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Hickory bow
superdav95:
Ya your pit sounds good and I’m sure it will work good. Yes the rule of thumb is 2-3 seconds at the height of where the belly of bow sits will be where you can’t keep your hand there. I use smaller bricks to adjust the height up and down to keep the toast of belly even as possible. Low and slow is the rule. About 2-4 hours total. I find with brickets you have just enough burn time to get it done. I also use hardwood coals which last little longer but didn’t have enough to do it for this bow. You’ll see in the pic I start pretty high up about 12”-14” away from the coals/brickets and then lower it as time goes on. You’ll have to watch it and babysit it for your first couple to get the cook right. You want a long slow cook. A surface scorch is not the same. You’ll know you get it right when the cook shows through about half way. I’ve done straightening on a form with clamps to remove propeller twist and dog leg bends too while cooking the bow. It will hold the shape of the form when done and cooled off. You’ll notice the clamps almost fall off when cool off as the wood will have shrunk a bit. You’ll also notice moisture escaping from the tips and may notice some minor splits there. Not a huge deal. Only way to help prevent this is to get the moisture down to below 10% prior to doing the cook. The bow I did yesterday was a hickory similar to yours and was at 11.5%. Still was fine but it did split a tiny bit at the tips. I left them plenty long so I’m not too concerned. With freshly worked seasoned dry hickory stave you can manipulate the floor tillered piece and remove most bends and twists without any real concern. Hickory is pretty forgiving. A lot can be done with heat. Hope this helps.
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