Hickory stave, Planing on making it high performance.(pics)

[ionicmuffin]

So my long awaited staves are here finally! Here are some pics of the back of the stave that i just finished removing bark from. let me know if i have it done or if it looks like its not down to one ring. there is a slightly lighter streak of wood on one edge(maybe too much removal?) either way it will most likely be removed because i have about 2 inches of width on the stave. I do see maybe some parts where i coundn't get at the bark with my draw knife. See any problems with this as a back just let me know. I really like this stave! its super strait for being a stave 

[Weylin]

It is hard to tell from your pics. With hickory, the goal is to take off only the bark and the cambium leaving the first layer of wood completely intact. You dont want to violate the actual wood at all if you can avoid it. Hickory is tough stuff but you still try to have the single growth ring that was right under the bark.If that's what you did then you are in good shape, if not then you may need some further advice on how to deal with the violated back.

[JW_Halverson]

Fortunately, with a split stave and good grain a hickory stave will allow for some badly violated growthrings and survive.  Many collected bows in museums from the southeast look like board bows from being de-crowned, after all.   

Do not take this as a license to treat your stave with abusive behaviors, after all, you are searching for the best performance you can get.  If you have the least concern, slap a skin of thin rawhide on her and put your worries to bed. 

[ionicmuffin]

Alright. so if i was to back it with rawhide would a dogs chew toy work? also, i do have some cherry bark that i was considering using, would that be a decent replacement for rawhide if its not severe violations to the back? ive also heard of something like flax or hemp to back it. just let me know what your thoughts are. I do want to make it look nice if possible. but in this case performance is priority

[bubby]

what is this insistance for "high performance", a good ol' flat bow40# and up will kill most anything ya want, , shot placement is more important than super performance to me, or i'd probablly be shooting a wheelie bow, i'd concentrate on getting the best bow out of that stave and if it shoot's 140 fps or 180 that is what she shoot's, as you build more bows you'll be able to get more out of a stave, just my 2 cent's worth, Bub

[blackhawk]

That white streak on the edge is actually the first growth ring. That brown that's left on the rest is cambium. You must scrape most of it off,a little bit of super thin islands can be left on with hickory(the only wood that allows this),but if left to thick then your bow will go snap. Since your are still basically new at this I wood advise scraping it all off. Don't try to drawknife that off cus you'll prob hack into the back of the first ring too much. Use a scraper tool.

[boughnut]

I agree with blackhawk looks like you still have some cambium on there.  I would ever so lightly remove it.  Hickroy is a very white wood as you can see from the one streak down the side make the rest of the back look like that and you are in excellent shape. 

[ionicmuffin]

ive been using my drawknife at a 90 degree angle to scrape it off. though i do have a VERY fine scrapper that could work too

[blackhawk]

A drawknife will work as a scraper,but it will dull your knife. And it won't reach any small nooks n crannies that "hill" and "valley". A scraper with a 1-3" radius works really well. But you might be ok with just a drawknife with hickory cus it usually doesn't have too many ups n downs along the back. But be careful around any knots with a drawknife if there is any on your stave. From what I can see it looks pretty clean n flat backed.

[ionicmuffin]

im not too worried about my draw knife, it is a lawnmower blade so i can just sharpen it whenever i need. i do see your point about the scraper. my scraper is the 3rivers archery Mystic scraper. i may not be able work on it today because im giving blood, we'll see how well i feel 

[Buckeye Guy]

Scrap, sand, whatever you have to do to get it cleaned up !
Then get at it !
Have fun !
Guy

[Zion]

Looks like an awesome stave to me. If you do things right that should be an awesome bow! It's nice to use a good stave when your starting out as far as stave bows go, because its much more forgiving and you have to deal with much less problems within the wood, besides the problems you make with a knife