White Oak trees for bow staves???

[1oldbowguy]

  I have done a search on this and still am not real sure here.      

[Pat B]

White oak makes good selfbows and a pretty good bow backing. If you can get 3 logs from the 8" tree it will give you lots of staves and  firewood from what's left.

[1oldbowguy]

Thanks Pat, I thought it should work.  I hope to get some this Saturday, I hope.  If not I will go down Monday and post what I find.  Thanks sir.

[Pat B]

The wood under the bark is what you want to use. Hopefully it will peel off easily enough this time of year.

[George Tsoukalas]

I have made bows from white oak. I like it. Jawge

[SEMO_HUNTER]

Don't cut too many white oaks, you will be shooting yourself in the foot come fall.
Excellent deer and turkey food man!      :D

[Living_waters]

Poor boys osage! I love white oak, I put up my hunting bow a couple of weeks ago and got out my white oak self bow. Have shot it the last 2 years 3d tourny get to try it out Saturday.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

Hey Jeff, where ya been lurking lately? Hadn't seen ya around here much.

I've got some white oak boards up at my barn that would probably make a nice board bow. I planed one down a few weeks ago and while they were kinda dark on the outside, the inside wood was still fine. Hard as all get out! You can't drive a nail through this stuff without a pilot hole first!

[1oldbowguy]

Semo, one thing about the white oak, they are going to be cut by the loggers soon, so it is get them now or lose them all together. We are going to lose the mast crop for sure.  Hate that but what can you do?

[7 Lakes]

For every one you cut plant at least 2 more.  Then fertilize the drip area of all the White Oaks in your hunting area.  You'll be surprised at the number of big fat acorns hitting the ground next fall.  Acorns falling are the best deer call made.

White oak is what the old timers cane chair seats with around here.  There's one blind guy I met that thins it down with a pocket knife and builds the most beautiful baskets ever seen.  He can trim it to thickness as well as I can use my drum sander.

[kountzer0]

Went to the board store today with no luck in the Hickory pile...maybe 1 or 2 boards with 1 bow in them if I lay the bow with the grain rather than the straight edge.

But...they have a sale on 1/4 sawn white oak with many boards in that stack that looked good.

Guess it's time to try it!

[Living_waters]

Originally posted by SEMO_HUNTER:
Hey Jeff, where ya been lurking lately? Hadn't seen ya around here much.

I've got some white oak boards up at my barn that would probably make a nice board bow. I planed one down a few weeks ago and while they were kinda dark on the outside, the inside wood was still fine. Hard as all get out! You can't drive a nail through this stuff without a pilot hole first!

been crazy busy, only had time to read a little at night. You would be proud of me though I chased down some rings on some mulberry staves (not Osage but close) last week, got them roughed out waiting.

If the end grain runs the length of those boards I would be making some bows out of them. I have my lam grinder set up where I can run a board through to the fades, bandsaw a pyramid pattern out and have one tillered in a few minutes, with a DA sander and the right boards you can be shooting one in a hour flat.  I really quarter sawn white oak for board bows. Man there is nothing like a room full of bows to make the wife happy.  

If you turn on the tv this weekend and see the Kenny Rodgers telethon check out they have a self bow they are auctioning off. It is a American flat bow made of white oak, they asked me for one for a benefit last week but when they got it they decided to auction it off during the telethon.