my selfbow

[otis.drum]

ok... the ironbark on the far right? seem wider in the limbs? is the currawang thicker in the limbs aswell?

i took a look at my wattle today. looks close to being ready to go.

otis...

[Glenn]

Otis the currawang bow would have been thicker than the ironbark bow as the currawang is no where near as hard or as strong as ironbark. I gave that currawang bow to an American I hunted with here back in 2000. The currawang bow was 66" long, very good bow wood just the same, that bow had hardly any string follow at all. The ironbark paddle bow I have still holds reflex...Glenn...

[otis.drum]

thanks glenn. some of my staves are getting more reflex than others. it would be great to have one that held reflex after years of use. i'm impressed.

where does the grey ironbark grow. i have only seen the red ironbark back in victoria.

otis

[Glenn]

The grey ironbark grows around here in South East Queensland. I am sure it grows in other places as well. I am sure there are plenty of good timbers up in the Cape for building selfbows, some of that country is very hard. I have hunted a bit just south of Coen but I never brought any timber back as I have always flow up in the past. I would like to get up on some of those mountain ranges and cast an eye over some of the trees there. I think up that way we have ebony trees up there but they are not big enough to be milled in commerical numbers...Glenn...

[otis.drum]

yes plenty timber up here to choose from. can be difficult finding good staves without knots. but the mill has plenty of stringybark so that will keep me occupied for now.

i'm not sure what ebony looks like, is it good for selfbows?

otis...

[Glenn]

I don't know what ebony would be like for a selfbow, it cost a fortune for a small bit big enough for a riser. Some of those knotty trees you could slpice billets in the handle section to make a stave, very often a selfbow made from billets will make a better bow than a one piece selfbow as the limbs have grown side by side in the tree.
I have made plenty of good selfbows out of yellow stringy bark and some out of red but the yellow was better and easier to find, but that was stringy bark that grew down here though...Glenn...

[looseplucker]

Congrats -

I wish my first, second, third, fourth etc etc attempts had been that good.

Looks great.

[coolred]

Hi,
Just joined and am ready this weekend to tackle my first selfbow. We've been clearing the property of lots of big holly (up to 350 mm diameter).

Can anyone advise if holly would be a good wood for a selfbow? It seems to have straight grain and is pretty supple and dense. Thanks in advance.

[Stickbow Hunter]

G'day Coolred and welcome to the site.

I'm not sure what the Holly tree is like. Is that its proper name or a local name. Perhaps you could start a new thread and post up some photos of the trees and wood for us to look at as well.

Jeff

[coolred]

Sorry for the delay in responding, had to evacuate due to the bushfires. The holly is the same stuff as Christmas wreaths are made from (American Holly Aquifoliaceae, (Ilex Opaca)).


I'll start a new thread and show a photo. Thanks.

[longbow steve]

Hi Coolred, Welcome. I havent heard of it being used as a selfbow timber but it is prized by wood turners etc due to it's whitness. Keep some as dimensional timber for other purposes and if you want to sell a 20" lenth 50mm X 50 mm give me a yell Steve

[pdccr]

Can any australian hardwood be used for this design?

[otis.drum]

pdccr,
which design is that?

i have nearly finished my first wood lam bow. i'll post it when it's done.

[pdccr]

the bow on the first post, the board flat bow thingy, holmogaard or something.

[otis.drum]

i'm not qualified to answer that for you mate. it's not really any design, but just how it ended up. something between holmeguard and andaman island bow i'm told . but it still worked. i've put hundreds of arrows through it and its still in one piece. i found it nuch easier to get it to bend well and tiller well using that shape, in comparison to my others which have been narrower in width and deeper in thickness... and all became two piece bows.


give it a go mate. it worked well for me...

[pdccr]

Ok can do.

[JoeLethbridge]

Hi Otis, I'm thinking of making a Stringybark self bow, but I'm not sure if the sapwood should be left on or removed. If the sapwood should be taken off, what is the best style of bow?

Joe

P.S. Does Stringybark have nicely sized growth rings and if so, do I use the latewood or earlywood as a back?

[Hamish]

I haven't used stringy for a bow, but you can leave the sapwood on and use the underbark surface for the back(providing it isn't rotten or damaged). Or you can work it down to the heartwood.
Most eucalypts and other Aussie natives don't have true growth rings like trees from the northern hemisphere, so you don't need to work a growth ring, just make sure the grain is straight if you are using a milled board, rather than a tree split stave. Some woods like vic ash(which is unsuitable for a bow due to compression weakness) have very prominent ring like structures you could follow these like a tree with true early /latewood rings. If that is the case with stringy I would use the wood that looks like latewood as the back.