Sapling Bows?

[Oxbow Farm]

Is there any reason a straight sapling of suitable diameter can’t be steamed and bent as is to make an ox bow? I have made a couple bows before, the first time was with split white oak, it worked OK but did split out a bit on the tension side. All the other bows I have made were white ash. I have a lot of small beech saplings in the woodlot though and I was wondering if I could just cut one and bend it as is and save all the work on the shaving horse. I know beech is a good bending wood, is there a reason a sapling wouldn’t work?

[bivol]

it could work, depending on the wood.
it was done in some parts of my country. saplings were steamed on brandy kettles until they were slump like electric cables, and put into the yoke to keep shapes.

i never heard anyone complain about bows snapping. it was all told: “oh, you take a sappling, steam it until it is slump, and put it in the yoke…. why?”

like there was no problems associated with common wooden bows, snapping an all… so i think it’s definitely worth a try…

here’s the yoke with such bows, from bosnia, but using technology from croatian highlands bordering to bosnia.

about them, i made a liberal translation of the matter i asked the man i got in contact said:

“you can use hazel, ash, fiddle, but the best maple, and elm, they’re soft, take bark off. there’s no bending frame, you have to fit it for each of individually. usually they don’t snap, if it snaps, make another one, always have a spare one. just steam em well and it’ll bend easy…”

[Author]

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