♫ εηdεd ♫ Apple, crabapple, lilac and plum wanted

Byron Barker

Byron Barker

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I am trying to source some anyone good clean straight grained pieces of the wood listed above. I am regularly looking for this type of wood for bow making and it is quite difficult for me to come by. The wood only needs to be two pieces 90Cm in length X 4cm X4cm as I usually splice. Pieces cut from a felled older tree would be ideal as the base of the tree is less likely to have twisted grain. Branches are fine so long as they are clean and not showing crazy checking or have knots or twist. I am happy to buy or I have a lot of wood for trade or I would be willing to trade a hand made bow for clean wood assuming you know how to shoot and string one and won't blow it up. Thanks!
 
"Japanese Tree lilac" is the only lilac that comes to mind that attains the sizes you want without spiral graining. As for the other woods, many of us can cut to those desires, but few have stock dried to those dimensions. What are your time constraints?
 
I have apple in my shop that's been air drying for about two years that I can look at when I get home. I'm not sure the length on it but it's all very straight grain.
 
I have quite a few Apple logs in my shop that have been cut for a few years. They are pretty much all straight grained. I can get a few pics in the next day or so
 
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  • #6
Great! If anyone can get some pics I am interested in the wood. Let me know a price and we can go from there.
 
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  • #7
Mr. Peet said:
"Japanese Tree lilac" is the only lilac that comes to mind that attains the sizes you want without spiral graining. As for the other woods, many of us can cut to those desires, but few have stock dried to those dimensions. What are your time constraints?
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Most lilac is very small diameter, but it can get large enough for bow making believe it or not. It is just uncommon. I am not sure of the exact species in America often used, but syringa vulgaris is probably the one, but the Japanese variety would probably work as well. Thanks for the response!
 
Byron,

Syringa vulgaris, "Common lilac" can often attain 6"-10" inch diameters at the base. In the northeast USA, these larger sizes almost always are hollow or have heavy amounts of heart rot. Additionally, this species of plant very often has spiral graining and sometimes found with interlocking grain. Solid pieces more than 4" inches in diameter are a prize in my area. I have processed a fair amount of common lilac to find it just like "Tartarian honeysuckle" a real challenge to season. Has anyone else been able to season blanks bigger than 1.5" inches and longer than 18" inches?

As for the "Japanese Tree lilac", Syringa reticulata, it is a less dense wood than the common lilac. I have processed sound specimens 8" at DBH that contained a 12' foot log. This is clearly possible for folks to supply. You may need to research the wood first before including into your wants, or experiment yourself. Good Luck Byron.

M.R. Peet...
 
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  • #10
BarnickCustomCalls said:
I just got a chance to look in my shop. The apple logs that I have will fall a little short of the length you need
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No worries. I appreciate you looking. It always seems like people but wood around the 2 1/2 foot mark. It's hard to get a good 3ft piece.
 
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  • #11
Mr. Peet said:
Byron,

Syringa vulgaris, "Common lilac" can often attain 6"-10" inch diameters at the base. In the northeast USA, these larger sizes almost always are hollow or have heavy amounts of heart rot. Additionally, this species of plant very often has spiral graining and sometimes found with interlocking grain. Solid pieces more than 4" inches in diameter are a prize in my area. I have processed a fair amount of common lilac to find it just like "Tartarian honeysuckle" a real challenge to season. Has anyone else been able to season blanks bigger than 1.5" inches and longer than 18" inches?

As for the "Japanese Tree lilac", Syringa reticulata, it is a less dense wood than the common lilac. I have processed sound specimens 8" at DBH that contained a 12' foot log. This is clearly possible for folks to supply. You may need to research the wood first before including into your wants, or experiment yourself. Good Luck Byron.

M.R. Peet...
Click to expand...
I've used Honeysuckle before (amur honeysuckle) and really love the stuff. I would be down to try the Tartarian honeysuckle. That and it is basically a weed in many parts of the States. I am not 100% sure of the exact species of Lilac commonly used in bow making. I know it is a common bow wood for the northern europeans and a few lucky Americans have had the chance to give the American counterpart a go with very positive responses. I am guessing species differ quite a lot. Either way, I am down to try just about anything that seems usable and beautiful. Drying Lilac is a major challenge for most bowers. They recommend putting it in a garbage bag of two taped together with holes punched in the plastic. It needs a good two years to dry like this, but it won't check. If you've got some of that Japanese Lilac, let me know! Thanks for the reply.
 
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