Bowyers/archers speak up

[Eric C]

I'm rereading the "Traditional Bowyers Bible, Vol 1." I only have two volumes at the moment. Anyway, as I read through it, I am enamoured with the idea of one day making my own bow. Today, I was thinking of something. A few years ago, the family went to a local woodworker's store. I went to find wood for beds for my children. Reta, the daughter, saw the purpleheart and proclaimed, "I want a purple bed!" This was the first time I had ever seen the stuff and I knew nothing of its density or toxicity. I wondered why it really wrecked havok on my sinuses and allergies when I tried planing it. So the bed never got made and now there is plenty of purpleheart laying around. Some of it will find its way into knife handles. Reta still wants me to make something out of some of it for her.

That brings me to the question. Has anyone here ever heard of a bow made of purpleheart? Maybe I can get things together and fashion a small bow for her 9th birthday.

Greg: I'll be starting on my first attempts at shield bosses soon. Maybe I'll have some test runs to show off before long.

[kaelln]

Eric, I am far from a bowyer, but here's something I found online. Under a listing of woods for bows, under the heading "True Bowwoods":

PURPLEHEART .82. Diffuse-porous. Tropical. Usually from heartwood board staves. Purpleheart has the compression elasticity of perhaps .70 wood, fretting more easily than other woods. Pretend youre making a bow of hophornbeam to be safe. Or, even more carefully than with other woods, execute thickness taper so that no portion or the limb is overstrainedno local or general dips or rises. If once past mid-limb you taper in a straight line to narrow nocks outer limbs will be light enough to pay for slightly wider mid limbs. Handshock can be a problem with such heavy woods; narrow outer limbs and tips help here also. A couple of my early purplehearts blew due to small hard-to-see back knots. A thin hickory backing looks good on this dark wood (rawhide too). A hickory backing can be applied in Perry fashion, protecting the belly as well as the back.

That's pretty much all greek to me, but it does indicate that purpleheart is a legit choice for a bow wood.

Here's a link to the page, which bowyers should find interesting.

http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/6213

[Eric C]

Thanks for the link. I may have to look that forum up and join it.

[Jon]

I can't find the link, but I remember looking at a purplehearted backed bow on ebay some time ago.

[Eric C]

I've wondered if I could back purpleheart with something if necessary to make it work if it isn't good enough on its own.

[Jon]

I'm thinking that it might not be that great on its own, as all the times I've seen it, it's been part of a composite bow. But I'm no way near an expert, so this advice has no reliability guaranteed whatsoever, so you should try it anyway I'd say.

[Eric C]

Hmm, I've been thinking of making a small test bow and seeing how it holds up. That would give me experience both with making a bow and with purpleheart.

[Jon]

http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/9603

otherwise I can't find much about it... Have you tried bending a bit of it yet to check it out?

[Eric C]

No. I'm still in the questioning stage at this point. When I have more time I'll cut a piece and see how it bends.

[Greg]

I hate purpleheart.

Sorry I can't explain...I'm at work. I'll say more later.

EDIT:

Alrighty, I've got time. Allow me to explain myself.

I'm going to quote a gentleman that I learned most everything about bowmaking that I know from. These are his words, but they pretty much sum up my feelings about purpleheart, as well as his. Especially in the bowmaking end of things.

"1. Purple heart destroys tools. This stuff is hard as a rock. It blunts files and destroys sanding belts. It's also hard and slow to cut with a band saw.

2. It's almost impossible to use a belt sander on purple heart without creating burn marks. You have to use a brand new sanding belt and then only sand lightly, which doesn't do much good, because purple heart is so hard. And then it's hard to get those burn marks out.

3. It's hard to get a good finish on purple heart. You have to sand and sand and sand with your hand. Then sawdust gets in the grain and imperfections and looks nasty when you put a finish on it. It's very hard to get the tool marks out of it. Once you put a finish on it, these imperfections show up, and there'll be ugly brown spots on it.

4. Purple heart is brittle. Some people have made successful bows out of it, but it's more trouble than it's worth. It doesn't do well in compression, and it frets easily. (Frets or chysals are compression fractures that look like little lines running across the belly of the bow.) I would only use purple heart in handles where it doesn't bend.

But...

Purple heart looks really good with Osage provided you can get it looking good. With patience, it is possible. Just sand with a rough grit a whole lot until you get all the tool marks out and get it nice and even. Then start sanding with finer grits. Once you finish sanding, wipe it down with acetone. That cleans out any saw dust that gets in the grain."

There you have it. It'll look AWESOME in knife handles, Eric, but I just don't know if it's worth the effort to make a bow.

[Eledhwen]

I am with Greg on purple heart wood.

I cannot stand the stuff.

Eledhwen

[Cinead]

I agree with Greg.

It is good for accents but that us about it....

[Jonathan B.]

I do know that the Bowyer that made my bow does offer a longbow with a purpleheart core. http://www.steveralphs.co.uk/alb3a.html

[Eric C]

It would probably be better to get my feet wet on something like oak or osage instead. I can certainly vouch for the tool destroying ability of purpleheart. I think maybe I'll build Reta a chest of drawers with purpleheart accents or something like that.