Best Wood for Bow Making
By James Holbert · Explained Archery
The best wood for bow making is Osage orange or yew if you can get a clean stave, and hickory if you are building your first bow. Black locust, ash, elm, hard maple, and a red oak board from the lumber yard all make good bows too when the grain is straight and the wood is dry. Species matters less than straight grain, dry wood, and a design that matches the wood.
Quick answer
- Best overall: Osage orange and Pacific or European yew. Both handle tension and compression well and make narrow, fast, durable bows.
- Best for a first bow: hickory. It is close to unbreakable in tension, forgives tillering mistakes, and is sold as boards.
- Good and widely available: black locust, white ash, elm, hard maple, red oak boards.
- Good with a backing: ipe, lemonwood, mulberry, and any board with slight grain run-out.
- Avoid: pine, cedar, fir, poplar, spalted or knotty wood, and kiln-dried boards with case hardening.
Whatever the species, the wood must be dry (8 to 10 percent moisture), straight-grained, and free of knots in the working limbs.
Which woods make good bows?
Tension is how well the back (facing the target) resists stretching. Compression is how well the belly (facing you) resists crushing.
| Wood | Tension | Compression | Beginner ease | Typical design | Availability | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osage orange | Excellent | Excellent | Moderate | Narrow flatbow or longbow, 1.25 to 1.5 in wide | Staves only, central and southern US | Chase one growth ring on the back; staves are often snaky |
| Yew (Pacific or European) | Very good (sapwood) | Very good (heartwood) | Moderate | D-section English longbow, 1 to 1.25 in wide | Scarce and expensive | Sapwood back, heartwood belly; soft and easy to cut |
| Hickory | Excellent | Fair | Easy | Wide flatbow, 1.75 to 2 in wide | Boards and staves, common | Best beginner wood; keep it dry or it takes set |
| Black locust | Very good | Good | Moderate | Wide flatbow, 1.5 to 1.75 in wide | Staves, eastern US | Frets if limbs are too narrow or thick |
| White ash | Good | Fair | Easy | Wide flatbow, 1.75 to 2 in wide | Boards common | Needs wide, thin limbs; takes some set |
| Elm (red, rock, wych) | Very good | Fair | Easy to moderate | Wide flatbow | Staves, boards less common | Interlocking grain resists splitting |
| Hard maple | Good | Good | Easy | Flatbow, 1.5 to 1.75 in wide | Boards common | Also used in laminated recurve limbs |
| Red oak board | Good | Fair | Easy | Wide flatbow, 1.75 to 2 in wide, 66 to 72 in long | Any lumber yard | Straight grain on all faces; back it above 45 lb |
| Lemonwood (degame) | Good | Good | Easy | Straight longbow or flatbow | Rare today | No rings to chase; early 1900s factory bow wood |
| Ipe | Fair | Excellent | Moderate | Narrow belly under a bamboo back | Decking boards, common | Very dense; needs a backing; wear a dust mask |
| Bamboo (backing) | Excellent | Poor | Moderate to glue | Backing strip over ipe, osage, or hickory | Poles and slats, common | Tension layer only; planed flat, glued with epoxy |
| Mulberry | Good | Good | Moderate | Flatbow, slightly wider than osage | Staves, regional | Lighter cousin of osage; chase a ring on the back |
Widths suit a 60 to 68 inch bow at 40 to 50 lb. Pick a target weight from the bow draw weight chart before you cut.
What makes a good bow wood?
Tension and compression
Osage and yew resist both, so they can be made narrow and deep. Hickory and ash are strong in tension but crush more easily, so they are made wide and thin to spread the load. Ipe is the reverse and works best as a belly under a tension-strong backing.
Growth rings
On a stave, the back should follow one unbroken growth ring. Ring-porous woods like osage, locust, and mulberry demand this. Hickory and maple are more tolerant, which is why boards of them work. On a board, grain lines should run the full length without leaving the edge on any face.
Moisture content
Aim for 8 to 10 percent. Wetter wood takes set (follows the string) and loses cast. Below 6 percent it gets brittle. A pin meter removes the guesswork.
Straight grain and no knots
Grain run-out steeper than about 1 in 20 across the back of a working limb is a splinter waiting to lift. Knots in the handle or near the tips are usually fine. Knots in the middle of a limb are not.
Sapwood and heartwood in yew
Yew is the one wood where you keep both layers: pale sapwood on the back for tension, orange heartwood on the belly for compression. English longbows kept the sapwood 3 to 6 mm thick.
What is the best wood for a first bow?
Hickory, or a red oak board if hickory is not sold near you. Both come as boards you can inspect before buying, and both survive the uneven tillering every first bow gets.
A first board bow at 30 to 40 lb is realistic.
Board bow or stave bow?
A board bow starts from sawn lumber. The grain is visible, the wood is already dry, and you can build one in a weekend. The trade-off is that a saw does not follow growth rings, so the bow usually needs a backing above 45 lb.
A stave bow starts from a split log. The back follows one unbroken ring, which makes the bow stronger for its width and allows a narrow profile or built-in reflex. The cost is a year or more of drying and a slower build. Osage and yew are almost always stave bows; hickory, ash, maple, and oak are usually board bows. See recurve vs longbow for how the finished designs shoot.
How long does bow wood need to dry?
| Stock | Drying time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Green stave, bark on, sealed ends | 1 to 2 years air drying | About one year per inch of thickness; store shaded and ventilated |
| Roughed-out stave (near bow dimensions) | 2 to 6 months | Seal the back and ends to prevent checking |
| Kiln-dried board | Ready to use | Let it rest 1 to 2 weeks in your shop; check for case hardening |
| Finished bow in a humid climate | Ongoing | Hickory and ash absorb moisture and take set; keep the bow sealed |
Check moisture with a meter rather than the calendar. Target 8 to 10 percent before tillering.
Which woods should you avoid?
- Softwoods: pine, cedar, spruce, fir, and poplar crush on the belly and splinter on the back. Fine for arrows, not bows.
- Spalted, punky, or insect-damaged wood. Fungus has already weakened the fibers.
- Knotty or twisted stock. Every knot in a working limb is a stress riser.
- Case-hardened kiln-dried boards. Fast kilns leave the outside dry and the core wet, so the board cups or splits when cut. Let boards rest before you start.
When does a bow need a backing?
A backing is a thin tension-strong layer glued to the back. It stops splinters lifting from grain run-out and lets a belly-strong wood do its job.
- Rawhide: a safety backing that stops a splinter becoming a break. Good on any board bow.
- Linen or silk: similar, lighter, glued with hide glue or wood glue.
- Hickory strip: 3 to 5 mm thick, adds real tension strength to oak, ash, or maple.
- Bamboo: the strongest common backing, standard over ipe or osage, glued with epoxy.
Back the bow when the board shows run-out, when oak or ash goes over about 45 lb, or when the belly is ipe. A clean hickory or osage stave under 50 lb usually needs none.
What woods were used historically?
The English longbow was yew, often imported from Spain and Italy, in a deep D-section with the sapwood left on as a natural back. Native American bowyers used Osage orange where it grew and hickory, ash, and locust elsewhere, often in short, wide flatbows with sinew backing. Asian composite bows used a thin wood core with a horn belly and sinew back, which is why they could be so short and powerful.
Tools for a first board bow
- Farrier's rasp or coarse wood rasp for roughing out
- Cabinet scraper for tillering and finishing
- Drawknife or spokeshave (staves only)
- Tillering stick or tillering tree with a bow scale
- Pin moisture meter
- Sandpaper, finishing oil, and a string of the right length (see how to measure recurve bow string)
- Eye protection and a dust mask, especially for ipe and osage
The rest of the archery equipment list can wait until the bow shoots.
Which mistakes break bows?
| Mistake | What happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Cutting through a growth ring on the back | Splinter lifts, bow breaks at that ring | Chase one ring on staves; on boards, pick straight grain or add a backing |
| Tillering with wet wood | Bow takes 2 to 4 inches of set and loses cast | Dry to 8 to 10 percent first |
| Pulling past target weight | Belly frets or the bow breaks before it is tillered | Draw an inch at a time; never exceed final weight or length |
| Limbs too narrow for the species | Compression frets on hickory, ash, locust | Use the widths in the table above |
| Skipping the finish | Wood absorbs moisture and takes set | Seal with oil, varnish, or wax before shooting |
Stop and inspect the bow if you hear a tick or see a raised splinter. Unstring it as shown in how to unstring a recurve bow.
Related guides
Once the bow shoots, these pages cover draw weight, string fit, and design choices.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about choosing wood for bows.
What is the best wood for bows?
Osage orange and yew are the best all-round bow woods because they handle both tension and compression. Hickory is the best choice for a first bow.
What is a good wood for bows that I can buy at a lumber yard?
Hickory, hard maple, white ash, and red oak boards all make good flatbows. Pick straight grain on every face, no knots, and keep the limbs 1.75 to 2 inches wide.
Is hickory good for bow making?
Yes. Hickory is close to unbreakable in tension and tolerant of tillering mistakes. Its weakness is moisture: keep it dry and sealed or it will take set in humid weather.
Is Osage orange the best wood for bow making?
Many bowyers say so. It is dense, durable, and strong in both tension and compression. The catch is that it comes only as staves, often twisted, and needs a growth ring chased on the back.
Can you make a bow from green wood?
Not a lasting one. Green wood takes heavy set and loses its cast. Rough the stave out, seal it, and dry to 8 to 10 percent before tillering.
What wood should you not use for a bow?
Softwoods such as pine, cedar, fir, and poplar, any spalted or knotty wood, and kiln-dried boards with case hardening. These crush, splinter, or split under draw.
References
These sources support the guidance on this page.