Mulberry for staves?

[ishiwannabe]

Hey all, yet another question or ten from me concerning the wonderful addiction of traditional archery.
I have a Wild Mulberry tree in my yard that needs some limbs removed. Most of em are about 6-8 inches in diameter, fairly straight and have a few small branches.
I thought that mulberry was a decent bow maker...
is it?
If so, when is the best time to harvest these branches?  Drying time? Moisture content? Thanks in advance.

[BamBooBender]

No experience with mullberry but his is an exerpt from an article by Tim Baker about bow woods. Hope it helps  

MULBERRY, red .66, a distant cousin of Osage. A mulberry bow should be about 15% wider than osage, all else being equal. As with locust and osage, a ring or two of sapwood can be left on the back if the wood was felled and dried before sapwood decay began.

[Pat B]

Mulberry makes a great bow. If the sapwood is handled correctly, it can be left on the stave. I have made bows that were 50/50 sapwood and heartwood with good results. Ideally, a bow of 1 1/2", 64" to 66" length for 28" draw would work for a hunting weight bow. With tree limb wood you will have an obvious tension wood(top of tree limb) and compression wood(bottom of tree limb). The top of the limb will give you the most preferred stave.  Pat

[pine nut]

I have made a couple of bows from mulberry and I think it's beautiful stuff.  See Murray Gaskin's web site about it.  I think it is about second only to osage myself, but I have not a lot of experience yet.  It is easier to work than the one osage stave I have tried so far.

[John Scifres]

Read this article on:    Reaction Wood by Dean Torges  

And this one on:   Red Mulberry by Murray Gaskins  

Before you start.  Have fun!

[ishiwannabe]

Thanks everyone...I am excited now. Great reading material John, I will print em out and re-read em before I start any project.
Again, thanks for the input everyone.

[ozarkcherrybow1]

Thanks for that reading material, John. Those are some great articals...Terry

[JIM B]

i've made several bows of mulberry it varies greatly in density. be sure to seal the ends. if you cut/split it into staves while wet the sapwood will pull it into reflex as it dries.

[ishiwannabe]

Excellent. The more I read about mulberry, the more I am wanting to get to it. Again, thanks for the input everyone.