just below the bark, and came from a larger diameter tree than yours, perhaps 4 inches or so.  Do a search for vine maple in the threads, and you'll get a few good ideas and input, from some who've built many of these bows.   I have to say, as an osage enthusiast, I was quite impressed with vine maple.  

Seems like you have quite a bit of length in the piece you have.   I would not de-crown, but would build it a bit longer because of the narrow diameter.  I've seen Strunk build some impressive limb bows from narrow limbs of serviceberry, without decrowning.  Not much more I can offer up.   Just go for it!

[fujimo]

thanks guys
 geuss it it follows the string to badly- i will sinew and retiller.
but i dont mind some string follow.
gonna get started.

[Osagetree]

Coaster, nice bow. I like the texture on the back of that VM.

Keep us posted Wayne!

[rmorris]

Kip If I am not mistaken there is a nice bolivian Rosewood tip on that bow. Nice!

[coaster500]

Joe the stave was in my dry rack in the garage rafters. The bark just popped off the stave and that's what I was left with. Instant designer bow back !!!