about to make some hickory board bows, need advice here

[Sidmand]

I haven't had much time to harvest any staves this year, and now I think it's to late to get them cut and dried before the season starts here in Bama.  But, I did find a really cool lumber store that sells lots of potential bows woods.  I picked up this 10'2" long by 5ish inch wide hickory board, cut it in two, and I'm hoping I can make some backed bows from it.  I'd like to get at least 4 bows from it, maybe even 6 if I cut it right (4 adult bows and 2 kids bows).  Here is my plan, do yall think that it's possible (assuming I do my part right)?

I'd like to make 3 or 4 Bamboo back hickories, each 1 3/4 inch wide and 60" long, with slightly flipped tips.  Bendy handle.  Hunting weight (at least 40, would prefer in the 50 to 55# range for at least 1 of them)

I'd like to make 2 rawhide backed hickories, each about 1" to 1.5" to  wide, bendy handle, 60" long, in the 25# to 30# range.  One of these might get shortened to 48" and about 15" for my littlest girls, they have been sweating me pretty hard about making them a bow.

I have attached pictures of the board.  The grain is pretty strait, has some runoff, but I hard intended to back them anyway so I just got what I could find in the pile.  My real question is about that transition of light wood to dark wood (I assume sap to heart).  Is that going to be an issue?

[Pat B]

The portion of sapwood looks like it would make a good bow. I've never worked with hickory heartwood but I've heard it is brittle not bad just more so than the sapwood. I would think the heartwood would make a good backed bow. I would try to make ant with hard backings 1 1/2" if possible and if not then trap in favor of the belly. The kids bows should be fine as you described them.
 I do hope the board was more than 10.2" long or all bets are off. 

[Sidmand]

hah, yes.  the cut boards are each 5 foot 1 inch.  So, your thinking that I could go 1.5" wide if backing with bamboo right? 

Some of the bows are going to be mixed, sapwood and hardwood, I'm hoping that with careful tillering that won't be an issue, but I honestly don't know.  I was hoping that structurally it would be ok, because visually the effect would be pretty great.  Would be a calico bow 

[Eric Krewson]

Go 1 1/4" wide on the bamboo backed hickory and glue your bamboo on in a reflex. I have made 5 or 6 of these and they all came out well with little sting follow. I glue in 2 1/2" of reflex and hope for a mostly straight limb bow after shoot-in.

[Sidmand]

thanks Eric!  With a bamboo back, how much should I trap the back, if any?  I like the look of a trapped back, but I don't know for sure if it will help/hurt anything in this application beyond aesthetically.  Also, I've not successfully done a bow with a trapped back - I tried it on an Ipe bow, but I starved the glue lines with too much clamp pressure and it broke.

[George Tsoukalas]

IMHO-you will have to back it as the board has way too many run outs. Jawge

[Sidmand]

Thanks George.  I was going to back them all, most with a hard backing, but maybe the kids bows with rawhide or similar.  I have an abundance of medium weight canvas, I might try to back one with it just as an experiment.

[George Tsoukalas]

sid, I just took another look at that board...things seem so much clearer after a nap.
See the way those ring lines drift to the right?
You can make sort of a diagonal/ skewed cut  capturing the left side of the board and going to the right and those ring lines would straighten right out.
So hard to explain.
Let me see if I can get into iPhoto and show you.
Jawge

[Pat B]

With a boo backing cut to 1/8" thick at the handle at the crown your bow will be barely 1 3/8" wide anyway. I would trap the bow because hickory isn't known for it's compression strength and boo is extremely strong in tension. And IMO, 61" is a bit short for a 28" or more draw.
 I would have cut the 10' board at 6' with 4' left over then cut each into belly strips. The 4' boards could be spliced in the handle for longer bows or just made into kids bows.

[George Tsoukalas]

Let me know if this would work for you. I have never posted photos directly on PA.

 I drew a line to show what I meant.

I just sent you a PM.

[Eric Krewson]

I have never trapped a bamboo backed hickory bow, I do make my bamboo as thin as I can, almost knife edges.

[Sidmand]

Thanks for all the replies folks.  Jawge, I understand what you mean, and I think I might actually do that, which would give me a little more length as well.  I will draw on the boards some later and take some pics of the layout.

[bushboy]

Looks like walnut to me,maybe just the lighting?

[Sidmand]

its hickory.  that one board on top has a lot of the darker heartwood on that side.  but the rest of the wood is a creamy white.  I thought about getting walnut, but thought I read somewhere it's more brittle than hickory, so I went with it instead.

[bushboy]

K it it looks alot ike black walnut,I've messesd with slot of hickory,maybe different s
I n species ?