wanna make a hickory recurve..

[aero86]

got a really nice piece of hickory in the mail today.  id really like to make a recurve out of it.  ill probably try to utilize the whole piece as its at least 68 inches long.  the piece is about 2 inches wide.  i almost wanna cut it in half and try to make two elb style recurves!

now, ive never bend wood other than drawing a bow and shooting it.  how do i go about bending the tips and how much recurve can i make?  honestly id like to make a one piece asian style bow with it, but that would be too much bending, i think.  i just dont know!

[Mark Smeltzer]

Just my personal opinion but hickory is the hardest to bend into a recurve in my experience, dry or wet heat.

[4est Trekker]

Yes, hickory can be tricky to keep bent once it's been heated/steamed.  It's not impossible with a little patience, though.  However,  if you want to guarantee the bend won't pull out you can easily make a static recurve out of it by gluing a thin strip of wood on the belly side extending just beyond the radius of the bend, being careful to fade it out smoothly.  Here's a picture of a couple I've done.  They were bent using a resaw cut and spline (the strip of wood inserted lengthwise along the tips).  Just ignore that part.  Bend it with heat and glue on the strip on the belly side and it'll hold the bend. 










I would not use hickory for an ELB.  Hickory is very weak in compression and thus frets miserably and/or take a great deal of set.

[medicinewheel]

Really nice tips Trekker!

[aero86]

i have heard that hickory might pull out.  maybe i should stick with just a regular flat bow.  what dimensions would be good for a flat bow using hickory?  i dont use a high draw weight, 45-50lbs

[half eye]

aero,
      Ya might want to check with Ken75, he's been making some very nice (and real fast speed) static recurve self bows from hickory here lately. I know cause I got one.....anyway I believe he bends his with steam.....
Rich

[0209]

I've bent hickory quite well and all the bends that I've made have held.  Just boil the tips or the part to be bent for at a minimum 20-30 minutes.  I may go longer if I feel its necessary.  Soon as you take it out of the pot of boiling water put it in ur caul and let it sit until its cool.  Repeat the process for the other limb and you'll have it.
Have a good one.
-Ian

[ken75]

aero, 68" by 2" .... ok if it were me i would go 66" tip to tip 1 3/4 at fades tapering to 1/2 " tips these can be adjusted later if need be. 4" stiff handle 1 1/2 " fade length. get the bow bending i like to steam after floor tiller . make sure you have a little extra tip thickness you can sand off after bending and stringing .steam till you think its ready to bend then steam 5more mins dont get impatient during the steamin . try to get the last 6 or 7 inches bent to shorten workin limb.i cool mine by runnning cold water on the limbs helps set the curve. finish tiller with wood removal from belly and side limbs . like i said this is just me with more expirence you can go shorter ,on my 58 and 54 i trapped the back it helped to even tension compression strengths and got mid forties and mid fifties in weight. hope this helps some. ken

[aero86]

that does help.  so, you mean taper from the fades to tips, pyramid style?  also, how long to leave in the form after cooling with the cool water?