today i shot 7 different selfbows that i made 20 shots a piece average that puts me at 140 shots for the day give or take.i even did some tiller tweaking on one of them.all bows were 45 lbs. or less.i had a fun day, and just wanted to share that with you. never give up. a friend

Fantastic Robert, now that is what I call archery, you just did what a lot of us can only wish for, hang in there and what a fun day.

thanks friend

It always astounds me how much fun you can have shooting a self bow or board bow. I enjoy my self made all wood bows as much as any custom I may shoot. Sure it is a different feel, but the game is the same. Next time out I will take my yew selfbow. Chuck S

i started doing this to keep my mind and body occupied. it then became like a drug or a passion and i started building bows from every kind of wood that i could find locally. never built one out of yew but from what i have read it is a top of the line wood for selfbows.i would not mind trying eastern cedar sinew backed some day.i have built some nice selfbows and sinew backed bows from osage. i also have alot of vintage bows that i shoot from time to time.good hunting ,good shooting.

I love those relaxing days in the yard with a quiver full of arrows and a bunch of bows. Nothing matters for those few hours but the bow bending and the arrow flying towards its intended target. Keep having fun and don't let "it" steal a single day away from you.

Ditto on all above, someday folks will figure it out, I know I have.

pearl drums, ron g, c styles,have any of you built a bow from eastern red cedar? i think they call it.just wondered i guess is a juniper in reality.just wondered

X2 ditto on all the above. I enjoy my glass bows but there's just something special about flinging arrows with a bow you spent hours crafting with your own hands. My most relaxing time is watching a stave come to life. Good luck with that red cedar Bassman.

Great Thread, but I'm confused about the title???

I have made a few self bows from red cedar, most of them were shortlived. I made a wide flat 40# about 15 years ago that is still going. The guy I made it for flings a few arrows here and there but hasn't really used it much. I did one maple backed red cedar english style, Narrow deep limbs with a short stiff built up handle about 72" long. This was really a nice shooter. Not sure if I still have it or not.

well i like talking to pearl drums, and badger,and 2 bears and some others just to talk to them,and share some experiences and get there opinion on some things.it is fine for any body to reply.so if you see pearl drums badger two bears ron g.c styles pa steve on title jump right in you are welcome.look at badger,s reply i learned some things real fast no selfbow, back it with maple,or maybe sinew and, make it long enough and wide enough.when you see those names batman you can learn something from every one of them i am sure.all are welcome.

I'm the president of the ERC haters club. If it wasn't pretty and smelly we wouldn't touch it for bows. Its not what I label as bow wood. Backed or not.

Pearl Drums has a way with words doesn't he!

I really like the guy also and never met him.

The Florida red cedar when dried cracks and doesn't really have good properties for bow wood, they make nice jewelery or music boxes, but that is about it. I made a swing out of some a few years back, but it splintered and split after it dried out. Don't know if the western species is the same or not.

I'm not sure if I should be in that prestigious list above , but you need to put Jeff Durnell, Jawge, Elderly OCR in there also.

Thank you Bassman.

I am with Chris leave the cedar for walking sticks. And just shoot whatever and have fun.

Chuck I have a yew bow 45lbs @27.5 it casts an arrow about like a 60lb. lam bow, it is amazing how much power is returned from that small poundage.

PNW Yew is great, low elevation stuff isn't any better than elm or hackberry, IMO. It would be my favorite If osage wasn't so easy to get around here. Its incredibly elastic and very light, which is why pound for pound they often out shoot any other woods with all things being equal.

ok guys i know you are all great bowyers including a lot of names i left out. here goes i dont buy wood so i was going to use it for ishi bow since it is a type of juniper.one third sinew two thirds wood

I have not tried ERC, but it does look good. I tend to stay away from softer woods including cherry. Even when backed they are more prone to chysalling in my experience. I have always had good results with walnut, both as a self bow and trim lam ELB. I wish I could work osage but I am really allergic to it. Ironic since there is plenty of it here in Illinois. My favorite is hickory, a well made hickory bow is a nice shooter. I made my yew bow with bullets I good from Raptor Archery back in 1999. They weren't even close to straight, kind of like a roller coaster. In the end, it's a nice bow, not overly speedy, but fun to shoot

c styles i have had bad experiences with wild choke cherry,i had one that broke and hurt me.walnut is one of my favorite woods to make bows.the reason i asked about eastern red cedar is that it is like juniper.i have two really nice west coast california bows one from hickory and the other from black locust.they both ended up with about i inch back set.nice shooters too.but the profile of these bows should have way more back set than that.the formula to do this is to use one third sinew and two thirds wood make it wide.then string the wood backwards for about 5 inches and let it dry then add sinew.hupa style bow or pitt river.just thought i would take a shot at it.i have bows made from osage,black locust, elm,walnut, white oak,red oak,birch, sassafrass,maple,hickory,american hornbeam,bamboo,and so on that made nice bows.just want to see if i can get closer profile of this particular bow.good shooting.

Bassman, can you tell me a little about your sassafrass bows? Dimensions and performance. I got started last year making a selfbow and i used sasafrass for my first try just because i have a bunch of it. I figured once i learn a little then i could try some "better" wood. I finished my first try and shot it alot for a couple months before it raised a splinter.

Be arthur it will make a nice english long bow, 70 to 74 inches long. it is not in the category of good bow woods unless you back it.i backed mine with fiberglass cloth using tb3 glue.2 to 2 and a half wide at the fades, 3 inch fades 26 inch draw at 45 lbs. 64 to 68 inches long.it is not one of my favorite bows woods,but as you have said lots of it around.this has been my experience with this wood.hickory or elm ,walnut are much better choices for selfbows in my findings.i do not use this wood anymore.just my experience others may vary. hope this helps.

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