Cedar

[FLgary]

Hello guys,

I know nothing about making bows, but I cut down a cedar the other day that is straight as an arrow. About 10” in diameter and maybe 18’ of usable timber. I was thinking of splitting into staves. I read somewhere that cedar can make a decent bow. Any suggestions, thoughts, ideas!

Regards,
Gary

[limbshaker]

I don't make bows so don't take my advice. But Clay Hayes has a good video making a cedar bow on YouTube. I think it's something like "primitive cedar survival bow" or something like that. Best I can recall, he mentions it really needs to be backed. And when they go, they go all at once lol.

I know it makes a pretty decent core wood in a Hill style bow. I have a Dave Johnson longbow and it's soft in the hand and snappy. Light as a feather too. Hard to find clean pieces, otherwise I think more folks would use it.

[Flem]

What kind of cedar?

[monterey]

See you are in FL.  Wonder what kind of cedar that is?

[FLgary]

I don’t know. But  it’s puurty and smells good 

[KenH]

If its Eastern Red Cedar -- the cedar native to Florida -- it can make great self bows, and sinew-backed bows.  That's the same "cedar" that Cedar Key was named after (but there aren't any cedar there anymore because they were all cut down and sent North to make pencils -- true fact).
 

[Mo_coon-catcher]

If it’s ERC it’ll make a good core for a tril, works great when backed with maple, thin hickory, thin bamboo with a narrows band of power fibers, and makes a great bendy handle with a sinew backing. You can use it as a self bow but leave a sapwood back and over build it a bit. When ERC fails it does so with a violent explosion before it takes much serious. And it takes far more wood than expected to get any weight out of it. Even a silk backing can help it hold together and seems to make it a bit more stiff by adding some level of tension strength

Kyle