Sycamore and hackberry boards

[DavidV]

The hardwood place I go to has hackberry and sycamore boards really cheap. I know hackberry staves are good and I've heard of sycamore making good backings but I know very little about the woods and wether anyone makes unbacked/backed board bows out of them. What are their properties and what design would they like?

[missilemaster]

Acording to the traditional bowyers bible Vol.4, sycamore has a SG of .49 and makes  a "fast and sweet shooting bow!" Being of a lower density, unless you can find a pristine board, I would back it with something.

                        -Cody

[DavidV]

Thanks, for $1.75 a bf, sycamore would make some cheap bows and backings.

They had a good selection of hackbery as well that looked to be in VERY good condition. I know it's light but I forget if it's a tension or compression wood.

[k-hat]

That's awesome!  I wish i could find some hackberry boards!  Didn't know they existed.  I would think you can def make a bow from hackberry lumber.  It's very tension strong, treat it like elm.  Give the belly a good deep heat treatment.  Get a bundle and crank them out!  I would think it would make a good backing material as well.

[autologus]

How about a Hack backed Sycaboard bow.

Grady

[Onebowonder]

How about a Hack backed Sycaboard bow.

Grady

You could call it a "Hacky Syc"...

[DavidV]

Lol, I'll make sure to remember that for when I get some boards. I'll name the first one "Hacky Syc" and the next one "Sycaboard"

[k-hat]

Or hackamore, sycahack, sycaberry....  Once the build is done just post one of those as the wood type and raise a few eyebrows, see who bites and says "yeah we have lots of hackamore up here.. i'll have to give it a try"

[tattoo dave]

I've tried a couple sycamore self bows from boards. I did not back them, and they were not exactly perfect boards, may be the reasons they both failed. Just my experience.

Tattoo Dave

[Scaramouche]

Acording to the traditional bowyers bible Vol.4, sycamore has a SG of .49 and makes  a "fast and sweet shooting bow!"

That amazes me, because I have two sycamores in my front yard, and I've always considered them to be very brittle. I'll have to harvest some and season it properly.

I'd written them off as useless, but I'd be glad to be proved wrong!