Making a bow out of a hundred year old board?

[pokeanhope]

I have some dry, solid lumber that is over a hundred years old. I was stored the attic above my house. I was thinking about making a bow out of this, mabey two out of one board, one to shoot, one to hang on the wall.
Would this be possible? Or would the wood be brittle or somthing? They are solid oak boards.

[Osagetree]

In my opinion, not worth the trouble.

[pokeanhope]

What Kind of trouble would there Be? I have no idea, wich is why I asked the ?. The boards were hand cut by my great grandfather, wich is why I wanted to use them.

[4est trekker]

With lumber that special, make yourself an heirloom piece of furniture or a bow rack.  You'll waste a lot of that wood getting it down to a bow, and even then you're not guaranteed that it won't break.  If my great grandad cut the wood, I'd build something I could use every scrap of that lumber for.

[Col HJ]

One of my prize possesions is an Osage self bow built by an Uncle in 1935. He and several other young men in their home town of Roscoe, TX were invited to the local railroad station to tear down an old fence, and their pay was to be keeping any of the old materials. Well my uncle brought home one old fence post and and carved a beautiful bow out of it. He passed it to me maybe 10 years ago and I carefully displayed it in my home until maybe 3 months ago when one day I get the bright ideal to see if their was any life left in it. So I made up a string and oh so carefully braced it to 6" and then gently exercised the limbs a bit, listening for any creaking/cracking or other indicators I should stop...but they never came and soon I was launching some very quick and satisfying arrows. It draws perhaps 60# and has taken maybe 1" of string follow with weekly shooting. I had the thought that if the fence that supplied this fine piece was old and decrepit enough to justify replacement in the middle of the great depression in a rather poor West Texas town it must have been rather old at the time, maybe 30+ years, suggesting that at least one very old piece of wood is still sound and shootable. I say build away!

[pokeanhope]

Ya, I have plenty of old old lumber, I mean barn lofts full, as The farm has been in the family for 6 generations, Its still a running catle farm, but all the old tools from who knows how old are still there, draw knives rasps and everything, and thats what I wanted to use to build the bow. My house is over 150yrs old, so a hundred year old bow hanging on the wall would fit just fine. Did I mention I've never built a bow before? Maby a bowyer on here would be up to the challange?  

[pokeanhope]

Ya, I have plenty of old old lumber, I mean barn lofts full, as The farm has been in the family for 6 generations, Its still a running catle farm, but all the old tools from who knows how old are still there, draw knives rasps and everything, and thats what I wanted to use to build the bow. My house is over 150yrs old, so a hundred year old bow hanging on the wall would fit just fine. Did I mention I've never built a bow before? Maby a bowyer on here would be up to the challange?  

[bowur]

first try some other old lumber, and then the lumber from your grandfatehr. White oak is better than red oak for makin bows, so you might wanna check what kind it is

[Bob Barnes]

as said... if you are lucky it will be white oak...either way, if you back it, you might want to use hickory instead of bamboo as it will cause less compression on the belly wood......
Bob

[Tucker]

As long as the moisture content was right and the wood grain is right for making a bow, go for it! Cool to have a bow with wood your ancestor cut.

[stickytoes]

i am new to this myself but i wonder about backing it with somthing possible a hickory strip and just try it you arent out anything and it will make for a great story if it doesnt work and a cool bow if it does work.... possible the moisture content could be raised by keeping it in the bathroom for a few days?

[Sal]

Go for it!

[George Tsoukalas]

Do it! I assume it is hardwood.  I made a red oak board bow from a b oard I found in my Dad's shop. 30+ years old. I've lost track of the no. of red oak board bows I've made.  Just remember the rules for making board bows. First, lake sure the grain is straight. Second, make sure the grain is straight. Third, make sure the grain straight. More on my site. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/archer.html

[NEProf]

Remember the other rule for making your bow - you must post pictures for us to see!!

[Jim now in Kentucky]

I didn't see it if you said what kind of wood this is. That can make all the difference between a successful bow and something else.

Jim