I'm sick of red oak

[T Callahan]

I need a new board source other than lowes. Tryin to find a "perfect" red oak board is a lesson in anger management      

I really want to try other bow woods but I don't know where to get them other than lowes in Easton MD.

Do you guys order you boards online?

Any Md bowyers out there who know of a good place to buy boards?

[John Scifres]

I get my woods from, well, the woods.  Do you know anyone who will let you cut a hardwood or two?  If it makes you feel better, you can get it milled into boards  

[Roy from Pa]

Red Oak is at the bottom of the list for good bow wood! Are there any saw mills close to you? That is a good supply of good wood. You can order wood online too. Here is a good supplier of bow woods.

   http://www.pinehollowlongbows.com/  

Osage is the best wood for bows in my opinion. Mike sells Osage boards, Hickory boards too, plus other woods. Give Mike a call and talk to him, he is a great guy to deal with.

[T Callahan]

haha well the only woods I have access to currently is 60 maple saplings my family has planted and my mother has sworn to kill me if I even touch one.  

[T Callahan]

I've checked out a saw mill nearby and they said they only wanted to deal in pine.

Thanks I might just do that. I tried 3riversarchery but they deal mostly in laminates. I don't want to try one of them until I've gotten better at tillering.

[LittleBen]

I know this is a bit of a drive for you, but there are some lumber yards in noVA which ahve some bow woods.

Colonial hardwoods in springfield,VA has a variety of wood, hickory, white oak, many exotics (jatoba bubinga zebrawood etc. I assume this is always changing), also cherry and hard maple ... probably other stuff too I just can't remember

Smoot lumber co. in alexandria, va. They have ipe in 2x4x8ft for around $50 ... thats alot of bow wood. They also have some basics liek maple etc. No other exotics as far as I know. Also they WILL NOT cut the ipe at all ... so it'll need to fit in your car or you'll be cutting it in the parking lot. I told them they were wimps and the last time I needed to cut ipe, I ripped a 6ft board by hand! I told them to buck up ... they didn't so plan for that.

Both places will let you rummage through the stacks if youre nice.

Smoot and presumably also colonial can often order other lumber for you ... but you probably won't be able to hand pick a single board from a stack.

Lastly ... woodcraft has thinwood craft board (1/16" - 1/2" or so) in a variety of woods from ERC to bubinga, to jatoba, to purpleheart. Some of them are suitable for board bows. Not the cheapest solution but readily available.

Hickory backed jatoba makes a decnet bow ... it's not what ipe is, but it can make a fine bow. It's also not expensive and can be had at colonial or woodcraft.

Maybe you can convince them to get soem osage boards .... probably not but worth a try.

[onemississipp]

Tree removal services, have a bit of everything.

[T Callahan]

Thanks Ben! I have a friend in VA and I'll see if he wouldn't mind checkin it out for me.

Besides I like driving! haha

[John Scifres]

One of my best osage trees I got from a tree clearing service.  Forgot about that one.  There's gotta be a hardwood supplier nearby you.

[Bowjunkie]

I've aquired wood by contacting area sawmills, tree cutting services, local forestry sevices, suppliers who supply trim and cabinet grade hardwood, dealers who supply ship builders, and ****.. ya kinda just gotta do your homework and ask.

[Brock]

Gary Davis will sell you an osage stave....and you can get hickory staves or rough outs from 3Rivers...hickory is an excellent bow wood if overbuilt and kept at proper moisture when tillering and sealed up.  TBB has some info in there as does online info by Murray Gaskins for White Wood Selfbows.

[DelawareDave]

Callahan: I live about 50-60min from u in Delaware, there is Chesapeake wood workers by me, the have quit a bit of quarter sawen red and white oak.  Also they carry a good selection of exotics. Probably the same distance from u is exotic woods of Annapolis, there just across the bay bridge.  If u need any more help with things shoot me a PM and ill get u my phone number.

[T Callahan]

Thanks guys I've got alot of options now. I was really tired of looking through various's lowes and home depot.lol

Dave, that's a big help I go to AACC college and thats not too far from annapolis. I'll check that out next week. Yeah I'll def pm you. It's good to know that there is a bowyer near me.lol

[red hill]

Check around for sawmills that provide wood for making pallets. They'll use pretty much any hard woods.
I'll second Roy's suggestion for Pine Hollow. Mike is definitely a good source for osage boards at a very reasonable price. He'll have backings, too. Met him this summer. He's a great guy.

[Sam Harper]

Maybe you should order some bamboo from Franks and try your hand at making bamboo backed bows.  You can buy ipe from some decking supply places, so you could look around for that and possibly get it locally.  If you can find hickory or pecan, that makes a good backing, too.

[Black Mockingbird]

Why spend money on something that has a high chance of being messed up due to your experience level when there's all kinds of hardwoods in your area available for free.....surely you know someone(friends or extended family member)who has some trees or saplings for you to cut...ya just have to ask is all...even if ya dont go take a drive out in the country and find a farmer with acreage and ask him explaining what you want...look for hickory,elm,hophornbean,white oak,hard maple saplings in order of preference..all are easy to harvest and will make a fine bow...ya just gotta learn to be assertive and go out and ask everyone ya know...and then some  

[T Callahan]

Sam, Yeah I've been considering that since I discovered your page.

Mockingbird, I'll give that a shot. I volunteer on an ambulance as an EMT so being assertive shouldn't be a problem.lol    
Now if i were to reduce a stave to a bow profile how  long do you think it would take to season at room air before it would be ok to take it further?

[Robyn Hode]

Sam, how do you know if the decking is IPE or not. Does hardware stores like Menards or Lowes carry it?

[Black Mockingbird]

You can take a whitewood sapling,and reduce it to a stiff floor tiller where it just bends a few inches...but don't bend it any further or it'll take a set...then you can hot box it n be making a bow with it two weeks later for a as soon as possible scenario...heat ducts,or a space heater in a closet works great for make shift hot boxes

[Sam Harper]

Robyn, just ask the person who works there if they have any ipe, and if so, to show it to you.  Or, if you're just walking around the place, it should be labeled.