Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: ksnow on February 08, 2012, 10:48:46 pm
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Hello all,
New to the board, and getting back into primitive archery after a long hiatus. I have some walnut that I am interested in backing with hickory. I can cut my own strips, but I am wondering about grain orientation on the backing. Is it as critical as a selfbow? Or, will a few violations not affect the durability in a backed bow. Thanks all for the help.
Kyle Snow
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I perfered all my hickory backing to be quarter sawn.
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It is exactly the same principle as a self bow. What you need is hickory as clean and perfectly straight grained as you can get. Cut it any way as long as you are following the grain lines. Flat,quater or rift sawn really doesn't matter. Of course hickory 'sticks together' much better than most woods so it can handle a few grain violations but as always with bowmaking aim for perfection or else one day it will bite you on the ass!
Here in England longbows have a reputation of breaking in freezing temps. When you think about it the only reason a bow would just exploide in the cold is because the cold has made it stiffer and the backing (with grain violataions) whilst fine at say 50lbs just couldn't handle being 53lbs so one of the grain violations has lifted and boom. I have never had a problem partly down to the fact that I reject a lot of hickory boards that are sold as bow backings.
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Thank you all, I'll have to take another look at what I have to see if it will work.