Does some woods hold heat longer? & bow build

[Selfbowman]

It’s good and dry Dave. Only one spot showed any moisture. And that was only about five little spots. I like the way this piece of hickory is acting!

[superdav95]

It’s good and dry Dave. Only one spot showed any moisture. And that was only about five little spots. I like the way this piece of hickory is acting!

It’s great start then!

[bentstick54]

Will be watching closely Arvin. I have not worked any hickory yet, but considering cutting some come spring, and laying up a few staves to try in the future. Always enjoy learning from your experience.

[Muskyman]

When I built my first bow it was hickory. I built it before I found this site. Wood was pretty green and I knew nothing about drying it out before I built it. I can’t remember how long it was from splitting it till I built it but not nearly long enough. It followed the string somewhat but actually shot pretty good. I made a few more out of that same bunch and tried drying it over coals from a fire . One I over cooked and one I didn’t cook enough. The overcooked one developed cracks and of course the undercooked one took some set. I finally built a pit just for cooking bows over but haven’t used it yet. I’ll be watching this one for sure. I have a really nice hickory stave that’s been drying since 4/21 I got in a trade with superdave. I’ve had a bow laid out on it for a while now, just waiting on some motivation. I think I might have found it. Thanks guys.

[Pappy]

I have done a bunch of Hickory and fine it reacts well to heat  I do get it pretty hot, I want it hot enough to touch but you know you don't want to hold on, dry and seasoned is the key I think, I have it good and floor tillered before bending or adding reflex. I do it a little different, I pull the tips into the form first, then start at the handle and work out to the tips, My thoughts are it is absorbing the heat all the way and the limb already has some pressure on it from the tips being pulled in, I also usually leave it on the form overnight, seems to hold most of what i do to it when I do it this way, like I always say, lots of way to skin a cat  but this works well for me. Hickory make a great tough bow and in dry environments it should really shine.  Watching Arvin 
 Pappy

[superdav95]

I have done a bunch of Hickory and fine it reacts well to heat  I do get it pretty hot, I want it hot enough to touch but you know you don't want to hold on, dry and seasoned is the key I think, I have it good and floor tillered before bending or adding reflex. I do it a little different, I pull the tips into the form first, then start at the handle and work out to the tips, My thoughts are it is absorbing the heat all the way and the limb already has some pressure on it from the tips being pulled in, I also usually leave it on the form overnight, seems to hold most of what i do to it when I do it this way, like I always say, lots of way to skin a cat  but this works well for me. Hickory make a great tough bow and in dry environments it should really shine.  Watching Arvin 
 Pappy

Pappy,  this is also how I do it.  Good dry hickory is still pretty forgiving when adding in reflex or flipping tips.  I’ve even taken greener basic floor tillered hickory and added full recurves.  It’s chancy but doable.  That’s how resilient this wood is. 

[Jim Davis]

This paper may have good material on heat and wood bending. (I have only read the abstract so far.)

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00107-020-01637-3

Here is a quote from the full article:   The
amount of lignin varies between species, and also between
individual tissues such as bark, earlywood, latewood, normal
wood and compressed wood, branch wood, wood from the
roots; also by cell types (parenchyma or fibers), and cell
wall layers, for example middle lamella, primary and sec-
ondary wall layer, and cell corners."

[Selfbowman]

Jim I would be in a dictionary for a week in order to read that article in any depth!🤠🤠 but I do believe the early wood is the weakest link in the wood. This is where the shear happens as the wood is bent to full draw. Can’t prove any of it. But the back stretches and the belly compressed so shear is happening. Just makes sense to me. Now if you have one ring on the belly and heat treat that ring to bring the compression strength up to match the tension on the back you have a neutral plain in the middle . My record Osage selfbow has three late rings and two early rings. Leaving the shear points on each side of the middle late ring. Does it have anything to do with the performance. I don’t know or can prove any of it .

[Pat B]

Arvin, I've had good luck adding reflex to hickory but when doing recurves they seem to pull out. I think steam would be better for recurves but let it dry well first on the form and then set the recurves in dry heat, scorching the wood pretty well. I've not done this but if I make another hickory with recurves this is how I'll do it.
You can always add underlays at the recurves. It doesn't take much to make them stiffer that way.

[Selfbowman]

Tip overlays . Osage could not help my self.🤠

[Badger]

  I believe that 6% mc hickory can outshoot osage or at least keep up with it. Just make sure you don't tiller it with high moisture.

[Mo_coon-catcher]

I love a good hickory bow. I also heat the snot out of it. I’ll slow heat the belly with the heat gun until I can’t hold my hand on it then bring the gun closer and slower until that belly is dam near black.it takes me from about 20” don’t to about 12” for the same poundage. I’ve tested out with a second heat treat after this with no effect. For hickory recurves and heavy flip tips it’s worked for me to steam the area into shape let it cool then dry heat it till the belly is black. on spots the back isn’t touch in the form I can feel the back of the bow and the heat has sunk through enough it feel good and hot but can just keep my hand on the wood.this isn’t from the heat rebounding off the form but radiating through the wood.

Kyle

[superdav95]

  I believe that 6% mc hickory can outshoot osage or at least keep up with it. Just make sure you don't tiller it with high moisture.

+1 for me on that!   

[JW_Halverson]

If the hickory comes in lighter in mass and less set. We may have a new kid on the block.

Careful there! Someone I know once said, "Well I'll say!!  Osage is king!!"

 

[superdav95]

I love a good hickory bow. I also heat the snot out of it. I’ll slow heat the belly with the heat gun until I can’t hold my hand on it then bring the gun closer and slower until that belly is dam near black.it takes me from about 20” don’t to about 12” for the same poundage. I’ve tested out with a second heat treat after this with no effect. For hickory recurves and heavy flip tips it’s worked for me to steam the area into shape let it cool then dry heat it till the belly is black. on spots the back isn’t touch in the form I can feel the back of the bow and the heat has sunk through enough it feel good and hot but can just keep my hand on the wood.this isn’t from the heat rebounding off the form but radiating through the wood.

Kyle


I agree Kyle.  A good slow deep cook is the trick.