Dazed and confused

[old foul dude]

OK, I saw some self bows at a black powder shoot. Decided to build one. Bought a couple books. Bought a hickory stave. Tried to follow directions in book. By following the book, I peeled the wood along a single growth ring as best as I could for the back. The back ended up being rounded. All of the bows I see on this site have flat backs.( I ruined this first bow by catching a knot with my draw knife and ripping a big splinter out of the belly.) What am I missing. Also, when looking over red oak boards to find one for a try at a board bow, I have been looking at the end grain for a straight one. A web site I looked at with information about board bows showed a picture of the grain on the side of the board. Does it matter what direction the growth rings are oriented at the end of the board? I found this site by accident while trying to get some insight on what I'm doing wrong.  Thanks

[El Destructo]

for me the best grain orientation is edge Biased or Quarter Swan....with as little grain runoff as possible...and as far as what you did wrong with the Drawknife...it sounds to me like you caught the grain around a Knot....and pulled out a chunk....whenever I am working around a Knot...I aways go slow...and if the Knife starts to dig in...either work the wood the other direction...or grab a rasp or surform...these tools will not dig into the Grain like a Knife will....and you better look closer...because most of the Bows on this site don't have flat backs...they may not be as crowned as your stave ....but they are crowned none the less....the smaller the Log...the more crown it will have on each stave...hope that this helped....and I am sure that you will get plenty more advice here in a bit....

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[Danny Roberts]

5-6" log and up is ideal. Good luck !!!

[nickf]

a rounded back (crowned back) doesn't influence the bow in a bad way, especially not on tension strong woods. I've made a hazel bow, pulling 80-85#@30", with a totally round back (it was made form an 1 3/4" sapling).

a crowned back is a natural trapping. Hickory is a great candidate for both trapping and crowned backs.

Nick

[old foul dude]

OK, I wondered because all the books I read, and online instructions say " keep the back flat". El Destructo, from the picture you posted it looks like grain orientation,  looking at the end of the stave, is not as critical as I thought. On a quarter sawn stave, how can you follow a single growth ring? Does a bow built from a stave like this have to be backed? Sorry if I sound simple minded, I always let Bear build my bows before. 

[Justin Snyder]

If you follow one ring the back will rarely be flat.  A 36" diameter log may appear flat when cut into 2" crown staves, but it still has some curve.  Many bows have an oval cross section.

You don't follow a single growth ring on board bows, you usually back them with something.  Ring orientation is significant, but so is grain orientation.  What El Destructo showed you was ring orientation.  Grain is the growth within each ring and can be seen by looking closely at the back of a stave with one growth ring showing. It shows up as little lines running the length of the log.   If you back the bow you can get away with some ring run off and some grain run off.  Justin

[George Tsoukalas]

With hickory, take off the bark and make a bow. That's it. The back will be as rounded as it wants to be. That picture is for boards. I thought due was asking about log staves. Jawge

[adb]

It's best to look at the face of a board, rather than the edge. Find a board with the grain running the full length of the board, with as litlle grain run off as possible. What the grain does on the edge of the board is not as important. Remember, this is for a board bow, and I almost always back the board with something... hickory, bamboo, maple, rawhide, silk, cloth, etc.

Check out George's website, he has awesome info on selecting wood and making board bows.

[old foul dude]

Thanks guys, I had a piece of scrap oak laying around, don't really know what kind, but the end grain is sort of on a bias like the third one down in the picture above. I decided to try the Cherokee D bow I want to build with it before destroying a good locust stave. Going slower with this one and using a rasp more than the draw knife.  Haven't made up my mind what I want to back it with yet. If it breaks, it breaks. I need the practice anyway. Got it about half way done today. Yes, George has a good website.

[John K]

You can get away from backing the bow if you have a good board. I have made a couple from Ash and Maple that id didn't back. Just tiller with care and find the right board.

[El Destructo]

You can get away from backing the bow if you have a good board. I have made a couple from Ash and Maple that id didn't back. Just tiller with care and find the right board.

I don't as a Rule Back any of My Board Bows....I am very meticulous about picking good Boards from my Favorite Lumber Dealer in Michigan where I get Air Dried....not Kiln Dried Boards....never have had a Problem yet....Knock on Wood!!!!!