removing cambium

[sailordad]

     hi everybody,

i have this nice hickory stave that i acquired from a nice guy on this site.

it still has some of the cambium layer on the back.



i was wondering is there anything i should be careful about when removing it?

[Hickoryswitch]

If you take a knife or scraper to it and just don't get into the ring it'll be fine. I have scraped it all off before but I like it as camo.

[El Destructo]

Steel Wool works really good on removing the dried Cambium Layer ....and it takes a lot of Trying to violate the Back with it too....but what do I know........I Ride a Harley..................................

[Coo-wah-chobee]

Ya might consider leavin' it on ------------lookee good ! ........bob

[sailordad]

     thanks guys,
i think i will leave it on for camo,as it is intended to be hunting bow.

el destructo, didnt mean to offend ya with my little saying,just get tired of getting crap for what i ride.
so check it out now,hopefully wont offend anybody,and yet i think i get my point across.

[El Destructo]

     thanks guys,
i think i will leave it on for camo,as it is intended to be hunting bow.

el destructo, didnt mean to offend ya with my little saying,just get tired of getting crap for what i ride.
so check it out now,hopefully wont offend anybody,and yet i think i get my point across.

I wasn't offended at all by Your Original Slogan....but I do agree with this New One.......100%....and I will tell you this..........I have owned More Rice Burners than I will ever own Harley's....and my favorite two that I can think of are........my 1965 White Honda 305 Dream.......and my 1983 V65 Magna...both will be remembered ...especially the Magna....cause thats the One I got run over on!!!!

And another thing.....I am with the Group when I say that I like to leave the Cambium on too....gives it Character!!

[yellow feather]

I just finished one and left most of it on and it looks real good. David

[Dano]

Just remember, when you leave the cambium on, you'll need to thin it some. As you tiller, you'll notice it lifting in the thicker areas. Course the only problem I see with that is, the finish step.

My favorite rice burner was my 305 super hawk, but it was 69' what did I know

[sailordad]

dano,

when you say that if the cambium is thick it will lift.

now would this just be a cosmetic flaw or would it affect the bow itself in someway?

                                                                     tim

[cracker]

The other day I steamed a crook out of a hickory stave later when the stave dried I noticed that the cambium layer had lifted where the steamed section was.Just a thought that might be useful.I don't like to scrape the cambum much below the point where the white wood begins to show because I felt that I was taking away from the back of my bow but hickory is tough stuff so it may not matter.
Ronnie

[Pat B]

In my experience, cambium that is too thick (just like leaving bark as a bow backing) can be detrimental because as it dries it will probably crack when stressed. Once the attached cambium cracks that crack can carry on into the wood beneath. Portions of thinner cambium left as decoration on the backs of whitewood bows is thin enough to flex and therefore not crack or at least not to the point that can cause problems.
   Adding bark as a backing is a different situation all together. The barks that are used are strong in tension and the glue that joins the bark to the bows back helps to isolate the two. If one of these bark backings does fail that failure can and probably will cause troubles with the bow wood beneath.
   The steaming of the cambium to a point where the wood beneath doesn't absorb much of the moisture can help to remove the cambium. The cambium is more sponge like than the developed wood beneath and absorbs moisture more readily and releases that moisture more quickly leading to the curling of separating from the wood.
   This is only a guess on my part and not proven by me...yet!       Pat

[Dano]

Tim, by thick I meant less than a centimeter. Yep, It would be more cosmetic than anything.

[cracker]

In my experience, cambium that is too thick (just like leaving bark as a bow backing) can be detrimental because as it dries it will probably crack when stressed. Once the attached cambium cracks that crack can carry on into the wood beneath. Portions of thinner cambium left as decoration on the backs of whitewood bows is thin enough to flex and therefore not crack or at least not to the point that can cause problems.
   Adding bark as a backing is a different situation all together. The barks that are used are strong in tension and the glue that joins the bark to the bows back helps to isolate the two. If one of these bark backings does fail that failure can and probably will cause troubles with the bow wood beneath.
   The steaming of the cambium to a point where the wood beneath doesn't absorb much of the moisture can help to remove the cambium. The cambium is more sponge like than the developed wood beneath and absorbs moisture more readily and releases that moisture more quickly leading to the curling of separating from the wood.
   This is only a guess on my part and not proven by me...yet!       Pat

Pat  good point. Never thought about a crack in the cambium carrying into the wood but it makes perfect sense being that bark and cambium are joining parts of one organism.R.C.