How do yall recurve Hickory

[sleek]

I'm giving some serious thought to making a hickory recurve, with sharp hooks. I boil osage to curve it otherwise it likes to crack. What problems does hickory have and how do you deal with it to fleet good recurves?

[ajooter]

I steam and bend sleek.  I put a post out not long ago it's probably on the second page or so.

[Pat B]

I'd say steam or boil hickory for recurves and leave them in the form for a few days then set the recurves with dry heat before removing from the forms.

[WhistlingBadger]

I've put curves in a couple of hickory bows.  I soak the tips in water overnight, then steam them for an hour, then bend them onto a form.  Let them sit for at least a day before I remove them from the form, then dry for at least a couple weeks before I start working with them.  I've tried just steaming them without the soak beforehand, and they almost always seem to split.

[Mo_coon-catcher]

I do the foil wrapped steaming followed with a heat gun while bending to make sure it’ll go smoothly. I’ll let it cool and dry off then hit it again with the heat gun giving a good scorch before removing from the form. It’s worked pretty well with minimal issues.

Kyle

[superdav95]

Pretty well what I do as well with steam.  Before getting to the point of steaming I will ensure that I’m to one single growth ring on the belly wood at the tips.  This helps with prevent lifting when bending.  I also use a stainless steel band attached to my jig to assist with this too.  This helps with getting tighter bends in hickory.  Like others have said already I also let it sit for a bit till cool then hit it with dry heat to set them.   Best of luck.