Hickory doesn’t need a chased ring?

[Deerhunter21]

I just met a guy who makes hickory bows, mostly pyramid style. None of his bows had a chased ring, some had multiple growth rings on the back and some had horribly violated rings. He assured me you don’t need to worry about that with hickory and sure enough the bows showed no sign of breaking due to this.

Just wondering what your thoughts were? How did I not hear of this before lol!

[aznboi3644]

My first ever hunting bow was made front a hickory board some guy on here so graciously mailed me.  At the time I had zero access to anything but red oak boards.  The board he sent had multiple rings on the back and violations everywhere.  I was skeptical at first but kept on tillering and that bow is still shooting today over 10 years later.

[bownarra]

People will say hickory is bombproof, can take violations etc.....all well and good and sometimes it can but I can tell you if you use any old hickory you WILL run into problems. I guarantee you violated hickory can and does break.
Always, always, always search for the very best grain you can get. If you can't get straight grained wood back it with something
People often just worry about the backs integrity but fibers coming to the belly at an angle cannot take the compression that straight grain can. so it isn't just the back you need to think about.

[bownarra]

My first ever hunting bow was made front a hickory board some guy on here so graciously mailed me.  At the time I had zero access to anything but red oak boards.  The board he sent had multiple rings on the back and violations everywhere.  I was skeptical at first but kept on tillering and that bow is still shooting today over 10 years later.

Maybe that is why it was sent to you.... Not many people take the time and effort to search for the best hickory at a place then give it away

[bassman211]

Remove the bark, and you have your back if it done correctly. If de crowned, or I have a violated back, and it is a nice straight clean stave it gets sinew backed. Prevents this.

[RyanY]

People will say hickory is bombproof, can take violations etc.....all well and good and sometimes it can but I can tell you if you use any old hickory you WILL run into problems. I guarantee you violated hickory can and does break.
Always, always, always search for the very best grain you can get. If you can't get straight grained wood back it with something
People often just worry about the backs integrity but fibers coming to the belly at an angle cannot take the compression that straight grain can. so it isn't just the back you need to think about.

+1

There’s plenty of horribly violated hickory bows to show it can stand some abuse. And likely tons more that have broken due to poor grain/violations. It’ll always be a gamble whether a particular bow can handle the grain violation. If you can make sure to avoid that risk, why not avoid it?

[Jim Davis]

When Pearson and others were making hickory bows under factory conditions, you can be sure they were not chasing a ring or using the ring right under the bark. Most of the commercially made hickory bows I have seen were bias-ringed or edge ringed.

Best way is to use the ring right under the bark, but that is impractical for production. It is also impractical to have factory made bows break, so draw your own conclusions.

[BowEd]

Hickory can handle it as said but I like the odds in my favor when building bows.

[Pat B]

One should always strive for the best back on a selfbow as is possible. If you plan on cutting hickory or any other whitewoods wait until the leaves are out before cutting so you can peel the bark off to expose your back. This is the strongest back you can have on a selfbow. If you do violate a back ring make that transition as smooth as possible then back it with rawhide, silk, linen or even brown grocery bag paper for insurance. No soft backing will prevent a doomed bow from breaking but it will help prevent splinters from raising.
 Trying to take the easy way out will generally lead to trouble so why take the chance.
 

[Don W]

It's one of the great things as about white wood. You do not need to chase a ring.

[bassman211]

Jim Davis 2x. Made edge grain hickory bows, and tillered them with no backing, and shot them that way breaking them in. In the end though I still backed them with linen, or similar backing.

[gutpile]

hickory can lift a splinter trust me.. it is NOT bombproof... sinew and hickory is a horrible combo if you live in high humidity area.. out west you good to go.. but in the south it is like oil and water..gut

[bassman211]

I keep sinew hickory in the house like the rest of my bows, and take it down after being shot. Works for me.

[George Tsoukalas]

On a log stave, remove the bark and there is your continuous ring.

Boards are different, rift sawn or plain sawn. Look at the lateral grain from tip to tip and the ring lines should be continuous... a few violations per limb are ok for 45-50#.

On 1/4 sawn, no violations are allowed or it my break before its time.

When I was 10 y/o my Pearson 20@ hickory pulled up a splinter and I was devastated. It only lasted for a year or 2.

Jawge