Best time to cut hickory?

[tanner]

Sorry for the re-ask guys. I know I've read this on here before, I just cannot seem to find it via searching.

When is your (I'm sure there are varying opinions) favorite time to cut hickory? I seem to remember that because hickory makes a white-wood bow that many/most folks prefer to just remove the bark to expose the outer ring. I was also thinking it was best to do this late summer when the sap is up. Am I getting this right or should I be doing it now (winter)? I'm sure you can do either - looking for the pros/cons from the pros.

I'll be cutting a 6-8'' dia shag bark hickory tree - probably 30' tall - should give me lots of practice with hickory.

[Gsulfridge]

I think the general consensus is to cut it when the sap is up, to make it easier to peel the bark. I dont think you have to wait till late summer, tho.  There is also the school that says anytime is a good time.

[adb]

If you cut wood in the winter, it's quicker to dry because the sap moisture is lower. Flip side... harder to remove the bark.
If you cut wood in spring/summer, the wood is wet, but the bark peels off like a banana, leaving a clean back ring.

Pros and cons with both, you decide.

[tanner]

Solid - thanks guys! I think maybe what I'll do is just try a little of both and compare. I mainly wanted to make sure that if there were some strong reasons to do it in winter that I didn't wait too long and have to wait another 8-10 months to cut.

[adb]

I cut wood in the winter. The bark comes off, one way or the other.

[Pat B]

I like to cut hickory as soon a the leaves have come out in the spring. The bark will peel easily then and the ring under the bark has had all winter to mature. If you cut in late summer the bark will peel easily then too but your back ring was just put down during the summer and I don't think it is as strong.
  I'd rather deal with slightly higher moisture content than stuck bark. When hickory is winter cut the bark is a bear to remove.

[George Tsoukalas]

If you cut it during the growing season the bark will pop off. If you cut it in the winter it won't. Jawge

[tanner]

Thanks for the happy-medium approach Pat. This is actually the first time I've heard it. Give me some things to try for sure.

Thanks again everyone!

[adb]

A sharp draw knife will debark most any stave in 10 mins.

[okie64]

Shagbark is one of the easier hickories to remove bark from even if it is winter cut. Its still much easier to remove it in the spring or early summer and thats when I would cut it. Some of the other hickories have very thick bark that is a beast to get off when winter cut. I cut some mockernut in the fall a few years ago and would never do that again. I didnt get more than a couple inches off before I decided it was smoking wood. Probably wouldve taken 2-3  hours to work it all off of one stave.

[Pappy]

I like cutting in late spring or early summer for reason's stated,bark removal.
  Pappy

[blackhawk]

Never...and go find something better like osage   

[tanner]

Never...and go find something better like osage   

hee hee.. working on that as well - I just don't have any growing on my place. All I have is hickory (lots of it), oak (lots of it), iron wood (lots of it) and a few other odds and ends (couple walnut, a couple ERC, etc). There's a state park about a mile away that has quite a bit of osage. I'm working with the manager from the DNR to hook me up with some as he needs to clear it.

[okie64]

It would be nice if you can get your hands on that osage, its much better bow wood than hickory. Hickory makes better tool handles than bows. That being said ive built a few hickory bows but they dont hold up long in the humidity around here. If you do cut em in the spring the bark will peel like this.

[tanner]

Ya - I've already gotten one osage log from the park, but it was somewhat twisty. I'm certain there are some bows in there, but I'd like to get them put up to season while I work on some easier stuff. I still don't have much experience heat bending so I'd really like to get my confidence up with a couple of bows that don't require as much tweaking prior to tillering. I do have a split off of one of the osage logs that I'm currently working for a bow for my 5-yr-old. It only needed a little bit of heat adjusting and I pushed it too hard cracking it just a little bit on one end. I believe I have the crack fixed (wasn't transverse - glue/sawdust fix), but now I have to give it extra exercise to be sure. Anyway, I'm just about ready to start tillering so I am getting some osage work.

White wood-wise I have a really nice 70'' black walnut stave roughed out. I definitely got the gist of late-summer bark removal from that one. It was nice how it just peeled off for sure. I've read that hickory is a little bitchy about moisture, but I've also read that it is fairly forgiving of no0b mistakes so I thought it might be a good project for this summer. I'm not sure if I'm brave enough to dive back into my black walnut stave to finish it off - my first bow attempt was BW and it failed during tiller (granted the design was completely wrong), but still - heart breaking.