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Author Topic: Getting bark off of hickory ?  (Read 5062 times)

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Offline RyanY

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Getting bark off of hickory ?
« on: March 22, 2010, 01:09:48 am »
So I cut some hickory a few weeks ago and didn't take the bark off. I could already tell it wasn't going to come off as easily as it does in the summer. How can I get the bark off easily so that that first layer is the back of the bow? I've heard a hot steamy shower does the trick. Any suggestions?
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Offline El Destructo

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Re: Getting bark off of hickory ?
« Reply #1 on: March 22, 2010, 01:11:44 am »
That or soak it in a Tub for a day...then peel it....JMO
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Offline RyanY

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Re: Getting bark off of hickory ?
« Reply #2 on: March 22, 2010, 01:14:48 am »
Thanks El D. I thought this thread would get a reply quickly. No I've also heard that the bark will eventually just pop off. Know if that's true? Thanks.
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Offline bcbull

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Re: Getting bark off of hickory ?
« Reply #3 on: March 22, 2010, 02:09:53 am »
yep  hicory can be a real bitch to get off  i say stick it in the shower  probly the easiest wat  tnt my 2nd choice   ;D  brock
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Offline El Destructo

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Re: Getting bark off of hickory ?
« Reply #4 on: March 22, 2010, 08:32:47 am »
If you wait and let it pop Off...make sure that you don't take it down too fast...because when it does start to pop off....it will change the Tiller on You also
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As a species we're fundamentally insane. Put more than two of us in a room, we pick sides and start dreaming up ways to kill one another.Why do you think we invented politics and religion.
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Online Pappy

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Re: Getting bark off of hickory ?
« Reply #5 on: March 22, 2010, 08:46:31 am »
It will eventually pop off but it takes several years for that to happen,I just take it off with a draw knife,you just have to be careful not to violate the back.Once you get the bark off you can scrape
the last layer off [the brown stuff] with a scraper.I don't know about the soaking,never tried it. That is why I cut it when the sap is up.Much easier. :)
   Pappy
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Offline Hillbilly

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Re: Getting bark off of hickory ?
« Reply #6 on: March 22, 2010, 11:27:53 am »
I do it like Pappy said-drawknife w/the bevel down, then clean it up with a scraper. Not nearly as much trouble as people make it out to be. You should be able to debark a stave in a half-hour or so. Some people who think nothing of chasing a ring in the middle of a gnarly, knotty osage stave act like it's impossible to take the bark off a piece of hickory. ;D Threre's no way I'm soaking a hickory stave in water as hard as that stuff is to get dry.
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Offline Josh

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Re: Getting bark off of hickory ?
« Reply #7 on: March 22, 2010, 11:50:13 am »
I always thought it was being counter-productive to soak hickory in water to get the bark off, as humid as our summers get in AL it would take 100 years to bring the MC back down to the right level and only 30 minutes and some elbow grease to take the bark off dry...  :) 
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Offline El Destructo

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Re: Getting bark off of hickory ?
« Reply #8 on: March 22, 2010, 01:39:16 pm »
The stave I got from Steve at.the Classic last year....I soaked it for a couple hours...and the Bark came right off...Cambium and all....and the M/C was back to 6 Percent  in a week.....I don't seem to have any trouble with moisture here..... >:D
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Offline Josh

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Re: Getting bark off of hickory ?
« Reply #9 on: March 22, 2010, 01:41:40 pm »
...said the Texan  ;D
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Offline El Destructo

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Re: Getting bark off of hickory ?
« Reply #10 on: March 22, 2010, 01:43:51 pm »
Texas Desert Dweller....... >:D
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As a species we're fundamentally insane. Put more than two of us in a room, we pick sides and start dreaming up ways to kill one another.Why do you think we invented politics and religion.
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Offline Kegan

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Re: Getting bark off of hickory ?
« Reply #11 on: March 22, 2010, 02:01:21 pm »
Drawknifing it off isn't that hard. Get it close to the inner bark, let that dry (and change color), then scrape it off. Just did that myself on a few. I was suprised, I had thought it would be the most horrific experiene of my life. Guess not ;)
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Offline Dean Marlow

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Re: Getting bark off of hickory ?
« Reply #12 on: March 22, 2010, 08:52:38 pm »
Getting the bark off of Hickory isn't that bad of a deal. Put the drawknife to it and when you get down to the cambium layer just use the scraper and take it off. So what if it takes a little more time to get that last layer off. I am in know hurry to make a bow any way. Dean
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Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: Getting bark off of hickory ?
« Reply #13 on: March 22, 2010, 09:41:56 pm »
Just wait a couple of years and the bark pops off?  How many is a couple?  Buddy gave me a stave that shows it was cut in '95.  Are we there yet?

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Offline RyanY

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Re: Getting bark off of hickory ?
« Reply #14 on: March 23, 2010, 12:00:55 am »
Thanks for the input everyone. I can't work on my staves now since I'm at school but I'll be sure to take you're advice.
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