What kind of Hickory is this?

[edwinfarr]

I just got into archery and building bows a few months ago and this is my second project (first was a maple board bow that broke while tillering  ).

I got a 18" diameter 6' long hickory log from a friend and split it into staves.  It had cross grain and was very hard to get to split as the grains crossed between the pieces even when splitting.  I want to make a sapwood backed bow out of them but cannot find any grains in the sapwood.  I took off the bark and cambium layer currently.  But when I sand, shave or otherwise take it down lower, the wood has no discernable rings to chase.  Does anyone know what kind of hickory this is and if it is suitable to make a backless bow or is it likely to splinter and therefore need a backing? 

In the photos you can see that the grain (for lack of a better word) grows in dashed lines not solid growth rings.  Like it grows like condensation on a soda can each year so there is no way to tell how old the tree is either. 

Thanks for any advice!

[wizardgoat]

Underneath the bark and cambium is the back of your bow.
Pretty hard to tell what kind of hickory it is as is, but I'm pretty sure all hickories will make a good bow. Work it down to floor tiller, seal the back and ends, strap it to a board and let it sit for a while

[edwinfarr]

Would that be to age it and see where it bends?  It is currently at 15% moisture content.  My concern is that if I violate the back sapwood ring (since I cannot see them I am assuming I have done so) is the odd ring/grain pattern likely to cause a splinter or break with no backing or would it be ok to leave the bow unbacked? 

Thanks again.

[edwinfarr]

Here are more pics.

[PatM]

Those are not "grains". It would appear that you have Oak rather than hickory.

[Bob Barnes]

I agree that it's oak...if you had a leaf we could tell what kind...

[Drewster]

Yep, sure looks like oak to me based on these pics.  The "dashed" lines are indicative of oak.

[Joec123able]

Yep oak not hickory

[PatM]

That's the trouble with most people cutting wood for you. Trees are either "pine trees" if coniferous and either ""Hickory"  or "Oak" if hard wood. If they are exceptionally hard they are "Ironwood".
 If while splitting a Hickory, Oak or Ironwood an old sap spile is found buried in the wood, it then becomes Maple.

[Joec123able]

That's the trouble with most people cutting wood for you. Trees are either "pine trees" if coniferous and either ""Hickory"  or "Oak" if hard wood. If they are exceptionally hard they are "Ironwood".
 If while splitting a Hickory, Oak or Ironwood an old sap spile is found buried in the wood, it then becomes Maple.

Lmao you're so right

[Pat B]

White oak.

[DarkSoul]

Yup, that's an oak. It's still a good bow wood, so no worries
Remove the bark and cambium to reveal the back of the bow. No need to remove the sapwood or anything. We'll need a pic of the end grain to point out the individual annular growth rings.
You can shape the bow a bit now, but be sure that the wood has fully dried before you start tillering the bow.

[edwinfarr]

Thanks for all the great info!

Here are pics of the end cuts.  There are no visible growth rings.  I can see the heatwood vs sapwood but no definite rings.  I think the early and late growth are interspersed/woven throughout which would explain what I am seeing. 

Also, when splitting, the logs were very fibrous between staves and I had to use a saw to cut them apart due to the stringers of wood that crossed the main grain. 

Here are more pics of this piece as well as another that the end grains (or lack of) can be seen in better detail.

[Pat B]

How long has that tree been down and where has the stave been stored since?

[blackhawk]

I see growth rings just fine.... I think your confusing the terms "grain"and "rings"