Hickory backs

[lesken2011]

I did my first hickory back on a red oak board bow I was making. Before you tell me it may overpower the red oak, It was pretty thin..about 3/32 and it was a short piece I had that I wanted to experiment with. I have done a good bit of glue ups as far as handles and tips go, and backed bows with other materials, but have never backed a bow with wood before. Having worked with other woods such as red oak, poplar, mahogany, etc., I have yet to run into problems. This particular Hickory back appears to have glued well and the glue lines look OK, but I have read about how hickory likes moisture and was wondering if any of you size the hickory with glue before you do your glue up.

[Jboyd]

I use urac but even with titebond 3 you don't size the back

[lesken2011]

Yeah, I neglected to say that I usually use TBII or III. I hate having to mix the epoxies, but I know, sooner or later I'll have to. Thanks!!

[Jboyd]

lots of folks use the titebond and it obviously works well I've seen alot of bows that were glued up with it
I have just always used urac and never had a failure so i'm sticking with what i know, i don't mind the two part glues they are strong

jamie

[Pat B]

Just be sure that both glue surfaces are smooth and well mated and butter both surfaces. As long as you don't over tighten the clamps you should be OK.
  I have buils quite a few hickory backed red oak bows, all with TBII or TBIII. One of my best bows ever is a hickory backed red oak wide(2 1/2") pyramid bow.

[DarkSoul]

Titebond glue works just fine for hickory. One thing I've noticed though, is that the hickory likes to really suck up the Titebond, more so than other woods. I accomodate this by simply applying more glue to the hickory than I do with other woods. Make sure to apply a full coat of glue to both surfaces of course. But I put some extra squeezes on the hickory. Like 40% of the glue on the red oak, and 60% on the hickory.

Ever a thin hickory backing could potentially overpower red oak. Two methods are used to help to prevent this. First, you could keep the oak belly flat (and not crowned). Second, you could trap the hickory; angle the two sides of the bow, so the back is narrower than the belly.

[lesken2011]

Thanks, guys. I have a glue up to do this weekend. I think I will put a thin layer of glue on the hickory back and let that sit while I glue the other back, then add a little to the hickory before I put em together.


PatB...how thick was the backing strip on your red oak pyramid?


DarkSoul...When you trap the back, do you still round the edges....right?

[Matt A]

Just be sure that both glue surfaces are smooth and well mated and butter both surfaces. As long as you don't over tighten the clamps you should be OK.
  I have buils quite a few hickory backed red oak bows, all with TBII or TBIII. One of my best bows ever is a hickory backed red oak wide(2 1/2") pyramid bow.

mind if we see this gem pat 

[Pat B]

I don't have a pic of "Cinco de Mayo" so I'll try to get some pics tomorrow.
 Lesken, I use 1/8" hickory backing.   A nice thing about using hickory for a backing is you can thin it also if necessary while tillering.   

[Bernal]

I recently made a thick 1/8" hickory backed red oak D cross section English long bow. Other than picking up a little more set than I'd expect, it's still shooting well and has no visible compression issues on the belly. Used TBIII as well.

[hedgeapple]

I don't have a pic of "Cinco de Mayo" so I'll try to get some pics tomorrow.
 Lesken, I use 1/8" hickory backing.   A nice thing about using hickory for a backing is you can thin it also if necessary while tillering.

I thought one could do this, but I've never seen anyone say that they have tillered a hickory backed bow by thinning hickory strip.
Thanks Pat.

[Pat B]

Here is "Cinco de Mayo". She is hickory backed red oak, 63 1/2" t/t, actually only 2 1/4" wide(I said 2 1/2" before) with a straight taper to 3/8" tips(osage overlays). The hickory backing is 1/8" and the red oak belly is 5/16" at the handle and 3/16" near the tips. 53#@28"      This bow was built in '03 and has been shot by many folks with draws from 26" to over 30" and still shoots well today. One friend that used it shot it all weekend at a 3D shoot. He pulled to the center of his chest with a long draw.
 

[lesken2011]

Thanks for sharing that, Pat. This bow I'm making is really an experiment. I had a piece of 1/8 in hickory backing left from ripping a hickory board. It was only 57 in long and 2 in wide. The red oak board I am using is 66 in ttt. It is 2 in wide with parallel limbs to 9 in from the end where it tapers to 1/2 in tips (which I will narrow later) The belly is flat. I centered the backing which left 4.5 inches unbacked on each end. I am going to build up the ends for recurve tips and wrap where they join with cord or artificial sinew. I glued on a mahogany handle. So far, so good, but I am really crossing my fingers on this one.

[Pat B]

Binding the ends of the hickory backing is a good idea. The tips of the limbs are non working so the backing is not needed there as long as you secure the ends of the backing. Adding recurves will add more stress to your set up so your your success will depend on how gingerly you proceed.

[lesken2011]

I'm not planning drastic curves...just add a flip to the tips an inch or so to offset the set which is about 1/2 in, so far, but will probably increase a little once shot in.