I’m putting this under self bows because I figure you guys who cut down trees probably ought to know this…

I have a big black walnut with a number of limbs that need to come down, and I’m wondering what I would need to do in order to salvage the wood? (I don’t know that black walnut is generally considered suitable for self bows, although I can imagine that you might get a really pretty one if you got lucky.)

But I would think that you would treat the trunk of an Osage the same way, no?

These will probably be 6”-8” diameter, if that matters.

So what can I do?

It makes a nice glass bow. elm over walnut is pretty and very fast. You can make a bow out of any wood, walnut is not super strong, so you need a wider stave. 6 inches seems terribly small, particularly if you don't want the pale sap wood. As far as using it. Cut it 1 foot over length, quarter it. Remove bark, seal ends, and store in dry shady place, with separation between the balks of wood so that air will circulate. There are some endgrain sealers, but if you can't find them, Behr super white, indoor/outdoor works nicely.

A 6” log will be mostly sapwood. I don’t build self bows but have seen walnut ones that worked well and didn’t seem to be shaped any differently than say a hickory one. Walnut does air dry easily with the end grain sealed. I have dried thousands of board feet of it for my cabinet business.

Thanks, guys.... would the rafters in the garage be too hot & dry?

Maybe in the basement with the dehumidifier running all the time anyway?

Seal the ends, cut it for thickness, leave a little for planing off. I'd say 15% thicker. Limb wood is probably not very stable, think tension wood. To season wood, dry it, put some humidity to it, dry it. Whole lot of science goes into making a nice board. It will only dry to the environment its in. 10 degrees above the environmental temp will dry wood. Never tried a dehumidifier. Good luck

So bark off of a log?

Bark off. No to the attic. Keep shaded.

I made a maple backed walnut. 62#@28". I don't shoot it much, 62# is a bit much for my old joints but it shoots great. I dried as grizzly mentioned

I would split to relieve the tension, strip the bark, seal the back and ends. I have made some self bows with BW but all have failed eventually. Not sure if its the wood or the bowyer. The thing I have not tried is leave the sapwood. The people over on the PA site say it works. Just my two cents. John

I have made quiet a few bows with Black Walnut, and Birch. Both woods can make a nice bow. I have made them wet, and dried. When I make them wet I split the log, remove the bark, reduce the stave to floor tiller, and put on a form to dry in basement. I leave the bark on staves to be dried, and paint the ends, also drying in my basement.

I think I’ll split them and see what I’ve got to work with. Sounds like a start.

Thanks, gents!

Cut the limbs and tree, for sure take bark off and mill into billets or thick boards if you can. Seal ends with Anchor Seal II. Walnut can take a while to dry and will not dry well with the bark on.

Just slows the drying process in my basement , so the wood doesn't check. I can still go to work with the stave not matter how dry when using a form.

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