Looking for bow wood in Washington

[GREG IN MALAD]

I'm going to be visiting family near Vancouver in June. Does anybody know where I could find some vine maple or pacific dogwood? I hate to drive 700 miles and not bring anything home. Also, since vine maple has smooth bark how do you tell if it is twisted?

[frank bullitt]

Greg, I would check the Yellow pages for tree trimmers, cutters in the area. They may have some trees or limbs recently removed from storms or whatever that you could get.

They also would likeley know the species of the area. Enjoy your Trip!

[fujimo]

this west coast is paradise for yew wood too.
wayne

[Dale Sharp]

Greg, vine maple seems to be about everywhere on the westside of the Cascades. Walking down a powerline maintenance road, for example, can be a good place to find some, and along forest service roads, too. But in denser forest it seems to grow a little straighter, probably because it is struggling to reach the sunshine and so it grows up, up and up instead of being lazy and squirreling around like it will in more open areas.

You want to cut it yourself so that you know what side was facing up because that is the tension side and should become the back of the bow. You can split it on site by beginning on the top side (right down near the ground) and cutting, keeping your saw horizontal, only half way through the wood; and then reaching up as high as you can on the shrub and pulling downward. It will start to split and the split will run right up it as you pull; move your hands further up it as it gets closer to the ground. Right then you will know if that particular shrub has a tendency to propeller twist or not. If it doesn't twist cut it off a foot longer than your desired bow length, seal the ends and cut some more. [If the sap is still flowing, within about an hour the bark will peel easily, too, saving you a bunch of scraping work later on.] IF it does twist, some people say you should go to another valley and try again, because they feel that twisting is a genetic trait and so many of the other nearby shrubs may have the same tendency.

Don't get caught cutting yew wood on public property without a permit!

[GREG IN MALAD]

That's a pretty slick way to check for twist, I'll give it a try on the local chokecherry's. I didn't plan on cutting any yew, I wont have time to tackle a tree that size and I dont think I can fit one in the car.

[hova]

you could if you quartered it...

i would definitely check online cause there are all kinds of woods you should be looking for. also arrow materials if youre into that kind of thing , or even to sell at a later time perhaps..


im so jealous...

-hov