Hickory in the south east

[bassman]

Keith Shannon is  making Hickory bows now that takes 3 days from start to finish with his fire hardening method. He shows a 30 minute clip on utube . Impressive shooting bow after finishing ,and shooting. Might want to give that a shot. His way seems to be the very best to make a bow from Hickory. As good, or better than Osage when finished. His claim not mine. Watch it on utube with Thad Beckum.

[bradsmith2010]

ok nothing is better than osage,, even if it is, 

[sleek]

Ok, so just to learn, I built the 60 inch bow just like I would osage. I have only built 4 hickory bows in the last 10 years, so this wood is really new to me. I got it to 45 pounds at 26 inches. I dont think at 1 3/4 wide it could do any more. It took 2 inches of set. I know I should have heated it before bending, but I like destructive testing. Now im gonna heat treat it black and see what that will do for it. Even so, it's a cute little bow, probably  hitting mid 150s fps. It will hunt for sure.

The next one I make I will do as was recommended by yall to see what differences in performance I get.

[Hawkdancer]

Well, I guess RH doesn't mean "real humidity".  'Course, I knew that all along.  Keeping the staves at real humidity is the most important, I think, but I am not real qualified in relation to bows!  It is pretty dry out here in a wet year!
Hawkdancer

[Morgan]

I got it to 45 pounds at 26 inches. I dont think at 1 3/4 wide it could do any more.

Does this quote mean you feel like you met the max draw weight limit? If so, why? Hickory should be more than capable of higher draw than that at those dimensions if it is good, dense wood.

[sleek]

I got it to 45 pounds at 26 inches. I dont think at 1 3/4 wide it could do any more.

It was ok at 40 pounds, but 45 pounds really made it take lots of set. 2 inches is more than im happy with, so, as it sits, un heat treated,  its max weight limit was certainly exceeded. We will see what heat does for it next.

Does this quote mean you feel like you met the max draw weight limit? If so, why? Hickory should be more than capable of higher draw than that at those dimensions if it is good, dense wood.

[Morgan]

You’ll certainly have better results when the mc is lower. Looking forward to seeing if the heat treat brings it back, I’ve heard of high moisture set not being a permanent thing, but no idea if that’s right or not.

[sleek]

You’ll certainly have better results when the mc is lower. Looking forward to seeing if the heat treat brings it back, I’ve heard of high moisture set not being a permanent thing, but no idea if that’s right or not.

Thats my thinking.

[gutpile]

1 3/4 is plenty wide...I take mine to mid limb then taper to 1/2 tip.. mine are high 50's at 26 not any longer than 60" I add ( thats just where I feel comfortable with ) and they are just as fast as my osage bows..when dry there is no set if tilled properly and slowly..  osage bends easily with dry heat.. hickory will also but not as easy as osage.. I boil in my recurves with both woods.. osage is much heavier in hand than hickory. but hey, we talking ounces here... hickory is more tolerable to violations than osage.. but I just remove bark and there is my back.. no need to chase a ring nor would I want to attempt it.. haha... sinew and hickory don't go well in the south either.. will add too much moisture to bow and not worth the time or effort to do will actually lose cast ..dry time is too long... I learned that the hard way by not properly giving it enough time... I see no reason why a 80lb bow could not be made from hickory.. people out west really can get hickory screaming because of the dry climate ... and it dries much faster... and stays dry but hickory is very hygroscopic like bamboo.. it will soak moisture up like a sponge.. it may be a pain to deal with .. but it is one of my favorite woods..  hickory slats are frequently used as a backing that speaks volumes about this wood..it is plentiful here which is why I may be so biased .gut

[Pat B]

Hey gut,FYI... the word is hygroscopic, not hydroscopic. Hygroscopic means taking on and releasing moisture to the atmosphere and yes, hickory is very hygroscopic.

[gutpile]

thanks Pat.. I always wondered why the spelling wouldn't take...gut

[bradsmith2010]

it will be very interesting to see the performance difference after heat treat,,thanks for posting

[Allyn T]

nice INfo Gut,, Im tempted to order a stave and see what I can do,,

I have a butt ton of bark on hickory staves I cut in February. I'll send you one if you pay for shipping I'll even video chat and let you pick out which one you want.

[sleek]

Whelp, After a good heat treat, and without adding any reflex, to still at 2 inches set, 45#@26 and shooting 165 fps with a 450 grain arrow. Honestly,  im impressed. Im going to explore hickory much more indepth now. I'm running low on osage, and hickory is much cheaper. I may enjoy this.

I take it back, its 43 pounds bow at 26. Im even more impressed. Hickory has a good use down here. I just got to get it dry. It was so wet water drops were condensed at the tips from steam as I was heat treating it.

[bradsmith2010]

Allyn pm sent thank you
Sleek great news sounds like great performance with the shorter draw,, I bet you get get one to shoot, that will hunt for sure,,