First Project

[Parsky]

Okay so I gave my into already. Now posting details on my first project. I have what I believe is a piece of hickory it measures 72 inches not including the gnarly looking part at the end. Around the middle of this piece it is 3 1/2 inches wide. and the thickness is about 2.5 inches throughout. Also there is what appears to be some twist or warp. It was cut and to the best of knowledge at the time sealed about a year ago. I was wondering how much the twist would effect the hopefully future bow? And what design of bow would best suit this piece of wood and my greenhorn ability as bowyer? I have mostly hand tools but not afraid to put in the work. I understand that for rooks the longer the bow the better chance it survives but if I need to cut it short because of the warp/twist I can do so. Thanks in advance to whoever offers their wisdom 

[Parsky]

Pic one

[JW_Halverson]

Yup!  That's a stave alrightey!

Don't get yourself all het up over twist yet.  Let's get you to a roughed out stage first. 

As for bow design, one of the simplest and most effective is a "bend thru the handle D bow".  There are no fade-outs or stiff handles, no recurving or decurving, just reducing thickness a little at a time here and there until it bends in an even arc. 

[Parsky]

you can see the twist in this one

[Blaflair2]

U can hear the twist out once it's closer to a bow. Less wood = easier bending. Is the bark on one side of the stave? For hickory just peel the bark off without cutting into the growth ring and u have half the battle done. I'm sure more ppl will chime in with more experience than me. Good luck

[JW_Halverson]

Nothing cringe-worthy there.  If you feel like taking out the twist, we can walk you thru it. 

[mullet]

Do you hava a hatchet? If so, get it sharp. Trim away all of those loose fibres and work the edges down to two inches wide to start, then we'll go from there. After that take the bark off without cutting into the wood.

[DuBois]

Welcome! I aint got a lot of experience compared to many here, (and you already got some heavy hitters chiming in  ), but I would suggest keeping that hickory in a real dry spot if you can. Looks like your on your way. Best wishes. Marco

[Parsky]

Thanks everyone for chiming in!! Work is ruthless this week so I will try to get to it soon. Thanks mullet and jw for the wisdom I will try and post pictures as I go.

[Buckeye Guy]

Welcome to PA
Nice piece of Hickory !!
What weight and draw length you shooting for !

[BowEd]

You'll get er done.The first 18 or so bows I shaped up with the hatchet.Keep it dry maybe inside the house inbetween sessions working on it.Looks like a nice piece of hickory there.

[Parsky]

Thanks Beadman! And Buckeye I would love to get 40@28 but knowing I'm a rook I would be content with anything shoot able as well.

[Pappy]

Looks like a good piece of Hickory,after getting it roughted out and some what bow diminutions and the bark off,if it ant already, you will need to get it bending a little by floor tillering,then you can get that bend/twist out with out with out much problem. I would leave it 68 if this is your first,You can make one shorter but as you said your odds are much better on you first few to make them a little longer. For the weight you want I would rough it out 1 3/4 or a little more at the fads to about mid limb and tapper to the tips from there to about 1/2 inch. 4 or 4 1/2 inch handle and 1 1/2 fads ,that should get a 50lb or close and a bow that will be pretty safe to boot.  Good luck and keep us posted.We can walk you through the straighting when you are ready.As other have already told you keep it in a dry place as you proceed.
  Pappy

[Eric Krewson]

A piece of wood that big, cut a year ago is probably still pretty green. I cut some hickory a couple years ago, staved it out 3" wide and 2" thick and stacked it in my unheated outside shop. Started giving it to students for their first bows lately. When we cut out the bow blanks and checked the moisture content with my pinless moisture meter, we found them to be 18%mc in the thicker handle sections and 16% in the limbs. 12% mc is ambient here so the wood has a way to go to be completely dry.

Here are the staves after I stripped the bark off and sealed them with shellac, some are thicker then 2". They had been cut about 2 weeks prior at this point.

[Parsky]

Okay so cleaned up the stave a little haven't done too much work on it lately. I cut off the gnarly end and then had a look from that end and was wondering when the first growth ring starts? I know its underneath the bark but is it under the whole outer dark ring? I was also wondering how I should take off the bark? I was thinking of peeling off the bigger rough pieces and then when that is off use sandpaper to get down to the first growth ring...however if I have to get through that outer dark circle to get to the growth ring then there might be a better way than sandpaper. I really do not want to violate the back of the bow and don't know if I have the skill/knowledge yet to establish a another growth ring if I violate first. Any suggestions, criticism, or ideas would be greatly appreciated! Thanks