Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: lonbow on December 10, 2024, 12:47:59 pm
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Hickory is a wood that I'm not very experienced with for selfbows, having only made one so far long time ago. I've read that it does very well in dry climates. However it might take a lot of set in more humid areas.
So here's my question: Will hickory heartwood have less set in humid conditions compared to the sapwood? Is it also stiffer?
Thank you!
Cheers,
lonbow
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Hickory is an excellent bow wood. Even though it is susceptible to moisture or humidity if kept in your climate controlled house the susceptibility will be limited. I've never made a hickory heartwood bow so I can only tell you what I have heard about it. It should make a good bow and it could be less susceptible to moisture. It is denser and more brittle than the sapwood and I guess this could make it "stiffer".
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Maybe, it has turned out some great results in the past, but the better way to treat hickory is to fire harden it in my opinion. Then keep it in a controlled environment, and un string it after every use. Cover with wax over the finish. For white woods I like elm best, and it is better than black locust in my opinion which may vary depending on which bow maker you talk to, but that is off subject. Osage is king, but that is also off subject.
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I haven’t made a hickory heartwood selfbow yet but have made one boo backed heartwood bow. It was from a larger stave that I reduced in size and the heartwood was still decent size. It was much heavier than the sapwood. It didn’t bend as nice air dried as the sapwood does. It took to heat treatment much the same as sapwood and lightened up quite a bit in mass with moisture loss. I didn’t notice it perform much better if at all but I didn’t notice it fret a tiny bit on belly on bottom limb. I ended up shaving some off and reducing weight a bit and added some horn slats and made it for my wife. She loves it. It still shoots good. I think I prefer the sapwood for hickory bows.