hickory backed osage

[DanaM]

Looks great with the contrast between the hick and sage, I like it.

[Pappy]

Very nice bow ,tiller looks great,well done.
   Pappy

[snedeker]

A really pretty bow Matt.  I cut the wood, so I will add 2 points that 1) it is thin ringed but with virtually no early growth.  Very high density and heavy on the osage continuum,.  2) one factor is that it is a slat cut from a very gnarly piece that goes hither adn thither across the rings.  I've had a few take some set when hard-backed.  The wood hold profile well in a selfbow, but very little of the lumber was suitable. Also works better in quartersawn orientation, but there wasn;t much of that either..

Dave

[adb]

Nice bow, Matt.
I've made several hickory backed osage. The latest I just finished this past weekend. 63" NTN, 70# @ 28", 1'' of set from a starting point of zero reflex, bendy handle, with no riser. She's got terrific cast with that length and weight. I was a bit worried about hand shock, but she shoots sweet, and very quiet. Where I live, it's too dry for bamboo, and I've had nothing but trouble with it cracking and splitting. Bamboo is very hydroscopic. Hickory is so much less labour intensive, and when you stain it dark, it looks nice, and you can use the bow to hunt with. Cheers!!

[Badger]

One great thing about hickory backings is that they get stronger in tension if the moisture goes up a bit. Steve

[OldBow]

Wow - This combo must be for a very fast bow.  Great entry for June Backed Bow of the Month.

[Gordon]

I like the contrast between the osage and hickory. Beautiful tiller too. What did you use for the handle wrap?

[tom sawyer]

Steve, why would that be?  I thought it would be the opposite.

[Badger]

Tom, not sure why but a lot of fibers get stronger in tension when mc goes up, hickory is both exremes, the belly gets like a noode and the back gets stronger. Probably in the small mc changes we are dealing with it wont make a big difference as it does with hickory in the belly wood. Steve

[huntersim]

Thanks for the complements guys, much appreciated.

Dave,
 Thanks for the input, I agree that the early to late wood ratio was low.

adb3112,
 I agree that hickory is easy to work with. I'm used to using bamboo and it was nice to use a piece of hickory for a change.

Gordon,
 the handle wrap was some brown dacron wrapped the length of the grip, the I went over it with some fake sinew. I wasnt sure how it would look but it turned out halfway decent looking.

Interesting comment Badger. I've been keeping it in the hot box while I've worked on the tiller. I wonder how it will change buy the end of the month.

[Marc St Louis]

That's a nice bow Matt. Hickory seems to be a good backing for Osage. I like it better than Bamboo.

[huntersim]

Marc, I have a question for you. When you build a hickory backed bow vs. a bamboo backed bow do you add a little more reflex to the hickory backed bow? Or do the seem to work out about the same to you? Thanks for the complement.

[AndrewS]

Wow!
A fine and nice bow!

Compliments!!!