Two peeled

[Morgan]

A bunch to go.




Those two were a pain. Wish I'd waited a few more weeks to cut em. Had to thin the bark to get it to come off in pieces larger than a dime. That orangish underbark is brittle. Took as long as chasing a ring on black locust probably longer cause I was more careful with it being green.

[Danzn Bar]

Nice looking hackberry.......there a bunch of bows right there...nice haul.
BTW I've have chased a ring  right under the bark on hackberry and it mades a great bow.  Keep it a little long and it will not take much set and it does like its belly toasted early in the game.
DBar

[osage outlaw]

Nice looking staves.  Hackberry is a breeze to split but the warty bark is a pain to remove.

[BowEd]

Great looking staves.Welcome to making bows from staves.Nothing like  it.You got a walnut in there too.

[bjrogg]

Might be worth trying a power washer. I used our hottsy on winter harvested HHB that had cured for a year and it pealed bark and cambium right off. Left perfect back.
Bjrogg

[Morgan]

I'm going to try the pressure washer I think. Was peeling the bark with my draw knife and cut through one of the ridges on the back right off the bat. It was at the end and it's a 7' piece so no worries, but it sure put me in low gear. I knocked the bark down to near the cambium with my draw knife and then flaked the stringy cambium amd what was left of that brittle sponge like bark with my pocket knife. Real slow, but I got good backs.
 Yes, there is a black walnut. Split weird,  might be the only stave out of that log. I'll try for another but don't know. The sapwood is real wet and soft and wanted to come off with the bark, so I put that on hold also. I'd like to try to make a bow from it though.

[Morgan]

Also, that top split of hackberry, just above and left of the walnut.
Would y'all split that? If it split up the middle it'd make two staves with quite a bit of waste.if it splits wonky it might not make one. I've wasted staves getting greedy, but if it splits like the rest, it ought to make. What do y'all think?

[osage outlaw]

I would split it in half if it was mine. 

[Springbuck]

Kerf it first with a circular saw or chainsaw tip, and then split it.

[Morgan]

Thanks! Y'all made up my mind. How deep to kerf?

[Thunder]

I usually leave the bark on Hackberry, it comes right off like a big roll of paper by the time I get to em. You just have to make sure the bugs dont get to em first.

Thunder

[Morgan]

Thunder, I used to spray spring and summer sawn lumber off of my mill with borax and water. Kept the beetles and wasps and other crawlies out. I figure it'll work for staves too?

[bjrogg]

Morgan, to Kerf is just cut where you'd like it to split with saw. Then split with wedges. You can follow grain with draw knife later when laying out. I like to have sawsall handy when splitting to cut stragglers between wedges so they don't tear out pieces.
Let us know how the power washer works. It's still kinda experimental process but from what I've used it on it worked great. I tried it out of desperation, really didn't have anything to lose. You might just want to try one first and look it over real good. Good Luck looks like some bows in there.
Bjrogg

[crooketarrow]

 Here in WV. DOWN SOUTH MIGHT BE DIFFERENT OR WHERE IT'S WARMER  If any woods that are cut in winter a couple weeks before sap comes up its dead to woods borers. They'll only bore down in the woods bark down to the hard wood IN LIVE WOOD. If not it has to be sprayed with a pesticide to keep the woods borer's out.  THAT'S ALL WOODS INCLUDING HACK-BERRY. But if it's close to warm weather (spring time) I spray just in case.

 As far as the bark go's.  With HACK-BERRY I let season then I rasp it off down first ring. By far the best,easest way I know of.

 Personally I cut all staves to around 80's. Longer lets more natural deflex to take place or easer for you to add your own defex. I don't worry about sealing the ends. When seasoned the checks only go a 1' 1' 1/2, in any woods. Then to sell or use I recenter the deflex. REÇUT THE LENGTH I WANT THERE WILL BE NO CHECKS IN THE ENDS NOR WILL THEY REA CURE AFTER RECUT. I hand split all woods green so the gain will be followed. Some woods don't matter others do.

 I cut a HACK BERRY or 10 through the years. There's all you'd want here in my part of WV.

   HACK-BERRY DOSE MAKE LIGHT IN THE HAND,SMOOTH NO STACK, GOOD CAST BOWS.
   AS LONG AS YOU DO YOUR PART.