Crepe Myrtle Stave (Pics)

[Dublin Joe]

Today's stave is crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia) from my front yard in Dublin, TX.

I cut, split, and debarked this 1 3/4" x 88" stave to see how it works as a bow.  It has tight rings and my paint scraper debarked it with ease.

 

 

 

[red hill]

That's interesting,Dublin Joe. I had wondered about using crepe myrtle as a bow wood but read somewhere that plants with a soft pithy heart wasn't good.  I know that crepe myrtle becomes solid in late growth, but the small branches have a soft center.
I'll follow this. There's a perfect sized limb on one of my wife's plants that's calling my name.
Stan

[Dublin Joe]

The small branches are quite flexible and might make arrows, but the mature ones have nothing soft about them, not even a pithy heart.  There are, however, many subspecies so I can't speak for them all.

I cut two but didn't read the twist in one so look at it carefully before cutting and avoid wasting it.

Joel

[getstonedprimitivebowhunt]

looks like fun ..to me

[Osagetree]

Seal that baby before she cracks!

[walkabout]

yep seal it up so it doesnt check. also be careful using tools to debark as they can gouge the growth ring that you essentially want as the bows back. if im having a hard time with bark peeling i use a small cherry limb a little smaller than an arrow shaft to get under it, or sometimes antler tines but antler is often harder than the wood so only on real stubborn pieces. just as i said in the last post, look for the grain and plot your bows layout to avoid knots and such if you can. good luck, and if you got questions post em and well see if we cant help along the way.

[Pat B]

I guy on PA a few years ago that went by the name Thimo(also on Paleoplanet) built high weight(85#+) ELB style bows with Crepe Myrtle. I've never tried it but I would if available.

[Loren Holland]

I made one from crepe myrtle, really enjoy shooting it. 68" t-t, 8 inches of riser, glued on leather for a rest.about 45 lbs at 27"

make sure it is good and dry, it will get a lot lighter when ready to make a bow, responds very well to heat treating, fairly significant string follow.

i will try to post a pic, i finished it with the tape and paint camo job, like the camo build along, my wife hates it, she says it looks like an argyle sock in ugly colors.

[walkabout]

is that the juniper stave i see leaning in the background split? you could always take the best parts of it and splice em together for a bow.

[Dublin Joe]

Yes, Richard, that's the juniper.  I've never spliced before but I'll read up on it.  I don't think it's going to happen on this stave, though, because after one day in my kiln of a shop it checked all over.  I whould have shellaced it if I'd known splicing was an option.

[walkabout]

generally you just want to shellac the ends and back. 1/2" thick is usually plenty to make a bow out of as long as its at least 1 1/2" wide. my nonbending tips usually end up roughly 1/2" thick and theyre the thickest part besides the fades and handle, but you can always glue handles on. splices can be daunting at first but with practice theyre possible. i just cut real real slow and leave my line.