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Author Topic: Hickory heartwood  (Read 2554 times)

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Offline adb

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Hickory heartwood
« on: January 01, 2014, 02:37:40 pm »
Happy New Year, everyone!

I may have asked this question already, but what the heck...

I'm working on a hickory selfbow recurve. A nice stave... poker straight, no knots, but the sapwood was unusable. I had to remove all of it. Not from rot, but damage to the tree at some point in its life. Question is: should I back it with rawhide, or will it be fine after chasing a ring? Bow will be 62" tip to tip, and I'm looking for about 50#, stiff handle, pyramid taper.
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Offline koan

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  • Brian D. Mo.
Re: Hickory heartwood
« Reply #1 on: January 01, 2014, 02:55:09 pm »
I havent used it myself, but Matt Simpson gifted me a DeerSlayer/Grumley replica tri-lam of hickory/yew/osage. The backing is hickory heartwood and its a pretty stressed design IMO.. It has held up great over the yrs and shoots like a demon.... Brian
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Offline Danzn Bar

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Re: Hickory heartwood
« Reply #2 on: January 01, 2014, 03:21:22 pm »
62" ntn @ 50# wow what draw length?
DBar
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Offline toomanyknots

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Re: Hickory heartwood
« Reply #3 on: January 01, 2014, 03:25:52 pm »
Hickory heartwood has held up fine for backings for me. I think the heartwood has been better in compression maybe too in the form of belly laminates. Although I am not sure if it had anything to do with heartwood/sapwood, or just different quality pieces of hickory.
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"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline adb

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Re: Hickory heartwood
« Reply #4 on: January 01, 2014, 07:09:09 pm »
Quote from: Danzn Bar on January 01, 2014, 03:21:22 pm
62" ntn @ 50# wow what draw length?
DBar

27"
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Offline Ifrit617

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Re: Hickory heartwood
« Reply #5 on: January 01, 2014, 10:08:22 pm »
I've built one low weight (40#) bow out of hickory heartwood when I was just starting a few years ago. As an absolute beginner, I made the bow extremely whip tillered, with one tip dangerously close to hinging. Point is that the bow held up for thousands of shots even with its abysmal tiller. With the perfect tillers you put on your bows I think you'll be okay without a backing. JMHO.

Jon
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Offline Danzn Bar

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Re: Hickory heartwood
« Reply #6 on: January 01, 2014, 10:20:01 pm »
Quote from: adb on January 01, 2014, 07:09:09 pm
Quote from: Danzn Bar on January 01, 2014, 03:21:22 pm
62" ntn @ 50# wow what draw length?
DBar

27"

Not long ago I did a 7" stiff handle, pyramid, 60" ntn, 58# @ 28", trapped the back, very snappy bow which really spit out an arrow....Shot a lot of arrows through her until it crystalled at both fades and failed.  I think you will be good without backing with a good tiller.  but I think you will be close to the limit with hickory.  My was 2" wide at the fades tapered to 3/8" at the nocks if I remember right.
Good luck,
DBar
« Last Edit: January 01, 2014, 10:24:19 pm by Danzn Bar »
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mikekeswick

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Re: Hickory heartwood
« Reply #7 on: January 02, 2014, 04:01:22 am »
It will be fine. There is nothing wrong with hickory heartwood.
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