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Author Topic: Bendy Hackberry?  (Read 4650 times)

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Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Bendy Hackberry?
« on: May 06, 2011, 02:00:40 pm »
I have visions of a 62" TTT bendy handle Hackberry bow. My plan is to leave it about 2" wide for most of the length, maybe start to narrow 6-8" to  1/2" tips. How do guys feel about a 50# @ 28.5" bow with these measurements? The stave I have in mind is a bit snakey, but has zero knots on a pristine back. I think it could work dandy............... at least I want it to work dandy I should say. Thanks
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Offline JackCrafty

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Re: Bendy Hackberry?
« Reply #1 on: May 06, 2011, 02:33:52 pm »
Will probably work. Might have a good amount of hand shock if the handle is too bendy and the tips are too stiff and heavy.  This design will work for sure with osage, hickory, or black locust.
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Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: Bendy Hackberry?
« Reply #2 on: May 06, 2011, 02:51:19 pm »
I could always start narrowing 10-12" from the tips to lighten them up. I just wanted to be sure to keep the width as long as I could to help the Hackberry out.
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Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: Bendy Hackberry?
« Reply #3 on: May 06, 2011, 05:24:51 pm »
Your specs have a great deal of safety built in.  If you are bend in the handle with Hackberry, you can easily go down to double the draw length.  In your case that would be 57" nock to nock.  Two inches wide is plenty extra wide, but you better be starting to taper by the time you get 1/3 of the way out from the handle area or you are going to have a lot of mass out on the tips to add hand shock.  For a bend in the handle, you could probably get away with 1.5" wide without picking up much set.
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Offline toomanyknots

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Re: Bendy Hackberry?
« Reply #4 on: May 06, 2011, 05:30:15 pm »
Hackberry is a pretty light wood, and would probably make less handshock than the same design with osage or any dense wood of the like. So theres a plus.
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"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: Bendy Hackberry?
« Reply #5 on: May 06, 2011, 05:39:53 pm »
The stave has 2.5" of natural reflex in it, so a little set wont shoot me down. I was concerned about going too narrow. I have it roughed out to 2" wide now, no width tapers yet. The thickness is roughed down to about 7/8-1" thick, so I have plenty of wiggle room in my design if need be. I havent worked hackberry yet and wasnt sure just how narrow it would let me go. Its so light in weight it makes me think it needs the width to survive.
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Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.

Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: Bendy Hackberry?
« Reply #6 on: May 06, 2011, 05:55:01 pm »
I did a bendy hackberry that was 61" nock to nock and only 1 1/4" wide.  It took an inch or so of set as I tillered it out to 50# draw at 26".  I thought the handshock was excessive with 480 grain arrows so I started narrowing the tips and eventually it was narrowed to 3/8 wide at the tips and looked like a pyramid bow without a narrowed handle.  It dropped to 47# and all handshock was gone with the 480 grain arrows.   

I thought about heat treating the belly to maybe regain some draw weight, but it walked out the door with some kid that showed up on my door with a hunger for hunting.  Two months of shooting and he's giving me lessons now! 
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Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: Bendy Hackberry?
« Reply #7 on: May 06, 2011, 06:08:13 pm »
Thats good info JW, thanks!
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Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: Bendy Hackberry?
« Reply #8 on: May 08, 2011, 01:15:13 pm »
I took it down to 1 5/8" thru the handle and half way up each limb, then a straight taper to 1/2" tips. The bow is 62" ttt. It sure works easy, the wood just curls right off with a scraper. I need to let it sit for a few weeks and dry more, just to be sure. But its killing me seeing it sit in the corner of my shop just dying to become a bow! Hopefully I have a pic or two shortly. Its a snakey one, but the string lays right down the handle area nicely.
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Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.

Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: Bendy Hackberry?
« Reply #9 on: May 08, 2011, 04:00:17 pm »
You are right about how nice it works.  Those curls peel off so fine!  I love working the stuff!

Post a pic or two, remember...we are all here for the bow porn!
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Offline Badger

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Re: Bendy Hackberry?
« Reply #10 on: May 08, 2011, 04:03:12 pm »
      Hackberry is prized by many wood workers for it's ability to steam bend like no other wood. You could really take advnatage of some very radical designs with hackberry without laminating, amazing the way it will bend. Steve
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Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: Bendy Hackberry?
« Reply #11 on: May 09, 2011, 11:02:44 am »
I was lucky enough to run across several 5-8" diameter trees on my cousins place. I now have 7 full staves and two sets of sisters to work with in the coming years. JW I usually dont post many pics of my bows, but I promise I will for this one................if she holds. I love full draw bow porn as much as any of you sick-o's do! Heck I draw old bows on my tree just to check the curves out again, even old bows need love.
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Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.

Offline toomanyknots

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Re: Bendy Hackberry?
« Reply #12 on: May 09, 2011, 12:00:09 pm »
"Hackberry is prized by many wood workers for it's ability to steam bend like no other wood. You could really take advnatage of some very radical designs with hackberry without laminating, amazing the way it will bend. Steve"

Shoot, I find green mulberry bends even better, or rather 10 times better, than hackberry when steamed, even when the hackberrys green. The "green" red mulberry turns to playdoe for me when steamed, I don't even use a form, just my hands until it cools. Unfortunately, being so twisty when green, I think also has something to do with how drastically it will warp and twist when it dries. I only know it bends so good from having to correct so many staves, lol  ;D. Of course I could have just stumbled on a batch of very light weight bendy mulberry or something...

"full draw bow porn"

Ooooo, thats the good stuff,  ;D
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"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline tombo

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Re: Bendy Hackberry?
« Reply #13 on: May 12, 2011, 12:44:25 am »
Hackberry good.  Heat treat the limbs after you tiller it or it will hold a lot of set. Tom
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