Snakewood question for bowyers.

[Izzy]

How much snakewood can be incorporated into a bow? I never see it used for riser and veneers. Is it difficult to find larger pieces?

     Stalker has done some beautiful work with the Schleyer and Big Jim did a bit of snakewood along with Blacktail but I haven't seen much else out there.

[Jon in North Idaho]

I think 2 main reasons....  it's very expensive and it has moisture mitigation issues.

When I say expensive, a riser size piece could easily be $400 or more (roughly 2"x2"x24").  Black tail bows offers snakewood - it adds $1300 to the cost.

Check this thread to see it discussed more...
 http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=126694

[heartlandbowyer]

Pretty exspensine and hard to come by may be some regulations put on it because of black markets. Most pieces you find are small and used for turning pens on a lathe.

[Keith Zimmerman]

Beth told me it cost $300 for veneers and a pc for the riser from a customer who used it.  And they supplied the wood.

[BigJim]

I have done both veneers and risers in snakewood. Looks great as long as you don't look at the bill.

BIgJIm

[Lamey]

in my experience using it in knife handles, it has the want to crack...  I would imagine the guys that use it in bows go through a BUNCH to find suitable pieces.

[pamike]

Bill Dunn made me some full veneer limbs on my elkaholic - amazing looking wood!!  Looks really good with elk antler riser.

Mike

[Easykeeper]

I have a couple Blacktail Snakebits and have talked to Norm about snakewood a bit.  As has been said it's very expensive and part of the inflated cost apparently comes from waste.  If you want the horizontal barring that is the signature snakewood look, it sounds like there's a lot of left over wood in the waste bin out of a log.  I think it is also prone to cracking, especially thin veneers.

Sure is pretty though...

   

[Sixby]

If I were offered  5000. I would not build a bow out of unstabilized snakewood. There are way too many beautiful woods that do not have the cracking problems of snakewood and gaboon ebony for me to mess with it and eventually have a customer that is unhappy because his riser is cracking.  If you insist on having it then pay the 1300 extra for the Blacktail., I do not know this for a fact but I speculate that Norm is using stabilized wood , hense the high price.
I recommend koa instead. Imho it is prettier in the high grades.

God bless, Steve

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I haven't even messed with it after looking at it closely and the cost. I would think it's a prime candidate for stabilizing it prior to use.

Did you use a stabilization process before using it Jim?

I've been researching this process a bit lately and thinking of setting up a vacuum chamber for use with Myrtle wood,curly maple, and some burl materials that i'd love to use but are too unstable.

It may be just the ticket for snake wood too.

[Sockrsblur]

pamikes bow from Bill

 

 

[pamike]

BTW- Riser is VERY heavy.  Snakewood is perfect match but good luck convincing bill to do that again.....

[BigJim]

Snakewood and Ebony are very poor candidates for stabilizing. The wood is too dense and will not take resin thoroughly.
The majority of the problems bowyers experience with exotic wood are often blamed on oils and wood species. In fact, more often then not it is a moisture issue. Ever wonder why some boywers continue to use "problem woods" yet don't ever have problems?
A lot of issues can be traced back to the climate in the bow shop or where the wood is stored.
yes, snakewood has a propensity to crack. Not a problem under glass (as veneer) but if you do a multiple glue up riser where it is repeatedly heated, you may get headaches.

As in ebony, snakewood accepts thin superglue well to heal cracks.

BigJim

[JRY309]

Snakewood is beautiful wood,but very expensive these days.I have seen a beautiful Dale Dye recurve made from snakewood and limb veneers of snakewood.I saw it sold on the big auction site a few years ago,it sold for over $2200.I saw a big block of snakewood sell for $1000,big enough for a T/D riser or two.I like the look of it,but don't I would pay that much extra for it!

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Thanks Jim.   Good info.

[Bivyhunter]

Dang, I've been giving my snakewood away at only $175 charge for an upgrade! I've been charging $100 for a pair of veneers. I bought about 1,200 pounds of it 5-6 years ago and have been working on the pile since then. If only I knew now what I didn't know when I bought the material. A lot of snakewood has hollow channels through the centers of the logs. Between checking, the hollow areas and other defect, I have taken 50-80 lb logs and have gotten zero yield out of them. Finding a piece that you can get a riser sized chunk out of can be an exercise in frustration. I'll often spend 10-15 minutes examining a log and lining it up in my bandsaw before I actually start cutting to try to figure out how to get the best chance of making a usable piece of lumber, while avoiding the defects. To say it's stressful is an understatment!
Even given the headaches and the difficulty in working the material once you start shaping the handle, it is amazingly beautiful stuff when you get finish on it. For physical weight, it is only matched by phenolic.

[leftyfred]

One word of caution I would add about snakewood is the customer must care for the final product.  We sold snakewood several years back.  The wood was as dry as it would ever be, no checking issues.  The figure was good.  However, after being left on a bow rack that was exposed to sunlight, the figure diminished.  Just like many woods, UV was a killer for looks.  These bows were all finished with a UV inhibitor catalized epoxy.  If a man insists  on having a snakewood riser and limbs, he must be sure and store it in a bow sock when done shooting, otherwise he will end up with a solid reddish piece of expensive lumber.  This is true of many of the high end woods.  LF