Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: upstatenybowyer on July 21, 2019, 05:28:22 pm
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I've never seen anyone do this, so I thought I'd share (I'm sure someone has, I just haven't seen it).
Of all the hard backings I've tried, nothing beats this IMO. Granted, you have to have access to a pipe-straight hickory tree at least 8" in diameter, but if you do, I highly recommend trying this...
I fell the tree, and cut the clearest 7' section there is. Then, I go around the outside of the tree lengthwise with a chainsaw, removing the outermost inch of wood (you end up with about 4 or 5 potential backings and a log with a quadrahedral or pentahedral cross section). Then I pull off the bark.
The rest is done with the jointer, bandsaw, and belt sander.
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I don’t do many with a hard backer, but I’ll be watching with interest! Been thinking about doing one and need some “learnin”.
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Nice Jeff. This should be interesting and helpful.
I'm a little confused about the chainsaw cuts. Wouldn't cutting the outermost 1" of wood remove the bark?
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I often do this but generally only use smaller trees. A single growth ring backing is hard to beat and makes a bow look a bit more like a natural one piece stave
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Ben, what I do with the chainsaw is cut lengthwise, all the way down the 7' log, essentially "flatsawing" the outermost growth ring and an inch or so beneath it off with the bark still on. The bark could be removed beforehand. I think of it kinda like "peeling" the outside of a carrot, except it's a tree and the chainsaw is the peeler. The backing will be the outermost growth ring, just under the cambium. The larger the tree, the less of a crown you'll have on your backing.
That's awesome to hear you've done this Pat. I've always been tempted to try it with a smaller tree, but I've been afraid the crown will be too high and overpower the belly wood. How small a diameter have you tried? I also love that natural look. :)
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Oh I got you now. :OK. Almost like a very thin stave.
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Ben, what I do with the chainsaw is cut lengthwise, all the way down the 7' log, essentially "flatsawing" the outermost growth ring and an inch or so beneath it off with the bark still on. The bark could be removed beforehand. I think of it kinda like "peeling" the outside of a carrot, except it's a tree and the chainsaw is the peeler. The backing will be the outermost growth ring, just under the cambium. The larger the tree, the less of a crown you'll have on your backing.
That's awesome to hear you've done this Pat. I've always been tempted to try it with a smaller tree, but I've been afraid the crown will be too high and overpower the belly wood. How small a diameter have you tried? I also love that natural look. :)
I don't try for too small. A tree of about three inches of a slight oval shape is good for two with a lower crown.
I generally just split out staves and then reduce them.
A crowned one can just be paired with a more compression strong belly.
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That makes a lot of sense Pat, thanks. :) Lot's to consider given that different species have different cross-section shapes (circular to oval) and of course there's variation within species as well.
So here goes a more detailed blow by blow...
Here is a pic of the log after a "peel" followed by one showing the "peeled" off section that will become the backing:
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then I get the sides as parallel as I can with the chainsaw:
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next, I go to the jointer to get one side perfectly straight:
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then I go to the bandsaw with the fence set to give me close to the width I want:
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then back to the jointer to get two perfectly parallel sides:
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then back to the bandsaw where I carefully even out the thickness "freehand" (without the fence) so the backing can bend enough to go through again with the fence:
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now I rip through against the fence, applying continual pressure against it to get the backing to as even a thickness as possible (a little over 1/8"):
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next I'll go back to the jointer to flatten it out and get it very close to the finished thickness. I'll post pics of that when I get around to it. ;)
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Why don't you run the log through the bandsaw? Too heavy I guess.
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This is fascinating!! There's no way to do this with hand tools is there? I don't have bandsaws or belt sanders, YET.
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This is fascinating!! There's no way to do this with hand tools is there? I don't have bandsaws or belt sanders, YET.
Of course it can be done with hand tools. You can just split staves and then split piggy-back staves from them and reduce with hatchet and rasp.
I have no power tools either.
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Pat's absolutely right, and I bet you could get a more even thickness with hand tools as well. If you decide to give it a try, I would suggest giving yourself plenty of wood to start with. The grain rules supreme when you're splitting by hand. (W
Way too heavy Don, and it wouldn't lay flat on the table. I can't tell you how many bandsaw blades I've ruined by attempting to run uneven and/or too-heavy pieces through the machine. That's why I run one side through the jointer before I go to the bandsaw. There has to be a totally flat edge against the table.
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That is a new one on me and I like it, I have hickory backing fail on me on a regular basis, this one won't fail.
If I made one I would do my final thinning on my belt sander with a 36 grit belt like I thin bamboo. I use the edge thickness as a guide to keep the bamboo perfectly even.
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Yes Eric exactly! I had enough failures with regular backing strips that I decided to give this a try. And you're right, this backing will not fail. I even them out just as you described, on the belt sander like bamboo. :OK
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I always thought of trying to make a backing like this. I just had too many questions and never tried it. Thanks for showing us this process!
Are you able to do anything with the rest of the log?
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My pleasure Ben. Your forward handle bow taught me a ton and I've been meaning to thank you for that. Got a few in the works right now, so thank you my friend!
As for the rest of the log... (=) -C- )P(