Wild cherry

[Kevin L.]

Hey guys,
 
 I haven't built a bow yet, but I have a couple of questions about the use of wild cherry in bows. I have 4 wild cherry trees that I'm going to take down and besides wood for my smoker, I figure to get as much use out of them as possible.

1. How do you harvest and prep the bark for use as backing on a selfbow? Is it better to harvest it at a certain time of year?

2. How does cherry work as a wood for selfbows? Or laminated bows, for that matter. I've heard cherry makes a quick bow.

Lastly, anybody in the central VA area making bows, self or laminated? I'd love to come over and see how it's done, once hunting season is over.

TIA,

Kevin

[Pat B]

Kevin, a lot will depend on which wild cherry you are talking about. If it is black cherry(Prunus serotina)it will make a self bow but it's bark is not suitable for bow backing. The selfbows I have made from black cherry were long(68") and overbuilt as per Paul Comstock. I peeled the bark on summer cut cherry and used the sapwood under for the back of the bow.
  Pin cherry(P. pensylvanica) and choke cherry(P. virgioniana) both have bark that will make a good bow backing both for security and looks.

[Kevin L.]

I'll have to do some looking and find out which cherry they are. I probably won't be ready to make any bows until the spring, after the building is refurbished and wired for shop space.

Pat, which book has the info by Comstock?

My main question is when to cut them and how to remove the bark so it's usable for backing, if the trees are the right species. I have 4 that I want to cut this fall or winter and maybe another 10-12 that I'm going to need to get rid of next year. That's more wood for the smoker than I will ever use and the timing works for my bowmaking itch.

Thanks,

Kevin

[Kevin L.]

Turns out it is black cherry. I'll split it out into staves when it gets cut and seal the ends before I store it. Should be fun to make a bow out of a tree from the yard.

Any thoughts out there about cherry for a laminated bow?

Kevin

[Pat B]

Kevin, Paul CVomstock wrote a book on bow building with white woods; "The Bent Stick". It is an excellent book for beginners but also anyone wanting to make a whitewood bow. I consider everything except osage, locust, mulberry and yew as whitewoods.
   The best time to harvest and whitewoods for bows is during the growing season when the bark will slip easily and peel right off. During the non-growing(Sept thru May)the bark holds fast and has to be removed with a drawknife or other tools.
  I've never used cherry in a lam bow but it would be a good core wood for a tri-lam all wood bow.

[Kevin L.]

Thanks Pat. I'll think about leaving it until spring, but they are killing my view of the Blue Ridge from the back screen room. We've had warmer weather this past week, any chance the bark will separate easily this late in the year?

I'll do some looking around for that book. I have the TBB v. 1&2, but that's it for now.

I'll end up with some that won't make much of a stave, I was thinking of sawing it out to use for laminations down the road sometime.

Kevin

[Pat B]

They are a bit more work this time of year but the ultimate bows will be the same.
  The bark will slip only during the growing season. The weather doesn't matter. On a tree, the only living parts are the cambium layer(just under the bark) and the limb tips. Everything else is dead wood(or bark) so only during the growing season while the cambium is producing more cells will the bark slip.

[John Cooper]

There's a black cherry bow in the first Bowyer's Bible that was said to be one of the author's favorites.  Anyone else remember where that was?  As for a wood laminate bow, if you back it with hickory, make the backing quite thin.  I had a cherry belly fret pretty bad due to it's less than stellar compression abilities.