Hickory versus Maple Backing

[BrokenArrow]

I have made a number of bows with hickory backings and none have broken. I have made 2 bows with hard maple backing and they both broke! Tell me your experiences with backing? Other than hickory what else has been tried other than bamboo?
Thanks

[Easternarcher]

wait for ADB and he'll give you his take on maple....
I have backings in maple -ash and hickory besides boo.
HAven't tried the maple or ash yet.

[Marc St Louis]

Just the opposite for me.  Several Hickory failures and none with Maple.  Elm works well along with White Ash but I have had failures with both.  I've even used HHB for backings before, worked well

[bubby]

maple for me, I've had many more hickory fails than maple, also like white oak and birch

[bow101]

What are you guys paying for lumber yard wood in the US.  Here is Canada I pay $1.60 a foot for 1X2 maple.  $2.00 a foot for 1X3,  eastern hard maple.  Can't remember what red oak is.

[BOWMAN53]

me and bubby are only three hour apart and we pay totally different prices. maple is super cheap for him but super expensive for me.

[DarkSoul]

Both maple and hickory (and many more woods, for that matter) will make excellent backings. But you need to match the backing to the belly wood and design that you choose.
Quote from Traditional Bowyers Bible vol. 2, page 41:

Backings should have equal or lower stretch resistance than bellies have compression resistance.
Strong woods can have high stretch-resistant backs.
Weaker woods will take less set if backed with less stretch-resistant material.
Lighter woods will suffer unnecessary set if backed with hickory, bamboo or linen, and will sugger again due to hickory's high mass. If light-woods are backed with hickory, the backing should be much thinner than usual.

If you're asking: "does hickory make a stronger backing than maple?" then the answer is 'YES!" It simply has a higher tensile strength. But, the belly wood that you apply the backing to, needs to be strong enough to be able to resist this high tensile strength. If you need a backing for a borderline bow wood such as, say, beech or cherry, then hickory will be completely inadequate. Maple will be a much better choice. It's not as simple as just selecting the strongest wood for backings.

[adb]

wait for ADB and he'll give you his take on maple....
I have backings in maple -ash and hickory besides boo.
HAven't tried the maple or ash yet.

Yup, hard maple is great backing wood IMO. Can't recall any failures with it. I've used it with yew to make warbows up to 120#. I also made a 74# maple backed ipe flatbow. Also used it with almost every compression strong belly wood there is, including: ipe, osage, yew, cherry, jatoba, yellowheart, blah, blah, blah. ELBs, flatbows, shortbows, longbows. You get the idea... I like it. All about the grain, of course.

That being said, I also like hickory and ash for backing wood. If done properly, any of these woods will work fine.

[toomanyknots]

I feel the same as Adb about hard maple. I have been using the same chuck I bought for 30 bucks for close to a year now I think, so I haven't ever used nothing but the same chunk I got right now, but it has been great for me. They seem to take less set than hickory too. I do like the assurance of hickory when making a really heavy warbow though. It seems the maple I got is a better choice a lot of the time though, takes less set that the bows I back with hickory, and is lighter too.

[vinemaplebows]

You should very thickness for the belly wood used. I generally use between 3/16 to 1/8. Thinner for weaker compression prone woods. Can't wait to get a drum sander!


VMB

[adb]

You should very thickness for the belly wood used. I generally use between 3/16 to 1/8. Thinner for weaker compression prone woods. Can't wait to get a drum sander!


VMB

I'm not following you.   

[lostarrow]

What are you guys paying for lumber yard wood in the US.  Here is Canada I pay $1.60 a foot for 1X2 maple.  $2.00 a foot for 1X3,  eastern hard maple.  Can't remember what red oak is.

 You're buying it in the wrong place Oak@ $2- $3 /bd ft.  (that's 1"x12"x12") Maple  @ $3/ bd.ft. I never buy it from big box.

[willie]

vmb

Thinner for weaker compression prone woods.

what is the thinnest you have succesfully gone over the working limbs for a weaker wood belly?
are you thinning the back after glue-up?
thanks
willie

[DarkSoul]

A 'board foot' of maple would cost the equivalent of about 17 USD on this side of the pond... (except we use euros and the metrical system). Now you know why I don't regularly buy hard maple, red/white oak or any other American hardwood.

@ willie:
The traditional bowyer's bible recommends about 10% of the total limb thickness to constiture the backing, when the backing wood is much stronger than the belly wood. That means about 1-16" (or thick veneer). This backing is so flexible, that I can imagine it's best to glue down a 1/8" backing first, and thin it down after the glue has set.

[Marc St Louis]

You should vary thickness for the belly wood used. I generally use between 3/16 to 1/8. Thinner for weaker compression prone woods. Can't wait to get a drum sander!


VMB

I vary the thickness according to the draw weight I am going for and not the compression strength of the wood.