What Backing and Handle Wood for Hickory Bow?

[karaterick]

 I just finished my first red oak board bow and I'm already to dive into my next.

 I would like to make a Hickory board bow now. Questions are:

 What dimensions should I go with? Any different than Oak?

 What can I back Hickory with?

 What's the best wood to use for the handle/riser?

 Thanks in Advance!!

[ionicmuffin]

first off, if your hickory has good grain then its a better backer, you could back oak if you want, or you could back maple. If your intent of making hickory the belly then i suppose maple would be a good one, HARD maple though. Dimensions? um 1 1/2 inches wide from fade to about mid limb and then taper to 1/2 at the tips. you can go wider if you want but that's just a suggestion. The key is to make the backer just thick enough but not too thick. In this case, maple might have to be a tad thicker than if its a hickory backing because hickory is a very strong tension wood. something to remember while gluing up, make sure that you do a dry run to see where everything will wind up. clamp it together and see if there are spots that you can see through, if you can that could be a problem. Ash is another wood that seems to be really quite nice in tension. if you have the desire you could back a wood with ash. If you pick a good combo the wood can be less wide over all. hickory backed something(not sure whats great in compression) would be an excellent bow, it would probably be walnut or something like that for a strong belly, but if you don't want to buy that wood or you just want to keep it simple, then go ahead and buy some kind of hard maple, ash, oak, or something to go with the hickory.

[k-hat]

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND an unbacked hickory pyramid.  I believe that's the best combo for a newbie, and relatively simple.  Like ionic mentioned, you only need to back it if the hickory is quite violated.  A decent hickory board can handle what some of the best red oak can't.  imo backing a bow with wood should be saved for later if you're pretty new to bowmaking.

2" wide at the fades straight taper to 3/8" nocks.  64 - 66" ntn with 8" stiff handle/fade area. I'd start with about 1/2" of thickness for the limbs and work from there for desired draw weight, leave the last  8" or so full thickness/stiff.  I've got two of these in the works right now as a matter of fact, and more on the way.  Temper the belly if you can. 

[ionicmuffin]

a selfy works too lol!

[k-hat]

forgot you asked about riser too.  I like osage with hickory on the riser and tip overlays, but that's me.  You could of course just use the end cut off from the board and maybe get a seamless look to the riser and it won't look glued on.

[ionicmuffin]

i think walnut would look good, so would any other wood that kind of dark and has some swirl to the grain, pretty sure that's acceptable if its a handle riser. Might have to be called on that one... Anyway, purple heart looks good too. Erc is pretty but im not sure if its a good handle riser wood.

[bubby]

these dimensions will work for you, Bub  http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,35312.0.html

[Parnell]

All depends.  My first "good" bows were hickory board bows.  Look for the best grain possible, but as said, even if it's mediocre, you don't need to back it.

I have a "native style", bend through the handle Hickory bow with really thin tips and little wedge like wrapped string nocks that is a great bow.  PM me if you want information on it, I'd be happy to help.  Ill say consider a bend in the handle bow this go around, you did great with you tiller on the red oak stiff handle board bow...why not try another style.  Many people much prefer the bend through the handle bows for shooting, myself included.

Also, maybe you want to look up some of Half Eye's posts.  He makes super native style board bows.

Hope this helps, enjoy.

[ionicmuffin]

parnells right about half eye. His bows are AMAZING

[k-hat]

these dimensions will work for you, Bub  http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,35312.0.html

That's good stuff right there bub!

[BOWMAN53]

Hickory boards are my expertise. 1 1/2" wide to 1/2" tips. 66" long with a 6" handle.  With a center cut arrow shelf. Makes a great bow

[BOWMAN53]

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,38116.msg505618.html#msg505618

This was my best hickory board bow

[karaterick]

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,38116.msg505618.html#msg505618

This was my best hickory board bow

 Very Nice!!!

[BOWMAN53]

I would start with a flat bow or a pyramid bow like the guys say. Much easy to make.