Fixing violated hickory rings with rawhide backing?

[eastcreekarchery]

I have some fine grained hickory and its quite hard to see if im following the rings. If there are some violated rings (nothing two bad i dont think) will a rawhide backing help? Or should i pony up and chase those rings!

[Morgan]

Chasing rings on hickory is damn near impossible to do. I’m sure there are folks that have, but I’ve tried and it’s not something that I consider do-able for me. I’d back it.

[PatM]

With Hickory you can just sand the back  until it is uniform and it will be fine.

 Every Native  bow in museum collections has this type of back.

[eastcreekarchery]

oh ok. I did not know this. thanks! I think ill try backing and sanding smooth

[TimBo]

You can get away with that on hickory because of its interlocking grain. 

[gutpile]

hickory doesnt require chasing a ring... remove bark and there she is... gut

[Pat B]

Also, if you feel the need to back this bow use something less expensive than rawhide. Silk or linen(both cheap from thrift stores) or even brown grocery bag paper will give a good bit of protection. All are applied the same as rawhide with wood glue like TBIII.

[bassman]

I made a bow from a  Hickory split  with a violated back about 3 months ago. The wood was well seasoned. I smoothed the back down ,and  cloth backed it. 63 inches long. 42 lbs.at 25.5 inches. of draw. One ,and an eighth coming off the fades to one half inch at the tips. It even ended up with a little reflex, and is a good shooter. No signs of giving out yet. It is a tough piece of wood.

[Eric Krewson]

Hickory is very tolerant of ring violation.

[artcher1]

Eric is correct, hickory IS very tolerant of ring violations. Last hickory bow I made, I heat treated it's belly, and then tillered it's back to prevent removing any of the heat treating. I've built many hickory bows by either smoothing their backs or totally flattening. Even concaved the back on one.........Art

[bownarra]

I'd still chase a ring. With experience it would take 15-30 mins
Hickory will still break if things are bad enough,it isn't indestructable.  I know this from it happening Many lam bows later and I am super picky about hickory (and every other wood) for backing strips.

[gutpile]

chasing a hickory ring is one helluva task... even for a well experienced bowyer... 15 to 30 minutes ..I'd love to see that... gut

[Morgan]

I'd still chase a ring. With experience it would take 15-30 mins
Hickory will still break if things are bad enough,it isn't indestructable.  I know this from it happening Many lam bows later and I am super picky about hickory (and every other wood) for backing strips.

15-30 min. Hmmm. I reckon your hickory is quite a bit different than what I’ve worked with. Not discounting speed that experience brings, but separating rings on hickory is a different animal, I’m with gut here.

[artcher1]

If you know what to look for it's not that difficult to chase a hickory ring. Once you get down to what looks like bamboo power fibers or striations you're good to go. Still, my least favorite wood to chase. If you cut/store your own hickory your odds of building a bow with some ring violation is very high for success. If using boards and pre-cut backings, not so much.....Art