Well, I found the hickory I was looking for; Jack (in Rolesville) had some at a very reasonable price. Nice guy and great to deal with. He asked me if persimmon is ever used for bows. It is; some incredible bows are made from it. He had a chunk of it long enough for some bow blanks that had bark on the corners. Just inside the bark layer is where bow staves for high end self bows are cut. He gave me that to try. Anyway, I cut one corner of it to use as a stave, then ripped a couple of strips for board bows and cut some of the hickory for board bow blanks also. I did a poor job of picking the right orientation for the hickory (the other 3 boards are better; why I picked this one first is beyond me) but bending tests went okay (runout is bad news with most wood, but you can get away with some in hickory). They will be backed and are destined to be low power target bows anyway. I have to make a bunch for kids. Anyway, besides the wood I got from Jack, there is a scrap of oak that will become a bow:
That's only half the persimmon he gave me and the hickory is less than half of one of the boards, which cost a whopping $5 each. I feel like I should have been wearing a mask. A persimmon stave like that (the center board) will run you over $50 from a bowyer's supply house - for just that one board.
That's only half the persimmon he gave me and the hickory is less than half of one of the boards, which cost a whopping $5 each. I feel like I should have been wearing a mask. A persimmon stave like that (the center board) will run you over $50 from a bowyer's supply house - for just that one board.