Last spring I visited a friend in NC to do some crappie fishing. Driving down the road by Lexington we passed a saw mill so I did what everyone here would have done, immediate U-turn and inquired about hickory lumber. We were less than an hour from Hickory, NC so I figured my chances were good.
The manager looked at me like I was from Mars when I asked if they had hickory lumber and he took me to four 25' stacks of hickory lumber and asked "how much you want?" When I said one board ought to do it since I had to get it on a plane home he scratched his head because he wasn't even sure how to price one board. I picked one with some straight grain. He charged me $3 and even cut it so I could get it in my pvc fishing rod case.
Keeping with my low-cost plan I split the board so I could hopefully get two bows from it. Here is the first.
64" ntn 50#@28
I heated and flipped the limb tips but most of it pulled out during tillering.
There was a small knot that had me a little concerned so I made a hide glue/sinew patch and then wrapped with the same.
Not one to throw anything away I used some scrap osage for overlays.
My only regret is that I didn't get this finished earlier. I wanted to try and get a deer with it. I love my osage bows for hunting but board bows seem to get the back seat as hunting weapons.
Maybe I'll get a hog with it this spring.
Any criticism welcome. I'm not only cheap but thick-skinned.
