Morphy wrote on May 7
th, 2020 at 5:09pm:
J wrote on May 7
th, 2020 at 4:19pm:
Could Laurel work as a bow wood?
Edit: I actually meant Cherry Laurel which is a different tree
Just read on wikipedia
[quote]Cherry laurel wood contains a lot of water. It tends to gum up blades while cutting. It tends to split and distort while drying.
I wouldn’t discount it totally based on that. Lilac is often rated as one of the best bow woods out there but tends to be a major pain to find a decent piece and season. It will pretty much do everything but dry straight and clean.
Apparently Laurel and Cherry Laurel are sometimes confused. Scary because the first has many edibles while the second is very toxic. I saw someone on the net making a good bow out of standard laurel but not out of cherry laurel. Either way they are not related trees. I think I am not gonna risk it for now.
Right now I am collecting maple, ash and hawthorn staves. Meanwhile I am busy putting together a shaving horse and getting a good ol drawknife from somewhere.
I think I caught the bowmaking bug. The real beauty of harvesting a sustainable material and making something useful out of it dawned on me recently. Plus it's just one more reason to be outside