Bows from Branches

[Dublin Joe]

Greetings all.

I have a large fruitless mulberry tree in my yard from which I took these four branches.

 

From right to left they measure:

1 1/2" - 2 1/4" dia. at 77"
1 3/8" - 1 1/2" dia. at 67"
1" - 1" dia. at 65"
7/8" - 1 1/4" dia. at 57".

I would like your input RE their suitability as character bows.  I don't want to waste time tillering one (once dry) if it's doomed from the start.

They were all cut two days ago and their ends sealed with carpenter's glue.  I stripped the bark off the two middle ones very easily but small one is more clingy.  The large one no longer has its bark or outermost sapwood.

Thanks a lot, guys, and know I appreciate what this site offers.

Joel

[walkabout]

according to a reference i have on bow woods, a mulberry bow should be 15% wider than an osage bow. im guessing this would put it right in the range of hickory, which is generally 1 3/4 inch wide. you may have someone who knows better tell you that 1 1/2 will be fine, or you could just try the best one and find out for yourself, which is probably what i would do .lol. by the way heres that reference site if you wish to bookmark it for future, it has come in handy for me a few times.  http://www.briskybows.com/choosingwoods.htm   keep us posted on what you decide and good luck.

[Silent Bear]

Fruitless Mulberry is pretty good bow wood, you should be able to make some nice bows from those branches

[walkabout]

im glad you could chime in and help, silent bear. i remember someone awhile back posting questions about mulberry and someone said they had made a decent selfbow. i just wasnt sure how much width they needed. ill be looking forward to seeing the bows you get out of these joel should be great character bows.

[Dublin Joe]

Thank you, guys, for the input.

Since y'all haven't seen any obvious problems stemming from the number of twigs that were coming off the branches I'm going to put them up to dry.

When their MC comes down below 10% I'll figure out how to orient them and what not.

I'm definitely beginning to eyeball trees differently now, and even lumber.  I've spotted two bois d'arcs on my aunt's farm and my eyes are constantly scanning the back road fencelines for those tell-tale horse apples.

[walkabout]

haha i hear ya there, i found a trove of hickory  recently, only problem being its in pennsylvania on my grandparents property, 4 hrs away. i got a nice tree picked out for my next trip up there, probably going to be around the 31st. brought back 2 staves with me this time i hope to get some nice selfbows out of.

[Silent Bear]

I noticed that fruitless mulberry really tends to like to crack if dried out to fast, I would put them in a dark spot and seal the ends with some wax or sealer, good luck with your bows

[Dublin Joe]

Silent Bear, would shellac over the entire branch be detrimental, helpful, unnecessary, etc?

I've sealed the ends with carpenter's glue already.

The reason I ask is that here in NCentral Texas it gets pretty hot and dry; the wood in my shop settles out to about 6% MC.  I don't mind a little effort if it helps but I don't want to seal them off too much.

[Silent Bear]

I wouldnt cover the entire branch but just sealing the ends should be fine and keep it in a dark place

[Pat B]

I think I would determine where the back will be, remove the belly side and seal the back. The moisture need a place to leave from and if you seal the entire bow rot will probably set in. You should probably strap each stave to a form(2x4)to control twisting.
  I have a 2" osage pole(not a branch) I sawed in half lengthwise and wrapped and wrapped the 2 halves back together with spacers between them for good air flow. They should both make good bows.
  Anything over 2" across you can saw lengthwise as long as the branches grew without twisting. With branches you also have to consider the compression side(under) and the tension side(over). I believe the compression side works best for bows. I not sure about this because I've never made a branch bow. Other folks have been successful.