[ouhunter]

Hi everyone glad I found this wonderful site. I look forward learning tips and seeing all the beautiful workmanship. I live on my 300 acre farm so I have access to all the wood I need. I work a lot with Bois d'Arc wood (aka Osage Orange). I'm Native American Indian (Chickasaw/Choctaw) so my next project is making a traditional Bow and Arrow that I will use to hunt with.

 

[cobalt]

welcome to the site think you may find it useful , you have such a rich culture there to use for inspiration .I am looking forward to resaerching it myself

 

[Batakali]

Hi and welcome! I'm fairly new to the site myself, but I've received more helpful advice in the past two weeks than I have in the rest of the ten or so years that I've been making!

 

[Batakali]

P.s. can't wait to see the bow!

 

[Rad]

Welcome to the site -- watch out - stick making is very addictive! And these guys and girls will feed your addiction.
Good to have you!

 

[RandyL476]

Welcome to the forum, and Rad is right stick making is very addictive.

 

[Gloops]

Welcome, hope you enjoy the content posted.

 

[CV3]

Hello and welcome tho the forum 0uhunter.

 

[MJC4]

Welcome aboard Ouhunter.

 

[gdenby]

Hello, and welcome,

When I found that Osage Orange had mostly disappeared around where I live, I was quite disappointed. First carving I ever did was in that wood. When I looked for a source on line, one of the few I found was bow staves. You may not know it, but besides being able to keep alive a fine tradition, you have access to a small fortune in wood. It is a curiosity to me to see exotic tropical hardwoods available at local wood workers suppliers, but no great No Am woods like osage.

 

[Rodney]

Welcome to the site! I might be interested in buying a bow blank from you. My best friend's dad makes them occasionally but no osage orange around here.

Gdenby, pure speculation on my part but I think the lack of less common NA hardwoods has to do with how larger commercial mills operate. They want the same species and all similar sizes by the truck load at the larger mills. They're not going to mess with single logs. That limits them to common species that grow in large quantities. Around here the only commercial hardwoods are big leaf maple and alder.

Your best bet is to find a one or two man operation in your area that does cut individual logs. Those are the guys that you're going to get the best wood from anyway because they do take the time to maximize the figure in the wood when they cut.

Rodney

 

[Ron T]

ouhunter, welcome to the forum.

 

[JJireh]

Osage Orange will dull a blade faster than anything, rarely grows straight and is loaded with nasty spines, so garnering lumber would be a process, i would think, few would want to deal with. We do have tons around here, but I don't mess with it in general.

 

[JJireh]

Oh and Welcome!

 

[ouhunter]

JJireh so true but once you find those good straight ones you want find a tougher stronger staff that will last a lifetime. I have a few friends that will use a good 50 to 100+ year old fence post to make beautiful tradition bows but I don't have that skill set quit yet. I'm learning from them though. I have tons of cane growing along the river running on my property that I use as arrow shafts so I have arrow making down.

Rodney, It's been raining all week so It's kept me out out of the woods but this weekend I'll be able to go collecting wood for walking sticks and bow blanks but it takes time hunting to find those good ones, like JJireh said it's tough finding those straight ones but I have my spots plus I try ti trim Bois d'Arc's in a way to keep the straighter limbs for future taking :thumbsu:

 

[cobalt]

There are a few bow makers here not sure of the wood they use

The local archery group are quite active and had a session with them a couple of weeks ago. Great bunch very social

During Henry the eight reign it was compulsory for every boy over the age of ten to have archery lesson for at lest 4hours a week so the could fight the French and where considered the best long bowmen in the world at that time and generally feared

but modern bows are very different

 

[ouhunter]

Oh by the way thanks everyone for the friendly welcome :rock:

 

[Whiteroselad]

Welcome along Ouhunter, I can highly recommend this site, the help you receive is inspiring. N.

 

[Rodney]

IIRC the English used yew for their bows. There are some bows made from our native yew here as well. Another species where a good straight grained piece long enough for a bow is hard to find.

I've heard of bows being made from vine maple too.

Rodney

 

[Rodnogdog]

Greetings and welcome to the forum. I like your jawbone flint knife.