Hop horn beam and belly frets

[Selfbowman]

I cut a small diameter HHB many years ago and started making a longbow out of it after seasoning it for a year.  Had to quit on it because it started to chrysal badly.  Not too often HHB chrysals but it does happen

Haven’t seen you on in awhile Marc. All woods are not the same even in the same species. Great Osage and no good at all Osage. Arvin🤠

[bassman211]

 Mark you and selfbowman may have some thing. I have another stave floor tillered ,and straightened on a 4 inch reflex form. The wood is at 12 percent, and wide enough to make what I want. The reason I asked the question is that this wood seems to fret if I look at it wrong. Unlike the blue beech, or many others white woods that I have worked with are far as that goes. Not having experience with it I asked the question. It is in the birch family, but different genus. It gets high marks from many on here. Always had a tough time finding it were I live. A friend gifted me the log, and I was excited to make a few bows from it. As far as tillering goes I have no problems with black locust George, and Ed. I did with one bad wood log years ago. since then I have made some of my best shooters from black locust.Thanks guys for more info.

[George Tsoukalas]

Good for you, Bassman. I like BL too. I had problems with it in the beginning of my  bow making journey but ash more so. Jawge

[Digital Caveman]

If a friend gifted you the log, do you have any idea how it was treated once it was cut?

[bassman211]

Yooper ,yes. I split the logs in half, and put them in my basement at 62 degrees, and 65 percent  humidity a day after it was cut..  After 10 months I quartered the staves, and started  making the bows at 13 percent >:(t moisture content. Bark was left on  till then. All seemed fine until I detected some very small frets in 2 of the bows after shooting them.

[bradsmith2010]

do you think the reflex is causing to much strain on the wood

[bassman211]

Brad it doesn't on any of the other white woods, but it could with this wood. I don't really know. Have you made HH bows?

[bassman211]

Ok I just tillered another one to 20 inches at 10 percent moisture with the long string. It started to take a little set, so I put it back on a form, and heat treated it. It is over all wider this time around. Tomorrow I will start tillering  it with  a couple inches of string brace.

[Marc St Louis]

I cut a small diameter HHB many years ago and started making a longbow out of it after seasoning it for a year.  Had to quit on it because it started to chrysal badly.  Not too often HHB chrysals but it does happen

Haven’t seen you on in awhile Marc. All woods are not the same even in the same species. Great Osage and no good at all Osage. Arvin🤠

May not comment much but I still check in

[bassman211]

I tillered the bow ,and shot it today. 44lbs. at 25 inch 62 long I shot right around 100 arrows. It is a little curvy, but shot good. No frets so far. No reflex, but no set. I made this one wider, and trapped the back. I feel pretty certain this one will be fine. Design improvement for sure.

[bradsmith2010]

great to hear,, I was just guessing on the reflex

[bassman211]

Brad, when I put it on a 4 inch reflex form, and heat treated it ..it came off the form  with just under 3 inches of reflex, and in the tillering process I lost that. Shoots good though. This bow will go to the friend that gifted me the wood. I won't go out of my way to look for any more. Elm ,and hickory are still my favorite white woods. Fire hardened hickory makes quite the bow, and elm is darn near bullet proof.

[PaSteve]

Glad you got a shooter Bob. I was thinking it wasn't the tillering process with your experience. I guess a little wider made the difference.

[superdav95]

Brad, when I put it on a 4 inch reflex form, and heat treated it ..it came off the form  with just under 3 inches of reflex, and in the tillering process I lost that. Shoots good though. This bow will go to the friend that gifted me the wood. I won't go out of my way to look for any more. Elm ,and hickory are still my favorite white woods. Fire hardened hickory makes quite the bow, and elm is darn near bullet proof.

I agree bassman.   Glad to hear you got it sorted out for a good shooting bow.  Interesting that you trapped the back.  I wonder if that helped your situation a little with it also being wider too. 

[bassman211]

Thanks Steve. I would guess trapping helped  Dave along with wider, and proper moisture content. Thank all you guys for your input.