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hickory in high humidity
WhistlingBadger:
Interesting. That's part of what draws me to juniper--it is so resinous it wouldn't be affected by moisture, but the sinew backing would be. I think that's one of the reasons people in humid climates (like Ryan Gill, who backs almost all of his bows) tend to back their sinew with snakeskin. I like the idea of just hanging the bow up in the lodge smoke every night, and I suspect that's what the Natives did...but Mrs. Badger won't let me build a fire in the tent. ???
Home improvement projects are seriously cutting into my bowyery this summer, but if I ever get around to building a chokecherry bow, I'd like to back it with dogbane fibers and add some tannins to the hide glue to make it more water resistant...
Aaron1726:
Hope you get a chance to try the cherry with dogbane backing. I'd be interested to see how that turns out.
bassman211:
Work carefully with with wild choke cherry. It can be a dangerous explosive wood. It is smart to back it with something. Natives backed it with sinew. Not my favorite bow wood, but it is excellent for arrow shafts. I had one let go after about 300 arrows give, or take. The top limb shattered, and hit my glasses breaking them in two, and bruised my right eye. It was a self bow.
WhistlingBadger:
--- Quote from: bassman211 on May 30, 2023, 08:40:23 pm ---Work carefully with with wild choke cherry. It can be a dangerous explosive wood. It is smart to back it with something. Natives backed it with sinew. Not my favorite bow wood, but it is excellent for arrow shafts. I had one let go after about 300 arrows give, or take. The top limb shattered, and hit my glasses breaking them in two, and bruised my right eye. It was a self bow.
--- End quote ---
Yeah, I wouldn't do a chokecherry selfbow--I've heard too many stories like that. But I've heard it's a snappy wood if you back it. I plan to use either dogbane fiber or rawhide.
organic_archer:
I’m in southeast Nebraska. The humidity here is already pretty extreme and gets worse in July/August. Expect to lose a little cast with hickory. I fire harden hickory bows halfway through the limbs and seal them up real good. Takes several days for it to soak up humidity that way.
If they feel a little soggy I’ll rotate them by hand over a bed of coals until hot to the touch. Nothing crazy and not enough to pull out heat corrections. A pvc tube filled with rice sounds like an excellent idea.
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