hickory! new wood!!!

[jturkey]

ok i got some hickory cut and brought to me by a very good friend and he will be getting a bow from it if i succeed.  now when drying the hickory after the bark has been removed and split. question 1) what other than shellac do you guys put on the back of the bow and question 2) would you guys cut slightly larger than bow size for drying and if you do  question 3) do you coat the side of the stave between the belly and the back. question 4) what style of bow would hickory have the best cast and speed from in your opinion. and this is the first time i will have worked with hickory other than making a few tool  handles out of it. so any and all ideas will be welcomed and probally used.

[Pat B]

I use spray shellac on all wood bow backs. Some folks claim that with  hickory you don't need to seal the back but I do anyway. You only have to seal the back and not the sides.
  Reduce your stave to just over bow size and allow a month at least for it to dry.
  Hickory need to be very dry to perform well. For a 28" draw I would go at least 1 1/2" wide at the fades and out 6" to 8" before tapering to the tips. Leave the tips at 1/2" or wider for now then reduce them to 3/8" after final tiller. 

[jturkey]

i forgot to mention the staves are well over 70" in length up to 84 inches so i have some room to play with one might get to a 30-31 inch draw for a trully long armed fellow i know.lol

[Pat B]

68" to 70" should be good for the long armed fellow! 

[jturkey]

ok pat since i'm at it took a break to ask should i put the green wood in a form now to introduce some reflex now or wait till it dries some. i'm going to cut it to 72" tip 2 tip that should give me all the length i need. and should the belly be flat or more d shaped