Choke Cherry Bow?

[4 point]

How large of diameter tree do you need to get a bow out of, I'm new at this. I have a friend who has made a few osage bows and was going to talk him into helping me make a bow. I want to find my own tree to use other that buying a peice of osage some where. I have a lot of Choke Cherry trees around, the one I've been eyeing is about 3 1/2 inches and is fairly straight. Will it work?

Thanks Travis

[NEProf]

how long is it?

[4 point]

It's about 8 foot tall and stays the same diameter.

[walkabout]

from what i read of the bowyers bible series, cherry is brittle, however it can be done with careful tillering and uing the right dimensions for the wood.for most woods like this i thik if you can get 1 3/4" wide out of it you should be good, some people even recommend up to 2" wide for some brittle woods to be able to handle the stresses.

[Pat B]

Choke cherry makes a very good bow. I'm not sure how good it is for a beginner but you have to start somewhere. 3 1/2" diameter tree should make a good bow. Gordon, on Primitive Archer, did a build along on a choke cherry sapling bow that turned out great. If you can check Gordon's build-along in the "how to" section of PA.
  Richard, you are referring to black cherry(Prunus serotina). it is a different tree and wood from choke cherry(Prunus virginiana).

[walkabout]

yea i checked my reference and it was black cherry.ive read about some cherry bows built from lumber staves and i think even a few wild cherry selfbows.

[Bob Barnes]

2 things...1.  if it's black cherry break a small branch and smell it...stinks to high heaven...2. will black cherry make a bow?