Author Topic: Hackberry Log  (Read 3827 times)

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Offline Gaust

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Hackberry Log
« on: October 29, 2013, 05:29:51 pm »
Okay, first things first.  Had a hackberry tree in my backyard cut down and I got to save an 8" - 10" diameter x 77" long portion of the trunk.  My goal is to split the log and make several staves for selfbows.  I have it sitting outside and have sealed the ends of the log with spar urethane.  Should I split it immediately and get it indoors before the cold, rainy weather hits?  Hackberry Log 2.JPG

Offline Marks

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Re: Hackberry Log
« Reply #1 on: October 29, 2013, 05:41:07 pm »
Go ahead and split it.

Offline RidgeRunner

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Re: Hackberry Log
« Reply #2 on: October 29, 2013, 05:48:45 pm »
Yes.  Split it now.
Peal the bark off and seal the backs and ends.  Then get it indoors.
Don't leave that Hackberry outside.  It will rune in just a few short days.

Maybe get it indoors first.

David
David Key / N.W. Alabama

Offline soy

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Re: Hackberry Log
« Reply #3 on: October 29, 2013, 08:33:21 pm »
I agree to split debark and seal as soon as possible I've lost hackberry to procrastination :-[
Is this bow making a sickness? or the cure...

Offline toomanyknots

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Re: Hackberry Log
« Reply #4 on: October 29, 2013, 09:07:57 pm »
There's a good sized log that was cut down by a road crew recently near my house. I have been eying it for 3 days now, don't know when it was cut. I have just been too busy to pick it up. Plus I don't know exactly how to get a car parked up near it, it is by a really busy road on a hillside sort of, but right next to the road. I wonder how fast the bugs will get to it?
"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline Gaust

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Re: Hackberry Log
« Reply #5 on: October 29, 2013, 10:07:51 pm »
Thanks, all.  I'll get that log split first thing in the morn.  Then start taking the bark off each stave.  I'll seal the backs as well prior to storage inside my garage.  When I take the bark off, is it important not to violate the growth ring below it?  Or is that only necessary if I don't back it?

Offline Pappy

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Re: Hackberry Log
« Reply #6 on: October 30, 2013, 09:02:01 am »
Be as careful as you can,but it probably will be tough to get off this time of year,first ring under the bark is you back,but most Hackberry I have used is pretty easy to chase a ring if you violate the back while de barking.  :) Just get it out of the weather as soon as you can is the main thing.I have left the bark on,just more chance of bug if you do. :)
 Pappy
Clarksville,Tennessee
TwinOaks Bowhunters
Life is Good

Offline toomanyknots

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Re: Hackberry Log
« Reply #7 on: October 30, 2013, 11:06:17 am »
Be as careful as you can,but it probably will be tough to get off this time of year,first ring under the bark is you back,but most Hackberry I have used is pretty easy to chase a ring if you violate the back while de barking.  :) Just get it out of the weather as soon as you can is the main thing.I have left the bark on,just more chance of bug if you do. :)
 Pappy

A sharp draw knife is great to get the bark off I find (mine was sent to me by criverville, thank you again!). I take off all the hard part, and leave a bit of the soft part underneath, which I then will switch to a dull butter knife to scrap the soft stuff off. I usually can get a stave done pretty quick this way when the bark sticks, without violating the back.
"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline SamIAm

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Re: Hackberry Log
« Reply #8 on: October 30, 2013, 12:00:05 pm »
Sorry to hijack this post but is it important to seal the back of a hickory stave after removing the bark?  I sealed the ends and removed the bark (on some of the staves, left bark on some) but I didn't seal the back before putting them up in the shed.
"To thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man."

Offline toomanyknots

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Re: Hackberry Log
« Reply #9 on: October 30, 2013, 12:45:44 pm »
Sorry to hijack this post but is it important to seal the back of a hickory stave after removing the bark?  I sealed the ends and removed the bark (on some of the staves, left bark on some) but I didn't seal the back before putting them up in the shed.

Most of the time, probably 99 percent of the time, they will be fine without sealing the back. I had a couple check on the back on me once, but it was very slight, the staves were very big and thick, and it was very hot outside. And even then, I still made bows out of them, and they were fine. I have never sealed the back on a hackberry stave myself.
"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline Gaust

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Re: Hackberry Log
« Reply #10 on: October 30, 2013, 12:58:06 pm »
Whew!  Bought a sledge hammer and some wedges and I just split the log and got two good staves so far.  I'll finish splitting the other half this afternoon.  I might get three staves out of that half.   This is hard work for a 64 year old.  But I'm determined to turn this wood into something beautiful if it doesn't kill me first.
George

Offline Gaust

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Re: Hackberry Log
« Reply #11 on: October 30, 2013, 05:10:29 pm »
Just finished splitting the log.  Got five staves from it.  Three are okay, the other two are questionable because of a slight twist in them.  Next I'll remove the bark with my draw knife before I store them for the winter.  I'll probably go ahead and seal the backs, too.
George

Offline DarkSoul

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Re: Hackberry Log
« Reply #12 on: October 30, 2013, 07:42:42 pm »
Be VERY careful when you remove the bark with a drawknife! You must not damage the wood that is directly underneath the bark. Try to peel off as much as possible, and scrape with a dull (draw)knife when necessary. Any nicks in the first layer of wood (which will become the back of the bow) can become a problem.
"Sonuit contento nervus ab arcu."
Ovid, Metamorphoses VI-286

Offline Gaust

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Re: Hackberry Log
« Reply #13 on: October 30, 2013, 08:28:07 pm »
Thanks, DarkSoul.  Will do, but will I recognize that layer when I see it?
George

Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: Hackberry Log
« Reply #14 on: October 30, 2013, 10:27:26 pm »
Twist is not anything scary in hackberry.  You can use either steam or dry heat to correct twist. 
Guns have triggers. Bicycles have wheels. Trees and bows have wooden limbs.