Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Et_tu_brute on March 20, 2010, 04:03:09 pm
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Hi All,
Well I've got a great stave of Hickory for a selfbow, 73" ttt, no pins or knots, pipe straight and 1 3/4" at the fades. I've cut it out on the bandsaw and its ready for the belly to be reduced then to start tillering. I'm after about 70#@30" from this. Would it be a good idea to heat treat the belly on this bow? I was a little worried about it chrysaling and wondered if heat treating would be worth it to try and prevent this.
All and any advice is appreciated!
Dave
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The bow will only chrysal if you put a hinge in it. ;D Hickory is a good candidate for heat treating. At 73" your bow shouldn't get over stressed even at a 30" draw.
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Thanks Pat ;D I suppose I was just getting a bit paranoid about the back, being so strong in tension, overpowering the belly a little.
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The only way a hickory selfbow back will overpower the belly is if you overpower the belly. ;)
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Like Pat said, you don't need to heat treat it to prevent failure, but it sure does help performance ;)
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Chrysals are caused when a part of the limb bends too much. Bad tillering caused hinges. Jawge
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Thanks guys, one last thing, this stave is all sapwood, will this make any difference?
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Sapwood is good for Hickory. My Hickory with a heartwood belly was a torture to tiller because that stuff wouldn't bent. Also heat treating the core was a pain because not movement at all - just straight. So sapwood from Hickory is the best you can have.
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Excellent, thanks for all the help gents :)
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i agree that hick sap wood makes great bows,however there is nothing wrong with
hick heartwood either.
i have made bows that were both ways,and even two that had both
no problems for me,and i am by far from a great bowyer
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Hickory sapwood is all I have ever used for bows.
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I recently split a hickory log and one of the splits ran thinner than I wanted, but I removed the bark and reduced it to a flat "D" bow design. I then let it dry for a month in my garage and began tillering it. I did not check the poundage, but it was near 35-40#. I recently burned some brush and when the wood burnt down to coals I slowly moved the bow across the coals. The bows belly darkend and took on a nice color. When I went to string the bow it was quickly obvious the bows draw weight had increased and shoots harder. I suspect it increased to 50#, but has softened some after shooting. Not much scientific stuff here but I do now believe that heating the belly changes the performance, at least in hickory.