I need help to find wood
Hi there. I’m an 18-year-old guy from Spain just getting started in the wonderful world of archery, but I’m finding it a real uphill battle because it’s very difficult to find good wood here. In my area—the north—the most common woods available are ash, white or red oak, and elm. The problem is, I understand that oak is quite tricky to work with; you have to follow the grain very precisely, and it’s a very hard wood. I don’t have professional woodworking equipment. Even so, I visited the only two sawmills in my city: they don’t process ash because it isn't widely used in furniture making, and the little oak they do have is cut across the grain—the opposite of what we need. As for elm, it isn't currently being used either, and an infestation has made it harder to find. The only wood I can get is pine or fir, which are far too soft for making a bow. I’ve tried sourcing ash from the mountains, but I don’t have the equipment to season it properly. I don’t want to wait two years only to have the bow snap after all that work. The only imported option is hickory, but a single stave costs 200 euros. I don’t know what to do; I’m on the verge of giving up.