Problem with my hickory backing

[MAK]

I am getting incredibly frustrated!!!!!!!!!!

I am yet to successfully make a hickory backed bow beyond 45 lbs. I have had a difficult time finding any quatered sawn or rift cut hickory. I finally find a board almost perfect. Very little runoff, but some. I called the lumber yard and they told me it may actually be pecan, not hickory.

Will that make a big difference?

By the way. All three of my hickory/pecan boards or so freakin' warped now, I don't know how I could make any backings out of them. ARHGGGG!!!!!!!!

I've made a bunch of glass bows and really wanted to try this "primitive" stuff. I'm getting FRUSTRATED!!!!!!!!! I wish I had access to osage to try selfbows. None here in MN.

I guess I'm gonna give boo a try. I, however, do have a bunch of glass and exotics woods in my garage just begging to be made into longbows. Maybe that's what I was meant to do.

[Dano]

If your not having fun at it, quit.

[knightd]

I don't know about you but being frustrated is what drove me to keep going!! I love a good challenge.. I have used pecan with good results.. From the sounds of your boards warping they where not completely dry when you got them and that could be part of the problem you are having.. Try the Boo you should have allot more success..
David

[smokeu]

How about a hickory selfbow or other from a stave.... Then you can really get primitive.

\Best of luck to you, hope you stay around.

Mike

[MAK]

Actualy, I just got a piece of hickory that I could make a self bow out of.........but I'm gonna wait untill I have more confidence in myself.  Plus, I know were I might be able to get a couple of osage staves!!!!!

Yesterday, I finished my first boo bow on jatoba. Man, do I ever love that bamboo!

[snedeker]

Also, you can correct the warping in the strips you have by steaming them a bit and clamping them to a board.  More or less vertical grain pecan should work fine.   The under weight outcome is very typical in your early bows.  You get comfortable at some point starting the tillering process with them feeling much stiffer.  You want to leave some leeway to work out those hinges.

Dave

[Parnell]

Hey Mak,

I was playing around with hickory backings and maple backings on Ipe for months and it was frustrating, lots of breaks with a couple successes.  I made a self hickory board bow with a stiff handle and also I've made some self D bows just from maple boards and am having a lot of fun with those.  Switch it up if you aren't having fun.  You don't have to have the perfect piece of wood for either bow to work out.

Hope this helps.

Parnell

[MAK]

Parnell,

Yes it does. I just completed my first boo bow on jatoba. That sucker has put a big ol' smile on my face.

[Pat B]

I have made many hickory backed bows and only had one failure and it was from a log that was not taken care of after cutting. Fungus set in and weakened the wood. It doesn't tale long at all with whitewoods.

[Badger]

I have gotten to the place where I prefer hickory to bamboo. Boo may be a tad faster but the hickory seems to hold up better. I use it with ipe, maple, osage, red oak , you name it. The lighter the wood the thinner I make it and vice versa. About 3/16 for ipe and about 3/32 thick for maple for instance.
  Congrats on your jatoba bow, every single one I have ever built has chrysaled on me, either durring tillering or at best a week or two later. Steve