Author Topic: Hickory board bow question pics added  (Read 4903 times)

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Offline cook1536

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Hickory board bow question pics added
« on: May 21, 2013, 06:12:55 pm »
So, while in the process of making a red oak board bow for my daughter, I bought a fairly straight grained hickory board. My question is, can a person rip an 1/8" thick strip off the belly, flip it around and glue it on the back to make a hickory backed hickory bow?
« Last Edit: May 23, 2013, 12:28:16 am by cook1536 »
Archery is seeing how far you can get from your target, Bowhunting is seeing how close you can get to your target.

Offline bubby

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Re: Hickory board bow question
« Reply #1 on: May 21, 2013, 06:14:42 pm »
yeah you can, is the grain questionable, hickory generally doesn't need a backer
failure is an option, everyone fails, it's how you handle it that matters.
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Offline cook1536

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Re: Hickory board bow question
« Reply #2 on: May 21, 2013, 06:15:45 pm »
Not really, it runs staight for about 4 feet then slowly curves off the side.
Archery is seeing how far you can get from your target, Bowhunting is seeing how close you can get to your target.

Offline bubby

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Re: Hickory board bow question
« Reply #3 on: May 21, 2013, 06:41:09 pm »
give it a shot then, worst thing is you end up with some wood for the smoker , and maybe a knot on the head>:D
failure is an option, everyone fails, it's how you handle it that matters.
The few the proud the 27🏹

Offline cook1536

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Re: Hickory board bow question
« Reply #4 on: May 21, 2013, 06:47:53 pm »
I can handle the smoker wood but i dont think the glue would taste very good!!!
Archery is seeing how far you can get from your target, Bowhunting is seeing how close you can get to your target.

Offline BOWMAN53

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Re: Hickory board bow question
« Reply #5 on: May 21, 2013, 08:29:54 pm »
Be cautious of boards where the grain curves to one side, i had one recently and the bow ended up with some twist. The one before that from the same board broke while on the tree because i didn't notice it early enough.

Offline cook1536

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Re: Hickory board bow question
« Reply #6 on: May 21, 2013, 09:58:45 pm »
Is backing it gonna help?
Archery is seeing how far you can get from your target, Bowhunting is seeing how close you can get to your target.

Offline George Tsoukalas

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Re: Hickory board bow question
« Reply #7 on: May 21, 2013, 10:26:27 pm »
Pictures? Jawge
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Offline lostarrow

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Re: Hickory board bow question
« Reply #8 on: May 22, 2013, 01:14:02 am »
The backing can help in the sense that it can  hold together an area of slightly dodgy grain with a piece that is more uniform. You can also use this as an opportunity to glue in reflex (or whatever side profile you want ,for that matter.) Just remember  that heating it afterwards will be out of the question, as it would weaken the glue.

Offline DarkSoul

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Re: Hickory board bow question
« Reply #9 on: May 22, 2013, 05:31:40 pm »
So you want to rip off a 'backing' from a board, and glue it to the same board back again? ??? That...well...wouldn't be a backing. It's just a laminated selfbow then. No matter what you do, the grain will not get better on the back[ing] in some magical way. There's just no sense in cutting an iffy grained board in two and glueing the two halves back together, except for the fact that this allows you to clamp the blank into a reflex and/or deflex shape and hold its shape. Instead, if you have a poorly grained hickory board, back it with a good grained hickory lamination, from a second board. One good hickory board may yield four backings to save four iffy grained boards, used as belly.
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Offline cook1536

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Re: Hickory board bow question
« Reply #10 on: May 22, 2013, 06:36:20 pm »
I am going to post some pics tonight of the board to see if the grain is ok. I thought it looked good for a hickory board but as i am so new to board bows I want to make sure before I start working it. As i mentioned it curves to the side about 4 feet down. My first bow was a hickory stave bow in which the grain was violated on the back while working it but it still a good shooter and I made it over a year ago so I knew hickory was tough and am hoping I can get away with this board.
Archery is seeing how far you can get from your target, Bowhunting is seeing how close you can get to your target.

Offline cook1536

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Re: Hickory board bow question pics added
« Reply #11 on: May 22, 2013, 11:46:06 pm »
Ok here is a couple pics of the hickory board. I have it cut to 60" so I marked a line at 30 and took the pics of each half to get a good pic of the grain and where it starts to curve off.
« Last Edit: May 23, 2013, 12:27:23 am by cook1536 »
Archery is seeing how far you can get from your target, Bowhunting is seeing how close you can get to your target.

Offline BOWMAN53

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Re: Hickory board bow question pics added
« Reply #12 on: May 23, 2013, 01:20:25 am »
Thats gonna twist, sorry bro.  :(

Offline lesken2011

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Re: Hickory board bow question pics added
« Reply #13 on: May 23, 2013, 09:09:06 am »
Quote
Thats gonna twist, sorry bro.

Not sure I agree. Considering it is hickory, the runoff is not that bad. Keep in mind that with any straight grained board you will have runoff when you do your width tapers to the tips anyway but generally that area is under less stress. I think I would chance it with that board. If it were red oak or a less forgiving wood, I probably wouldn't. Keep in mind, I live here in the south where we have a little more humidity and hickory is just hard to break, period. I have read where in dryer climates it is a little more volatile.
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Offline BOWMAN53

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Re: Hickory board bow question pics added
« Reply #14 on: May 23, 2013, 09:53:57 am »
Just my experience with that kind of run off.