Hickory self bow

[ccase39]

Thanks guys. It's looking pretty decent I think for my first. It did come out a little underweight at 40lbs @ 27 inches. I will probably back it with snake skin unless rawhide may add a lb or so to it. It did take a lot of set or string follow. Can I remedy this? What causes it? I have not had it happen with Osage slats

[PatM]

Wait, it's done?

[ccase39]

not all the way. I still have to tweak the tiller, handle shaping, arrow rest and final sanding. I had a lot of free time today. If I had slowed down it  wouldnt have come out so light.

[PatM]

That's too bad. Looked like a great stave. Have you read up on Hickory?

[wizardgoat]

Let's see some pics of it bending. Cheers

[ccase39]

That's too bad. Looked like a great stave. Have you read up on Hickory?

A little. I know it's supposed to be strong and does take more set than Osage. I got it to floor tiller and took to much off because I made the mistake of judging the thickness by sight. I didn't take into account the fact that my other bows have been backed with bamboo so the belly is much thinner. Is it too late to flip the tips a bit? Also I put it on the scale again and now it's pulling at 45. I don't know if I didn't tare the scale or what.

I will post pics tomorrow when it's light.

[bushboy]

Yes ,i would recurve the tips and also heat treat.i think the key to heat treating is having the proper bend an proper thickness prior or the harden wood gets rasped away.

[osage outlaw]

Hickory is known for absorbing moisture more than other types of wood.  That stave was cut at least 3 years ago.  What is the RH there?  You might try putting it in a hot box and seeing how that changes the weight.  If you don't have a hot box try a car on a warm day or somewhere else dry and warm.

[ccase39]

Hickory is known for absorbing moisture more than other types of wood.  That stave was cut at least 3 years ago.  What is the RH there?  You might try putting it in a hot box and seeing how that changes the weight.  If you don't have a hot box try a car on a warm day or somewhere else dry and warm.

It is VERY humid here. We are below sea level pretty much surrounded by marsh and swamp. I really liked the feel of working with hickory. It is cool to experience how it behaves compared to other woods I worked with. After it sat for a while the tiller looked more even than it did earlier when I stopped working with it.

[osage outlaw]

Sounds like you need a hot box.  Hickory likes to be very dry.

[ccase39]

I just looked it up. 75% humidity right now. I have a food truck and am temped to turn the ovens on and leave the hood vent off and put it in there.

[ccase39]

here is where I left it. Its obvious that I need to take some off of the left side as we see it in the picture on the computer screen. I want to be careful so I dont lose anymore weight. Would you start scraping about 3-4 inches above handle on left limb? It is pulling fluidly.

crap they are sideways let me fix

[PatM]

You really need to slow things down. When you see hinges and flat spots at brace or short draw don't keep pulling back thinking they will go away or be fixable later.

[Drewster]

Both limbs are too stiff coming out of the fades and the left limb has a hinge developing about 3/4 of the way out.  I would get those inner limbs bending and doing their share of the work and then finish fine tuning the tiller.  Even if you come a good bit under weight, the experience of getting the tiller correct will be more valuable to you with the next bows.  No better experience learning to tiller than by doing.  I've always learned more from my mistakes than my successes.  Keep it roll'in!

[ccase39]

I'll spend the day working near the fades with my scraper. Pat, thanks for hanging in there with me.