Got some Hickory for my Birthday

[roofus]

I got a Hickory board for a birthday present from a friend. There should be enough to make three bows plus Backings.
I'm going to get two Bamboo backed Hickory kits from bcBull in January so I thought this gifted Hickory would be good practice.
I'm going to try the Hickory backed Hickory on one, Just to see how that works out.

My main question is: What thickness do I cut the backing down to?

[Hickoryswitch]

I can't really say how thick it should be I'm not sure. I know if you buy hickory backing from 3 rivers it's 3/16" thick.

[roofus]

Thanks, I'll set the fence there.

[Justin Snyder]

3/16" is good.  What is the grain orientation like?  Not all boards will make good backings.  I like my backings with a vertical grain and the bow wood with a quarter sawn or flat sawn grain.  If I find a piece that is suitable for backing strips I make backings from the whole thing.  Hickory is real cheap and you can find another piece that is not so good to make the rest of the bow.

[adb]

I make my hickory backing strips 1/8" thick. Why do you want to do a bamboo backed hickory? Hickory sucks in compression. I'm not saying don't do it (cuz I have myself), but hickory is so much better in tension.

[troutbum76]

where do you find hickory boards, have called lumberyards to no avail

[Pat B]

What dimensions is your board? If it is 2" thick and the grain is appropriate, cut the backing strips from the 2" side and make it 3/16" thick. By the time you dress up both sides of the backing strip it should come out 1/8" thick which I find is a good thickness for hickory backing strips. Pat

[ballista]

 I know its not your question, but once you get your bamboo, make sure its the right thickness- I orered some bamboo off 3Rivers thats was supposed to be glue ready, after I put it in the form, I realized that- ruined the bow completley because I thought taking it off the back might be ok, which is another fault I made. as far as backing thickness, master crafters sells em 3/16, i dont do a whole lot of laminate yet, sorry- but good luck, I reallyu want to see this end product -jimmy

[kayakfisher]

Troutbum try specialty wood shops or hard wood shops.For example in the area that I live its O P Hardwoods.
                         Dennis

[roofus]

There is a Woodcraft store here locally. They just got it in and my buddy got it for me.
It is only 7/8" thick, But it is very straight grained flat sawn.
I am not backing this bow with Hickory or Bamboo. These will be practice so I will probably use linnen to back it.
I am just going to cut a couple of backings for future use and practice.
The kits that I'm getting from BcBull come with Bamboo backing.

[Pat B]

Roofus, Hickory ought to work out well for you in the dry Colorado climate.  Looking forward to seeing your progress.    Pat

[roofus]

Roofus, Hickory ought to work out well for you in the dry Colorado climate.  Looking forward to seeing your progress.    Pat

I thought that is what you said before when I was trying to decide what wood to use.
I think it will do fine. I've already started taking pictures of the process.

Thanks again for all the information and encouragement!!! This is a great site.

[armymedic.2]

hickory may not be the "best wood" for compresison but there is nothing wrong with it.  the first stick i turned into an actual bow was hickory backed with bamboo.  it ha taken game for me, has moerate set and is fast enough to do whatever i want, though i definitely overbuilt it.  Im sure it could be much faster.  now im on an ipe kick and it is faster, but speed isn;'t eveyrthing in crafting bows by hand now is it?  i love my hick bow and will keep it even if i break it one day.  lots of good memories with that bow, and it flings an arrow damn fine.  good luck and keep us posted.  oh and im in humid ny, so yours should be even faster, especially if you don;t bog itdown with all the extra weight on the tips like i did since i was afraid to make them thinner.  looking back now i can't believe i left them like that, lol.  still doing it, just to a lesser degree.

[roofus]

Do you have pics Armymedic.2 ?

[roofus]

I glued up the handle last night and started carving today. Here's a link to the pics.

http://s287.photobucket.com/albums/ll124/roofus5/Hickory%20Longbow/