Salvageable hickory bow?

[Joec123able]

Take a piece of paper then a piece of rawhide and try to rip them. See which one you can rip easier, there's no comparison.

[loon]

Paper would be stiffer, and should be much harder to tear without a twisting motion, but maybe not that hard. Soaking it in hide glue may change it a bit..and paper is so much easier to get

66" ttt? I hope that'll fit in our car, 71" doesn't.. Thanks bubby. Friend wants to follow your tutorial as well. Maple sounds good, may try that or hickory

Lots of talk and no action but I'm fantasizing that, after making a few bows, I may want to do a narrow (1" to 1+1/8" at the handle) slight bendy handle D bow, 40#@28.5", maybe 62" long, realistic with hickory? if not, with what woods?

Could make a slightly bendy static recurve, maybe sinew backed... so many ideas. But for now pyramid bows sound good!

[PatM]

For the record pat paper micarta is paper and resins, you know like fiberglass. And the old bows i have seen from way back in the day weren't just paper. Back in the day they also thought it was a good idea to use an xray nachine to see if your shoes fit right lol old ways ain't always better or safe

  The point is that paper and glue make a matrix that is much stronger than people assume by tearing a single piece of paper.
   So a purist might want to use multiple layers of paper and hide glue and then string up the product with some Fastflite and see how it does.

[PatM]

Take a piece of paper then a piece of rawhide and try to rip them. See which one you can rip easier, there's no comparison.

  Compare them in the condition they will be applied in. You can tear a piece of rawhide easily as soon as you get a slight cut in it.
 

[bubby]

Loon 66" ttt will work

[scp]

If you look around and contact local saw mills, you can get a whole tree of 12 inch diameter for around $100. I get them even delivered in two or three already cut logs. Nothing beats staves you hand split from logs.

[bradsmith2010]

the rawhide(unprocessed) I use will not tear easily,, even with  a cut,, its the same  rawhide I use for african drums,, goat or calf,,,I guess a really thin rawhide would tear,, but something medium( or the thickness it came off the animal,,not processed )will not tear, even when a hole is cut for the ropes to go through to tighten the drum,,,I understand and agree paper layered with glue is stronger,,,, but I don't think it can equal rawhide,,, and I don't think it will hold a bow together like the one in question,,,I think it would be mostly cosmetic,,   if you are looking for something easier,, some kind of cloth glued together would be better than paper,,

[Knotty]

Took in consideration Denim? Never tried it but I heard it works..

[bubby]

Denim is to heavy and stretchy, get some linen or old silk ties

[DC]

Try to avoid the ones that say "Happy Fathers Day". A least for a week or so

[Hamish]

That grain  looks far from ideal for a 70lb bow. However thin ringed flatsawn grain going into riftsawn can be deceptive. What you really need to look at is the side of the bow and  measure the distance of the grain from the back to the belly.

 A grain crossing of 16" or more, either on the front or sides was the acceptable standard for a narrow English, lemonwood, lumber bow.
 
Wider, flatter bellied bows can tolerate shorter dimensions of grain crossing.
 
Hickory is also stronger in tension than lemonwood.

Find out the distance that the grain crosses on the sides of the limb back to belly record the distance...then measure the thickness of the limb at these points record the measurement? Also how wide are the limbs at the widest point, and how wide are they at the tips?
 Now I should be able to ascertain just how bad those grain violations actually are. I don't want to give you false hope, its probably too much for a 70lber, but it might be salvageable for a 40-50lber.

[loon]

That grain  looks far from ideal for a 70lb bow. However thin ringed flatsawn grain going into riftsawn can be deceptive. What you really need to look at is the side of the bow and  measure the distance of the grain from the back to the belly.

 A grain crossing of 16" or more, either on the front or sides was the acceptable standard for a narrow English, lemonwood, lumber bow.
 
Wider, flatter bellied bows can tolerate shorter dimensions of grain crossing.
 
Hickory is also stronger in tension than lemonwood.

Find out the distance that the grain crosses on the sides of the limb back to belly record the distance...then measure the thickness of the limb at these points record the measurement? Also how wide are the limbs at the widest point, and how wide are they at the tips?
 Now I should be able to ascertain just how bad those grain violations actually are. I don't want to give you false hope, its probably too much for a 70lber, but it might be salvageable for a 40-50lber.

Width mid-limb and after fades: 1.5"  -- 3.8cm
Width at nock: 5/8" -- 1.6cm
Thickness after fades: 1/2" -- 1.27cm
Thickness mid-limb: 7/16" -- 1.11cm
Thickness at nock/tip: 6/16" -- 0.9525cm
Length ntn: 62"

In one side (of the sides), the grain seems pretty straight, on the other it runs off at 5-6".






Thanks!..

I think I'll end up making a maple or hickory pyramid bow from a hardware store board. Would it be a bad idea to target 70# for a first bow? 40# is likely more realistic...

[Hamish]

 The worst run off seems to be near the tip which is usually stiffer in the tiller and less stressed part of the limb. Mid limb run off looks acceptable for a 50lber.

 5-6" is pushing it if the limb is around 7/16" deep. 7/16" x 16 = 7" would be acceptable for the grain to cross for a 50lber. I normally do 1:20 for hickory backings eg 1/8" thick slat grain should not cross less than 2&1/2 " 1/8" x 20 = 2&1/2. By this ratio 7/16 x 20= 8&3/4" would be even better. Not saying it wouldn't hold up at your dimensions, hickory is amazing stuff but I personally would have rejected that slat in the first place. For anything over 60lbs I insist on only using best straight grain.

[loon]

Maybe toasting it a little and backing it with bamboo at some point would work ok. or using it to make bbq... 
Hey, it could make a 40lber? paper backed? maybe if I get more free time at some point, I think my time is better used for better wood

[sleek]

All those backing only reduce the shrapnel.  Go with a solid wood or bamboo back. Yes it will hold if your tiller is good. If you make a 30# out of it you probably wont need a back. 40# is pushing it. I wouldn't.