sassafras for bow

[horatio1226]

Anyone ever use sassafras to make a bow? Anyone ever heard of it being used?Thanks
Brian

[ozarkcherrybow1]

The Thompson boys(The Witchery of Archery) regarded it as one of the best bow woods. Myself, I've had 2 failures, but I'm looking forward to my next attempt....Terry

[john gerrard]

Brian, All that I can speak about from experience is sassafras as a limb core. I would rate "frass" right up there with bamboo, and yew. Brokenwing

[owlbait]

Hey gerrard, you don't spell your name right  :D  
I have a highly reflexed stave of sassafras I am also working on. Hope to eventually make a bow out of it.

[ethan]

Don't know if your talking about a self bow or a laminated bow, but I agree 100% with john. Personally I think compared to the bows I've made with bamboo or anything else for that matter, sassafrass outperforms them all.

[ishiwannabe]

Where in the heck are ya gonna find sassafras around here???????  

[Shawn Leonard]

Jamie and Horatio, I know of a big Osage tree about two miles from my house and the guy wants it gone in the spring at least 100 bows in this tree! Shawn

[horatio1226]

Don't play around like that Shawn!
Brian

[ozarkcherrybow1]

Sassafras is a very light wood and springs back incredibly quick. I would be willing to bet that a well built bow of sassafras would rival a nice yew. Talking selfbows here....Terry

[ishiwannabe]

Sounds like staves and seeds Shawn! When ya wanna go squirrelin' again? Saw a nice buck back there today....
Brian...sounds like sass is pretty decent all the way around.

[JC]

Gene Sanders, now retired from locally famous G&L archery, built 4 bows for me with sassafrass core and 3 with bamboo. I  would rate the sassafrass, in his bows, as equal to the boo in every regard save maybe a foot or 2 in fps. So close you couldn't tell. Very "smooth pulling" limb core, in my opinion.

[Gator1]

How would a combination of Sasafrass Venners, Over Bamboo be????

[Shawn Leonard]

Not kidding and yes I have owned a Marriah Thermal with sas for a limb core, very quick and smooth. Shawn

[SuperK]

I had a Tredway longbow that had sasafrass limbs.  Smooth and quick.  I think Mike Tredway rates sasafrass right up there with the best of 'em.

[Smilingg]

Volume 7, Issue 4 of Primitive Archer contains an article on how to make an unbacked sassafrass bow.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned it yet...

[sharps4590]

How much sassafrass ya want?

Vic

[bentpole]

There are alot of bowyers out there who swear by sassafrass. I beleive it was Mr Adcock who said "it makes great limb wood and smells good too".

[ishiwannabe]

Guess Im gonna have to kill another tree here soon...  

[horatio1226]

I'm glad I asked. I guess I just gotta find a good tree.
Brian

[ethan]

One thing I have noticed is it is so open grained that you have to be careful when sanding. If you have a dark wood in the handle like East Indian Rosewood, it will "bleed" into the limb edges.  Carbon dust will do the likewise. Same thing when you wipe it down with acetone or whatever before you spray it.  But it can be sanded out pretty easily if your careful.