first holmgaard. green hickory?

[burn em up chuck]

i bought a green hickory stave about 1 1/2 years ago and figuired it would be dry enough to start working into a holmy. it had about 1in. reflex when started and right after taking string off is about 1 1/2" string follow. does this mean it's retaining to much moisture still ? or am i doing somthing wrong in the tillering process ? i know it's hard to judge without stave in hand. but i don't want to lose much more weight, 5#'s max. that would put me around 43#@ 28". or do i need to control mc better? here's some pictures sorry best i can do short of sending it each of you.




will get more pictures if you need.

[Ryano]

How long and or wide is it? What is the relitive humidity level and temp where youve been storing it ?

[sailordad]

   1.5" of sring follow after nstringing doesnt sound that bad to me.  but then i've never made a holmie,only admired a few of them

although it does look like the right limb could bend a little more about mid limb out to the end of the working limb area. jm2cw


                                                                       tim

[Shaun]

Is it humid where you are? Hickory will go from dry to soupy wet in a few hours in high humidity. Once dry it can be sealed with various things to slow this wicking up humidity process, but it never is waterproof or even damp proof, kinda like sinew.

[M-P]

Hi,  1.5 " doesn't sound that bad to me either.  The one Holmgard I've made has ~2 inches of string follow and still shoots pretty fast.  You could consider heat treating the belly to regain some reflex.  Heat treating would also lower the moisture content (at least temporarily.)    Ron

[burn em up chuck]

sorry guys so into how to ask questions, forgot the good stuff.
overall : 68"
ntn : 66 1/2"
limb width : 1 1/2"
working limbs : 17 1/2"(one limb)
i live in the north west, past couple of days cooler and some rain. maybe drawing moisture?

[Pappy]

Nice looking bow,as far as string follow that ant that bad but it is probably wet,I work a lot of Hickory and you have to keep it in a hot box or good dry place while you are working on it or it will take on moisture. I tiller them in 2 or 3 sessions and keep them in the dry when I ant working on them.Then when it is finished I seal right away and seal it good.I usually don't get much follow since I starting doing it that way.You could unstring it and put it up for a few day and then check it ,you
will also probably pick up some weight     
   Pappy

[bambule]

Try to heat treat the limbs, that will reduce set, pimp up the weight and stop moisture - Hickory is very accessible for dry heat.

Greetz
Cord

[sonny]

As long as the set is well distributed throughout the working limb section then don't worry about it.

like others have said heat treatment might be good !

[medicinewheel]

the bow looks great, i think!
yes, i would heat treat the belly with the heatgun, too!
frank

[Hillbilly]

That sounds like a normal amount of set, especially when you consider that the Holmegaard design has very short highly stressed working limbs-it's basically a really short bow with stiff levers attached to the ends.

[Papa Matt]

I've worked with a lot of hickory and it is one of the woods that really will take any opportunity to absorb moisture and take a set on you. That's just the way it is, that's why most people on here are saying that the ammount of set you have incurred doesn't sound that bad to them. Hickory is a strong, heavy wood, excellent for bows, but may not act like you'd like it to act.

A little set's not always a bad thing too though, as long as you have good tiller. And the only ways to deal with it is to check your tiller, make sure you're not bending too much, especially coming out of the handle, heat treat the bow, put it in your car or truck with the windows up for a few days and then seal it with whatever you use.

But for the length of bow you're working with, you're doing ok. Personallly, I don't think your design is the best for a 68" hickory. A slight bend-in-the-handle with a simple narrow profile with a slightly rounded belly for me is the best (for least set).

~~Papa Matt

[TRACY]

An inch and a half string follow is not bad at all with hickory. If you're satisfied with the way it shoots then enough said.

Tracy

[radius]

that lower limb needs a little work, but i'm with the other guys:  1.5" of set is minor...clean up the tiller a shade and then enjoy the thing, man!

[burn em up chuck]

 thank you, everyone for taking the time to respond. i feel better, thought i screwed up. hickory was the first split stave i ever layed out, and completed. testement to hickory's durabuility everything was wrong on my part and it held together. with about 5" string follow.
  like i sead thank you, i'm off to build a hot box. hey, theres a good idea for a knew topic,or has it been done already? if so tell were, are there pictures?

                                                                            chuck