Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Joec123able on April 12, 2013, 12:11:12 am
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My first time with hack berry just wanna know if hackberry can handle the design I want. It will be 68 inchs long pyramid design, 2 inchs wide down to about 3/8 inch tips with heavily reflexed tips maybe recurved. Does this sound doable without straining it under compression to much ?
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O don't think your even pushing it
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,37122.msg497029.html#msg497029
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O don't think your even pushing it
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,37122.msg497029.html#msg497029
Wow yea I guess hackberry will hold up without a problem thanks for showing me that
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I've done two hackberry recurves both were right around 60", if i remember right, and 2" wide. I think you could shorten that quite a bit. just remember to temper the belly that will help alot. ;)
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,15031.0.html
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http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,31738.0.html
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Yep. :) Very doable. :)
Pappy
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I've made pyramids and bows with parallel sides with Hackberry. My experience is the ones with parallel limbs have taken less set. 68 inches is longer than any I've done so that will help, but heavily reflexed tips will shorten it and add stress. I'm an Osage guy, but made a half dozen Hacberry's over the last few years. Very impressed with the wood. I made a 62" quazi Meare Heath last summer. 47ish at 27 inches. Light as a feather, fast, perfectly straight unbraced profile. Just something to consider.
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Thanks Everyone I think I will consider shortening it now for sure
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Stop tillering and Make sure you give it a deep dark temper when you start to notice it taking set where ever your at in your tillering process....and be gentle n easy with it..its not osage and you don't wanna rush with it and just start yanking it back like it was osage....I personally wouldn't shorten it...hackberry does better in the longer or wider designs IMHO...
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Stop tillering and Make sure you give it a deep dark temper when you start to notice it taking set where ever your at in your tillering process....and be gentle n easy with it..its not osage and you don't wanna rush with it and just start yanking it back like it was osage....I personally wouldn't shorten it...hackberry does better in the longer or wider designs IMHO...
Ohh yea it's nothing like Osage it's alot softer for one. And yea I was figuring with hackberry I might get some set that's why I thought I might add heavy reflexes or maybe recurves to off set it ?
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A flatbow style is a nice design for hackberry. Keep your 2" out to mid limb. Temper, temper, temper or you will have a soft, mushy bow with a bunch of set. Like Hawkey Poo says, coax it as you go. Its nice bow wood, but be nice to it until its fully tillered.
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Could someone explain the temper part?
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It's basically heating up the belly of the bow really hot till it starts to turn slight black and this hardens the fibers in the belly and helps strenthen them under compression
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I assume you use a heat gun? Is this used on just certain woods?
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You can use a heat gun I just use my stove because I don't have a heat gun. And you can use it on any wood but it's usually used on woods that are a little weak under compression such as hackberry
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At what point do you temper the belly? Before tillering? Or when?
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I temper before and during tillering when tillering after I take wood off I re temper it and continue tillering. If you tempered after it wouldn't do much good.
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To say tempering after would do no good isnt always true Joe. I rough the bow down and get a VERY even floor tiller. Then reflex and temper all at once. Its noy uncommon to get nearly done tillering and realize the bow is taking a bit more set than you care for. When that happens some bowyers llike to temper the bow again. Ive tempered and re-tempered bows at all stages just to see what happens and because I didnt care for the bow to begin with. The wood shouldnt be burnt, only darkened some. Hold the heat gun high about 3-4" away and dont move until the color turns, slide your gun ahead an 1" and repeat. I made a stand from an old desk lamp to hold my gun. Takes in the 60-120 second range for most white woods to turn a nice dark brown color.
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On Bodark, if I temper, I temper once at floor tiller. On Hackberry, I temper early and often. Once at floor tiller and then again once I have scraped that away. Once I'm nearly finished I will temper again. This might be overkill, but like Pearl above I have experimented a bit with it and this seems to keep the most set at bay for me.
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Thanks, everyone. Didn't mean to hi-jack the thred with my question about tempering.