Back with Hickory

[tanner]

Hey all - it's been a few years since I spent much time here or making bows. Getting back to making a mess now and just dropped some shagbark hickory in my yard. I was wondering if I could get a little advice. The bark came right off for the most part and made some good looking 80" staves. I was able to seal the ends with shellac. Do I need to coat the backs of these too?



This log laid on the ground a week or two before I got it split up. Most of the wood looks perfect, but you can see some discoloration on the debarked stave in a couple of spots. Is this a problem for making a bow with this area?



Lastly, it's my plan to start working on one or two of the staves right away - get them reduced and dried and lay a bow out when dry enough. Anyone interested in throwing-in their 2-cents on design parameters here? I'd like a hunting weight bow (45#-60#), a stiff handle and I have a 28" draw. I seem to remember hickory likes a toasted belly and pyramid layouts. I'm happy for any and all recommendations, but I'm still a novice - going to be relearning most of the very few things I knew about tillering, etc.

Thanks in advance!

[Pat B]

I would seal the back although some say it's not necessary but better safe than sorry.
 Fungi loves moisture so get them all dry as soon as possible. I think 2 weeks is enough time for the wood to be infected but I doubt it had time to do damage. Just get it dry quick.
 Hickory always does well as a pyramid or semi-pyramid style bows.

[tanner]

Thanks Pat!

One more question I forgot to add. When I was removing the bark - the first stave I tried to scrape the bark off with a drawknife before I realized I didn't need to (it actually just popped off in once piece since it's spring and the sap is up). Anyway, the first stave I used the draw knife on, I got just a bit deep and dinged it in one spot. Can you guys tell if I violated the back or if I just removed the cambium? I'm not certain what I'm looking at here. I think I can work around it regardless, but was hoping you all could tell just by looking at it so I would know better next time. Here's the pic:

[Pat B]

I can't see the pic but if you didn't go all the way through the ring you can smooth out where you did dip onto the ring so any stress is spread over a bigger area. Hickory is pretty tough stuff.