bow material

[ToddT]

I asked before about what is the best material and from the answer, it seemed that almost anything would work. Now to be specific, how about aged maple, or cherry.

Also, I used drywall tape - the fiberglass type for backing, although I think it will work fine, it isn't pretty. What else, that is readily accesible in the southeast, can I use for backing a long bow.

And while Im at it. Can I build a recurve?

[John Scifres]

Are you talking boards or staves?  Either wood will work but there are better choices.

Rawhide and silk are good, cheap, accessible backings.

[ToddT]

Im not sure what the difference is between boards and staves. This is all new to me. What would be a good choice for me. I am in North Carolina. I am trying a red oak board 1X2 but am uncertain on how, or where to get other wood. I tried some old barn wood for backing - thinking it would be neat as the barn was almost 100 years old. But you guessed it, it was too dry, so I started thinking of alternatives. Like I said, I used fiberglass mesh and glue on my current project, but it isn't too aesthetic. Thanks for any help.

[Sal]

Don't you have good trees in North Carolina?  Hickory, pecan, any of the oaks, elm, maple, etc will work.

Wood doesn't get better with age, just because its old it won't make it better.

 There are several books on the subject, I highly recommend "The Bent Stick" for your level of expertise and your part of the country.  The book will tell you everything you need to know, with pictures and illustrations.

[Jason Lester]

I'll give you a little info on the Stave board thing. Basicaly the board is just what it sounds like. The stave is when you cut a tree down and split it into quarters etc. This takes more work to get it ready to work into a bow but it allows the bowyer to get to one ring for the back of the bow. Or on some woods just removing the bark gets you were you need to be. No bcking require.

If you can get an osage stave you'll likley have the easiest time with it. As far as a board bow goes not just any board will do. Backing aside you need to pick the right one. After that you can use the things listed above or something like linen.

Remember though the backing is just to help hold down the wood fibers. if the wrong piece of wood is used no backing will help. Eventualy it will break. So if you do the board bow pic them carefully or you'll spend alot of time and get very little out of it. Just my 2 cents worth.

[John Scifres]

Poke around on   my webpage  for a bit.  Some questions may be answered.   I have a bibliography under the tutes section.