hackberry a bowwood

[crashcastle]

i got a saw mill buddy that has some hackberry logs should i take a try at building a bow out of one of them thanks all of you bowyer genisuses in advance

[wingnut]

Jason,

Rusty tried a couple and did not have any success.

I'm not saying it is a waste of time but it could be.

Mike

[crashcastle]

good to know mike if rusty couldnt get one i damn sure cant yet

[bowman_79]

It has a specific gravity of .53. I dont know how the compression and tension properties are, but its weight seems to ok for a mid weight bow. If its free, give it a go. Try for 50# @28 and 67ntn and see what it does.

[bowmac]

Here's mine. I made it in 2004 and still shoot it. Had to stay wide and thick. Has some string follow. #47 @ 28"  66" ntn.

 

[Tree man]

Hackberry isn't just bow wood-it is exceptional bowwood-No it isn't like Osage or Hickory but it makes dandy bows. Hackberry is in the elm genus. It gets its name from being the prefered material for butcher's blocks during the colonial period. It is very tough and splinter resistant even though it isn't extremely hard or dense.

[Adam Keiper]

I cut a hackberry tree down on the edge of my yard last summer.  Sealed the ends, split it into staves, peeled the bark off, and laid them out on my picnic table in the shade to dry.  The next DAY, the staves had started to develop checks and were crawling with tiny, tiny long black woodborers that were already starting to eat holes.  By week's ends the staves were riddled with borer holes and checks so badly, they resembled crevassed glaciers.  So I can't tell you how hackberry works for bow wood, but I can tell ya it burns well in a woodstove...

Anyone else experience anything like this?  Do you have to seal the back like with osage?

[Mike Byrge]

One of my better self-bows was made from a piece of Oklahoma Hackberry that Mike Hames gave me at the 2nd mojam.

Maybe it was just an exceptional piece of wood but it made a good bow.

If I had another good piece I would definately use it.

[Ralph Renfro]

I've made several from Hackberry. I'm taking about a half dozen staves of it to OJam. It makes a great bow for beginners as you don't have to chase a growth ring for the back. The little black bugs mentioned before will picnic on the tree if the bark is left on very long.

[wingnut]

Well heck, bring me a stave of it too.

Mike

[owlbait]

My friend Jason Baker made me a Hackberry selfbow and it is a fine bow.