Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: sleek on July 01, 2024, 03:56:28 am
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I'm giving some serious thought to making a hickory recurve, with sharp hooks. I boil osage to curve it otherwise it likes to crack. What problems does hickory have and how do you deal with it to fleet good recurves?
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I steam and bend sleek. I put a post out not long ago it's probably on the second page or so.
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I'd say steam or boil hickory for recurves and leave them in the form for a few days then set the recurves with dry heat before removing from the forms.
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I've put curves in a couple of hickory bows. I soak the tips in water overnight, then steam them for an hour, then bend them onto a form. Let them sit for at least a day before I remove them from the form, then dry for at least a couple weeks before I start working with them. I've tried just steaming them without the soak beforehand, and they almost always seem to split.
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I do the foil wrapped steaming followed with a heat gun while bending to make sure it’ll go smoothly. I’ll let it cool and dry off then hit it again with the heat gun giving a good scorch before removing from the form. It’s worked pretty well with minimal issues.
Kyle
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Pretty well what I do as well with steam. Before getting to the point of steaming I will ensure that I’m to one single growth ring on the belly wood at the tips. This helps with prevent lifting when bending. I also use a stainless steel band attached to my jig to assist with this too. This helps with getting tighter bends in hickory. Like others have said already I also let it sit for a bit till cool then hit it with dry heat to set them. Best of luck.