Bradford Pear for bow wood?

[Horney Toad]

Just curious if anyone ever used bradford pear for a bow wood. In the suburbs, it is popular as a landscaping tree, and I get some on occasion for firewood. It looks light when first cut, but gets darker orange when cured. It has some nice color and a lot of fiddleback.

[Diamondback59]

shaun made one  he posted on here about this time last year  it waas real nice also   might chek into that  brock

[Springbuck]

I haven't, but I would, make a bow out of pear in a second....  It is very pretty...

[Diamondback59]

HAHA HEY SPRING BUCK   HOW YA DOIN HA  I MENT SHAUN WEBB FROM IOWA  HE MADE ONE AND POSTED IT HERE  SO IF THEY DO A SEREACH THEY MIGHT FIND IT  SHAUN IS SUPPOSED TO BRING ME A COUPLE OF THEM STAVES TO MOJAM NEXT WEEK IM EXCITED TO TRY IT BROCK     IF I REMBER  HE POSTED IT AS  "SHARE  THE PEAR" ON THE SITE

[ChristopherO]

I believe Shaun said it was a pear tree growing wild but pretty certain he didn't say it was a Bradford Pear.  Having been raised on an orchard I fooled with a lot of fruitful pear trees but you will never find a Bradford Pear Tree planted with the suger pears or Bartlets.  They are an ornimental tree found in countless front lawns in every subdivision.  The problem I see with Bradford pear trees is that they are brittle, especially at the trunk/limb joints.  Ever notice after a bad wind storm what trees are in pieces across driveways?  Bradford Pear Trees.  I don't say this from experience but I suspect a Bradford pear would not make a good bow due to this tendency.  
If someone makes a good, successful bow from one I would love to see it.
Having said all that I will see if I can find Shaun's original post to verify.

[ChristopherO]

OK, I'm back.  I just checked and he called it a "wild seeded pear tree".  For those who may not know that means a fruit tree that grew from a seed and not grafted on to.  For a modern fruit tree to produce a quality, known varity it will start life as a seedling and once it is tall enough the fruit bearing portion will be cut out leaving a "V" notch in the small trunk and a branch or twig from a particular variety will be fitted in that notch and sealed.  When the sap starts running the two parts will become one ,like marriage, and the pear, apple, orange and such, of choice will grow from that seedling.  It is rare that a tree from a seedling alone will produce fruit that is satisfactory for the market.  My Grandpa had an apple tree from a seedling that was excellent for sauce but that is not the norm.
This and a Bradford pear tree are two differet animals, or trees.
Enough of the Horticultural lesson for now,  
the link to Shaun's thread is below:

 http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=000744;p=1#000000

[SALINE RIVER YETTI]

Every Bradford Pear that I have seen vs a 25mph wind looked like a prop from the movie Twister.  Not much strength to them.  TBB4 has good information about wild plum and other "true" fruit trees, mostly favorable.  I have a few wild pear trees on the farm that I have been wanting to try. Need to get the hackberry stave into form first.

[Horney Toad]

Yeah I know what you mean, they do take a beating in a storm. I guess I was thinking more along the lines of making a takedown riser perhaps of an I-beam design for strength or slicing the pear into thin lams for under clear glass limbs. The wood I use for firewood is heavy and a lot of it has fiddleback. It is white when cut, but gets a dark orange in a hurry.

[Shaun]

I felt my ears burning - someone talking about me. Updated report on the pear bow I made last year. It held up fine for several months and then blew up while I was in Texas last winter. I was in a brush ground blind taking some practice draws out my shooting lanes and it exploded. I think the Eagles Flight quiver with arrows in it may have stiffened the center section of the bow and placed more strain on the outer limbs. It broke right at the quiver wrap.

So, it is a fine bow wood with the possible caveat that it can be brittle (like yew) and should be designed for long working limb so that no part of the limb is over stressed.

Not sure if various pear species have different bending properties, but I would recommend that if you can find a 64" clean piece - go for it.

[Pat B]

Bradford Pear(Pyrus calleryana'Bradford') is a Pyrus species like other pears but is a cultivated variety(cultivar) developed as a flowering tree and not for it's fruit. The wood is strong but the structure of the tree is weak. The steep angle the limbs come off the trunk make them susceptible to separating at that joint but usually not across a limb.
   I have never made a bow with Bradford pear but I would if I had the wood.