Advice on hickory stave

[gutpile]

oh that is nasty.... chasing a hickory ring can be dang near impossible..our hickory has tight, tight rings... if you can do that, osage is a breeze... interested to see what might be here... hickory is tough granted.. but wormy hickory is a ticking time bomb IMO... to me not worth the effort... definitely back it after floor till ... good luck .. watching this one.. gut

[NewBowyer]

Yes it’s really hard to see the difference between the rings, very different grain from any other wood I’ve seen. But I’m 99% sure there’s no more worm/bug damage. I’ll get the back as close to one ring by my best judgment as I can, then work it down to floor tiller & see what happens. Ideas on best shape- pyramid, constantly tapering limbs, static tips, wide flatbow, ... ? Thanks, all.

[Pat B]

Point the stave towards natural light and look down it's length. You will see the rings jump. Take a pencil and trace the ring outlines then you might be able to distinguish enough to get close to a single ring or at least eliminate the most drastic run offs.

[RyanY]

I’ve chased rings on dozens of hickory bows with worm holes. Looks fine to me. Just go down to a clean ring.

[gutpile]

I'm a huge fan of static tips on my hickory.. hickory is so light in the hand too.. get down below 12% and she will rival osage...I do a straight taper.. 1 3/4 to 2 "  to 1/2 tips.. you can heat treat it too but not necessary.. I heat and ad reflex after its curved and tilled to about 20".. some will pull out on final till ... but hickory is abundant here.. just extremely hydroscoptic and with the humidity in Ga.. a bear to keep dry.. I recurve by boiling tips 15 min per 1/4 inch.. then it sits in closet for a few months ... when I work it .. after wards its back in closet till done and sealed.. gut

[NewBowyer]

Did you back any of those hickories, ryoon? I’m thinking rawhide if a backing is necessary.

[George Tsoukalas]

You did a nice job there, New Bowyer. Most of the white woods have pretty tiny rings. If you want to try use a scraper.

Back it right after floor and long string tillering. I would not sinew it. Too much trouble.

But rawhide, linen, silk and burlap from most protection to least would help.

Jawge

[NewBowyer]

Thanks Jawge. One more thing I just thought of- what’s your opinion of fiberglass tape as a backing material? I’ve seen it used but am not sure how it compares. I’m kind of leaning toward rawhide for its toughness and look, but the tape is certainly easier to get. Assuming I could use a typical finish over either backing?

[RyanY]

No backing needed. Chased a ring with no violations so it’s unnecessary.

[gutpile]

George is right about sinew, maybe , to a point... sinew is great backing.. worth every ounce of trouble... but on hickory it will be sluggish compared to other backing.. hickory will soak up the moisture and sinew just doesn't mix well with hickory... cedar and sinew are like peas and carrots. while hickory and sinew are like oil and water...IMO.. i've done a sinew hickory and trust me on this .. not a good combo... if you can get a clean ring ,you done good  and might be ok not to back...I had a couple of staves eat up like yours... I broke one recurving it... my fault though... I just trashed the other stave.. for the effort to me.. it wasn't even worth it.. I got more staves ... gut

[NewBowyer]

I have others too but no other hickory.  To back or not to back is gonna depend on how confident I am that I truly have a single-ring back when I’m done chasing. Will likely send some more pics at that stage. With a card scraper I think I can do it.

[NewBowyer]

Having a really tough time seeing a ring, if I hadn’t stripped the bark myself I’d almost think maybe it was cut with the grain running perpendicular to the back instead of parallel across it. Wondering also if I should go ahead and cut a chunk off the side that’s bowed out- it’s way too wide anyway and it should help reduce the degree of bending?

[NewBowyer]

View from opposite direction

[George Tsoukalas]

I've never really it, New Bowyer. I prefer natural materials.

 Jawge