I got this hickory stave from Hickoryswitch. It was already de-barked, but I wanted to clean it up a bit so I could fine the vertical grain better for laying out the bow. I had finished cleaning over half the bow when I noticed what I was doing. I was scraping down through the cork like consistancy wood to the smooth wood. A light came on. I started paying attention the sound and feel of my scaping as well as the visual texture. Though the corky wood sound was low pitch raspy. As soon as I was through it the sound changed to a smoother high pitch sound. The feel of the wood under my scraper matched the sound. Woohoo, I'm chasing a ring! completely by accident.
Am I safe to assume this?
Now for the questions:
1. It's a shag bark hickory. There are ridges along the back of up to 1/8" in heighth. Should I leave them or smooth them out? see first picture.
2. Theres a couple of worm marks that I can't work around. Is this going to be a problem? Should I attempt to go to the next ring or plan to back the bow.
3. I'm looking to build a bow with a slightly working handle. Here are the dimentions I'm thinking about. Will they work? Is this a good design for this wood"
68" t2t, 1" thick at the handle, 7/8" wide handle, 4 1/2" long handle. 2" to the fades. 1 1/2 wide fades tapering to 1/2 at the tip.
I'm looking to build a 45-55# bow @ 28" draw.
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