I went to the lumber store looking for some red oak, but all of the boards had bad grain. however, they did give me a 61" by 2" by 1" piece of mahogany. Is this a good wood for bows? the grain is relatively straight, with no run outs or knots. can this be used for a bow?

I think I heard abpout mahabows used by some natives- so I`d give it a try....

I have a crossbow from Viet Nam or the Phillipeans that is made completely from mahogany so it can be done.

im not sure how accurate this is but i thought mahogany could be quite brittle and liable to snap seen it happen once when using it for a fascia on a curved desk front. the piece was about 6 inch wide and 6ft long hope this was just a once off as would love to see some pics when done mahogany looks brilliant once finished

Thanks guys, i started the bow, figuring that since the board was free, i might as well give it a shot. here are some pic of the bow roughed out. It's 61" ttt, 2" wide mid-limb. The handle is half roughed out. It is probably a little over built, but I want this one to survive:).

the overall shape,

side profile,

and a close up of the wood, so you can identify.

Hi Caleb,
I built one and it broke but the board was rather old and perhaps too dry. Keep us posted because I still have some left.

Good Luck
Charlie

If you're concerned about the wood being brittle I bet a rawhide backing strip would work wonders.

Mahogany doesn't like to stay together (at least not under stress/strain of bending) from my limited experience.  You're definitely on the right track overbuilding, and I would 100% back that baby if it's going to survive and bend very much. Either way, don't expect a screamer, but it could be good practice.

Best of luck!

Yeah it could be good practice. I don't know though ... good wood isnt terribly expensive and life is short.

I can't help but thing that a bamboo or hickory backed ipe or osage is the way to learn, or even just a hickory board.

there are so many well demonstrated bow woods, I dont know its worth trying to reinvent the wheel .....

On a side note, if you wanna see some serious mahogany lookup "the tree". It's the most desirable mahogany ever logged, it sells for astronomical amounts of money. Like we're talking hundreds of dollars /bf.

I know of a few guys that spent time on mahoganey they will never get back! Skip it and grab something proven.

I used mahogany once for a riser, it split right down the center length wise while tillering, never again.

Well I started tillering it, got the tips moving about 5" or so. I'll post some pics later once I get off the long string.

Pearl drums: I'm not exactly wasting time, as I have nothing else to work with. This bow is being built while half hoping it will work and half just for the practice.

I bought a couple dozen "hand-turned" mahogany arrow shafts that I'm excited to work on soon! If things go bad with the bow, maybe you can get a few shafts out of the remains...or some nice wood for tip overlays and handles for future bows!

Good luck with your project!

Dino

I would be scart stiff of loosing a mahogany arrow!!  It's so brittle i'd be afraid of it snapping in mid-paradox and driving through my hand.  I tried it for overlays ONCE cuz it's such perty stuff... never again.  No matter what i did, how i oriented the grain, the string split down toward the grip (in mid-shot) and nearly ruined a bow.

Here is a pic of it on the tillering tree(top limb on the right), any suggestions? It's on a zero brace, but the string is tight to the bow, with the tips moving about 5-6". If the tiller is good(doubtful       ) then what would be the easiest way to drop the weight about 30#      :D    .
   
Hoping that this will work, it will look really nice.    

Make it narrower and thinner.

I wish you good luck, you say it is over built at 61" ttt, well I would have gone for 68" ntn. Bue--.

Roy: I will make it it thinner,but I'm not sure is I want it any narrower. I've been reading in the TBB1 that you make the limbs wider as a insurance policy.(and i take that since you didn't mention the tiller as it being good:))

It does look very thick.