I was wondering how hard is red mulberry to work with. I'm planning to make a self bow,any suggestions or thoughts would be helpful.I cut this wood last spring,they haven't been split or sealed yet.

think related to osage?

It works really nice with all the usual tools, holds heat bends well, and makes a half decent bow. Why didn't you split or seal them? Are they logs?

They should be treated like osage from the beginning. Seal the ends, split, chase a heartwood ring and seal the back. They can also be made in a similar style to osage, just widen it and/or lengthen it a bit.

It's a heartwood (as is Osage) I have an old Murray Gaskins video heartwoods how-to if you have a VCR you could borrow it

Need to split and seal before they crack

Any one have photos on the mulberry? Would LOVE to see the wood and maybe BOWS made from same??

What Jeff said. Even our natives made some bows from Mulberry.

They are just logs right now, thanks for the information.I will have to buy some tools to start this.

I have made several. Its okay bow wood. a bit soft and spongey, like walnut or hackberry. None have broke that I'm aware of. 67- 68" long and 1 5/8-1 3/4" wide for a 28" draw.

How would mulberry work for an ASL handle?

It would work, its very lightweight. So don't expect much mass with the bow.

Thanks 4nolz@work but i don't have a recorder for that. What is the shortest length the bow could be made.Thinking about 60 or 62 are they doable?

draw length x 2 + 10 is a perfect length.

I posted photos last year of my mulberry bow. Mine is actually a white mulberry. They grow like crazy on my property.

Pearl drums is your formula for a bend thru the handle bow or a stiff handle bow? Chuck S

Pretty sure it’s for a stiff handle.

Bjrogg

Thanks Bjrogg

Yeah I'm confident Pearl was directing that toward stiff handled bows.

A good general guideline for stiff handled bows is 2 times the draw length, plus 10" or the length of the non-bending handle section... i.e. handle and fades. For lesser woods, add width and/or length.

I worked on this mulberry log last week.

That is a big old mulberry Jeff!

Mine is is about 12 - 14 inch diameter and about 7 - 8 ft in length.That's a big log of mulberry Jeff.

How soon do you split log into staff's. My 2 logs have been laying with bark on them since Late April or early May of this year.

Wapiti, that's a good manageable size. I would get it split open right away. Like this weekend. The sooner the better.

I like to split them the day the tree is dropped if possible. If that's not possible, then I do it as soon as I can, in the following few days. I like to have it done and out of the way, and doing so generally makes for better bow wood.

What Jeff said. Will add though. I like to remove the bark and sapwood then to. Keeps the bug from boring into the wood. If you remove the bark and sapwood make sure you seal the back and end with shellac or something or drying checks can develop sometimes overnight

Bjrogg

Yes, I agree Brian. Shortly after the log is split, I get to work on the staves' bark and sapwood, quickly take the back down to a single heartwood growth ring, seal it, and reduce their thickness and width enough that they can be steamed and straightened and/or reflexed if so desired. It's a lot easier to do when the wood is wet and makes it safer from bugs, drying checks, warping and such.

It is wise, to treat Mulberry like Hickory. It likes to retain water/gain moisture . Bob

What's best to use for sealing them?

Shellac works well and dries quickly.

Thanks Jeff & everyone else for advice.

Mulberry is excellent bow wood. Less dense than Osage, but make it wider and it'll behave similarly

What Rick said, it makes a great bow, just usually much lighter than osage,in physical weight,so a little longer and wider works great. Pappy

I tried it but must have cut the wrong variety, it was very soft and splintery, I seasoned it for 20 years before I got around to working it. What I had just didn't feel like bow wood to me so I abandoned the project. The tree had mulberries hanging on it when I cut it, I thought it was osage until I saw the mulberries.

I seem to recall that Murray Gaskins was a proponent for Mulberry for self bows and in laminations. He didn't seem to think Red Mulberry was better than White. He considered it to be close to Osage. I made one years ago, Red Mulberry, using Comstock's the Bent Stick instructions for a flat bow. It was okay, didn't take too much set and I shot it for a couple seasons at 3-D and gave it away at a shoot; or maybe traded it. YMMV.

Thanks for information i don't know if i will get to it this fall or not.

If you have already registered, please

sign in now

For new registrations

Click Here