Hickory for elb?

[Mafort]

Is it good for elb design? I didn’t think it’d be too bad but will it work?

[dylanholderman]

It’s been done but there are better designs for it.
(Flatbow, molly)

[Del the cat]

A guy I know used to import cheap Hickory ELBs from the US as beginner bows, they were ok, but not very well made or seasoned. I took one of 'em, re-tiller it and heat treated the belly and it became very respectable
https://bowyersdiary.blogspot.com/2013/03/hickory-challenge-result.html
Del

[Bayou Ben]

Seems that Del hit all of the points about hickory in this style bow in his write up.  And I had a chuckle reading it...
"In the interests of a fair comparison I could make a Dacron string I s'pose, but I've got better things to do than make bad strings" 

[Eric Krewson]

I have limited experience with hickory ELBs, never made one but shot others bows. As built they were real dogs with a lot of string follow. It sounds like Del knows how to make one right, in spite of hickorys lack of compatibility to the design.

[Sidewinder]

I have made a few hickory bows but never an ELB. My biggest issue is the fluxuation it has with moisture. Pretty sure that would lead to sluggishness. Mine were all pyramids early on in my bow making journey. I have been told it does well in  the desert due to its ability to go real low in the MC without failing. The other aspect of some of the sluggishness was most likely also my inexperience. Saw a fella at MOJAM this year had a hot hickory bow and he shot it I think 212yds in the flight shoot. Now whether or not he had it in a hot box prior to the shoot or not is another story but it flung an arrow really well.

[bradsmith2010]

yes It will work,, maybe not as well as with other woods,, but it will definitely shoot an arrow,,
I think with heat treating,,,, it could make a nice shooter,, not as fast as some would like,, but definitely accurate,, go up a bit in poundage to get the desired cast,, etc, etc etc,,