Help on hackberry for bows

[dnovo]

I have never used it but I have heard that hackberry makes a pretty good bow. I have 5 trees I am cutting down on a job site and need to know what to look for in a tree to make a good bow. Do you split it like osage? Does the bark need to be peeled? What size of tree is best?

[Dean Marlow]

As far as Hackberry goes the straighter the better. Like everything else. The less knots it has the better also. You can split it fairly easy while it is still wet. Just protect the ends with wax or glue or even paint and put it in a dry place. You can take the bark  off immediately or you can wait till it is dry. If you take the bark off right away protect the back like you do the ends. Also split your staves fairly wide. They usually recomend Hackberry bows to be wide. Dean.

[KELLEY40]

A friend had a mahaska bow made from hackberry was very nice looking!

[onemississipp]

"Wood: Light yellow; heavy, soft, coarse-grained, not strong. Used for fencing and cheap furniture. Sp. gr., 0.7287; weight of cu. ft., 45.41 lbs. "

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Hackberry

That is a very good SG .72

[Littlefeather]

If you see the Tradgang DVD you'll see a hackberry bow I built. It's on the rabbit hunt interview with Kevin Smith. The bow was one of several sinew/hackberry bows I've built. I made the imposter(stained yellow) 1 3/4" wide and 60" long. It was around 65#@28.

Get straight wood with no flaws. It's easy with hackberry. If it's less than perfect throw it out. CK

[dnovo]

Thanks for the help guys. I have 1 tree cut about 7" diameter and 7' long as straight as anything I've seen.