hickory grain knot, pics

[ballista]

 title pretty much says it- i ripped the board into a few staves, and its been hell working with- i always thought as long as the end grain was good, the bow would be good, but i think this grain is whats really screwing me over, i figured you more experienced could give me a hand here.   thanks, jimmy.

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[ballista]

 a pic of the excellent end grain also


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[Kegan]

Doesn't look that bad, I'd just back it and forget about it.

[George Tsoukalas]

That board looks pretty bad if I am looking at the back. Don't even try it for a selfbow. A backing of wood may work but why spend the time. The butt of the board is of very little interest. Look at the face and edge grain. You want straight lines for most of the length. If you look at the edge of the board the grain lines should be parallel to the back of the board. A couple of run outs may be allowed but not as many as I see on that board. There's more on my site. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/

[adb]

That board is plain sawn... not ideal for a board bow. It's not actually a knot you're looking at, it's just the grain structure. Backing it would help, but in my opinion, hickory sucks as a belly wood. The end grain isn't the most impotant. The grain should run the length of the board, on face and edge, with as few run offs as possible.

[ballista]

 i appreciate the advise- i know this is a primitive forum, but i do have a hickory backing strip i mite try on, that know is about smack in the middle of the stave, i might as well experiment for next time. ill try and laminate it into a try lam english longbow, do you thing stretch wrap and smooth on will work?

[El Destructo]

I agree totally with what George and ADB had to say about the Grain of this Board....I prefer to get a Biased or Edge Ringed Board with little to no runoff at all...go check out Georges Site....lots of good information on Board Bows

[George Tsoukalas]

ballista, not a matter of primitive. Boards are wood. It's  a matter of safety. Any board cut will do- plain sawn, 1/4 sawn or rift sawn. Again the key is how straight the grain is which in turn determines the poundage you can get. I allow only 2 run ups or outs per limb for a 50-55# selfbow. The 1/4 sawn needs a straight and I mean straight edge grain. BTW no knots allowed either. You have to pick through the pile. Jawge

[ballista]

 i appreciate it jawge, i saw youre site, had alot of helpful guidelines. so when you look for a board bow, you look at how clean the stave is rather than the butt grain- then by run ups, is that similar/ the same to run offs? by the way i threw the lam bow idea off the table. again, thanks for the help. -jimmy

[adb]

When I'm picking out boards for bows, I sometimes don't even look at the end grain. If I do at all, it's always last. I look at the edge grain first, and then the face grain. Example: if you're looking at a board which is 1" thick, 3" wide and 70" long, I look at the grain on the 1" edge first. Then the 3" face. Is the grain straight? Does it run parallel the entire length of the board? Are there any grain run offs? If you answer yes, yes, and then no... grab the board. Grain first, wood type second. I'd rather make a board bow from a staright piece of maple or oak, than a really bad piece of osage (we're talkin' boards here, OK?).

[ballista]

 i see where youre coming from now, that explains alot of the problems i was having. thats helps alot, thx adb. out of curiousity, do you prefer any particular wood for board bows? ive been using hickory forever, but i made an ash bow in woods and found it a little easier to work with, id post that bow but thats got no string on it- anaways, thanks for the help, -jimmy.

[George Tsoukalas]

Jimmy, same thing. I should call them run outs. My bad. Jawge

[adb]

i see where youre coming from now, that explains alot of the problems i was having. thats helps alot, thx adb. out of curiousity, do you prefer any particular wood for board bows? ive been using hickory forever, but i made an ash bow in woods and found it a little easier to work with, id post that bow but thats got no string on it- anaways, thanks for the help, -jimmy.

For board bows, I've used: osage, maple, cherry, jatoba, ash, hickory, and ipe. Not all backed, but most. Nothing wrong with the right board. Boards are wood.

[radius]

but not a spruce 2x4, eh, adb?

[ballista]

 appreciate the help guys, cant thanks you enough. i got a different board ill take pics of, the grain is funky, but strait- here ill take a few pics