Ozbow

Hi all, first post in a while. I've Harvested some nice straight moreton bay ash (carbeen) this afternoon from a wet schlerophyll gully on a open wooded hill. The tree ended up being hollowed out by termites, but still leaves enough wood for bows. Suppose it makes it a bit lighter log to haul up and down gullies!

I have not managed to produce a sucessful bow from the 2 previous staves due to very uneven side profiles, which made tillering quite tricky. Even with the tillering blunders and failed heat treating (belly splintered at the slightest toasting) the wood still showed a lot of promise. It responds well to a decrowned back as long as only the first 6 or so rings are removed - any deeper and the smaller diameter rings are harder to see.

Ive seen carbeen on a few aussie bow wood lists, but what other characteristics have people found when using this timber? Seeing as its fairly common and easily identified, it could potentially be very acessible selfbow material.

I have one more pair of seasoned billets that id like to use, theyre much straighter and should easily make a 68 - 70" stiff handled bow of 40 - 45mm limbs width.

Joe Lethbridge wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 7:32 pmThe tree ended up being hollowed out by termites

Hi Joe, was the tree dead or alive when you harvested the billets?

I realize that timber properties can vary due to location, are your billets properties similar to the ones listed in the government document?

https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industr ... rs/carbeen

Joe Lethbridge wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 7:32 pmshould easily make a 68 - 70" stiff handled bow

Because of the timbers properties perhaps designing a bow that works through the handle will distribute the stresses more evenly over the full length of the bow.

Daryl.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corymbia_tessellaris

Hi Daryl,
The tree was alive and seemed to be in perfect condition, i would say the termite infestation occurred in the base and slowly spread up the inside. Theres still a 30mm depth of sapwood and a little heartwood to squeeze bows out of, and another couple lengths with no damage, albeit with a little more character.

The seasoned wood properties do appear to match the description in dthe website, as well as the appearance of the tree itself. The sapwood is similar in hardness to python wood, with coarser grain. The seasoned billets i have do not contain enough heartwood for an accurate assessment.

I'd like to make the bow with a stiffer handle, and will keep the limbs at a parallel width of 40 - 45 mm for half their length to ensure the midlimbs arent overstrained. Will also keep the belly as flat as i can. Reckon that would work, or is that still asking too much from the timber in your opinion?
Thanks, Joe

Joe Lethbridge wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 7:32 pm It responds well to a decrowned back as long as only the first 6 or so rings are removed - any deeper and the smaller diameter rings are harder to see.

Joe,

Have you considered removing only the bark and making an all sapwood bow?

Daryl.

Hi Daryl
The bows made so far have been all sapwood, it seems 30 - 40mm sapwood depth is normal for the species - only basing that from the two trees I've harvested. The decrowning makes it safer for the otherwise highly crowned backs made from smaller diamater logs. However the recently cut stuff is of a larger diameter, so i might try it like that after it seasons.

In the meantime I've started roughing out the seasoned billets. Will keep this topic updated.
Thanks, Joe

Interesting timber choice, how did you go with the build mate?
Has anyone else had any success building a self bow with this timber?
Cheers