Here in my part of CA, we don't have osage, hickory or yew. But I pass tons of ash & mulberry every day. Plenty of Chinese elm, too, though I'm not sure if that's as good a bow wood.
I'm wondering how to select a branch to harvest for a selfbow. How thick should it be in diameter (minimum)? How can I tell how straight the grain is when it's still on the tree? Are a few small knots okay or does it need to be clear? there aren't too many folk who do this sort of thing out here (I have one trad-hunting neighbor but he's not into building). Any good resources for learning?
Send bubby a PM. He might be able to help you out.
2" in diameter or larger should work with most bow woods. Mulberry would be my choice of what you mentioned.
Most limbs will grow pretty straight . Try to get one with no side branches.
Most woods over 0.55s.g. will make a bow. You definitely don't need the 'premium' woods you mentioned. Mulberry is well worth experimenting with.
Branches are ok but much better to get a trunk. Anything over 2 inches will work. To begin with only select the straightest, most knotfree wood you can find. Much better to spend a few hours looking than to try and make a bow from a marginal stave.
Get yourself the TTB books, vol 1 is as good a palce to start as any. Follow the 'osage bow' chapter and simply adjust the width for different wood species.
Good luck. Practise makes perfect.
Mulberry is one of my favorites.
A lot of the benefits of Osage just lower density, but just keep your bows a bit wider and you're good.
I really like how mulberry gets that aged look very quickly, especially in sunlight.
Thank you for your feedback. Sounds like a book is on my "things I need" list.
At 2", I assume that all sapwood is okay for the mulberry? I've seen 3-4" limbs that barely have 1" of heartwood at the center.
I've made bows with all sapwood, 50/50, a few sapwood rings and all heartwood with mulberry. The more sapwood the thicker the limbs will be but they all made good bows and shot well.