cherry bark backing questions

[ntvbowyer1969]

Hello everyone. When i was out harvesting some wild rose shoots for arrows i found a cherry log that the loggers cut when the were clearing the power line right of ways. It looked like it has been on the ground a few months now. In the past i have harvested it and cut around the log to harvest the bark. Since the log was not that big around and i didnt want to glue and splice several pieces for the back i figured i would try to cut the bark vertically in 2" wide strips. Do you think it will work like this for backing? I also wonder if anyone has a idea to get off the remnant cadmium layer under  the bark where it pulled off with the bark. I was thinking of keeping it moist and scrape the cadmium off with a knife and sand after it dries all the way. I have only used cherry bark on boxes i have made and have never backed a bow with it before. If anyone has any suggestions i would greatly appreciate it. Thank you       Anthony
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[Pat B]

Being that the grain on cherry bark goes around the tree it may separate as the bow is drawn. That's just a guess on my part.

[ntvbowyer1969]

I thought about that also but  i was thinking also the way the bark is on the tree "vertically" is the way the tree was standing and the way the tree bent and swayed in the breeze and strong winds. IDK? I figured it would be worth the try and not have to splice a bunch of smaller pieces together to cover the back. These are all 4'11" long.

[wizardgoat]

Pat may be right. Cherry bark actually does add a bit of draw weight to a bow, and if you tear the bark, it’s pretty obvious how the fibres run. If you put any decent amount of tension with the way you described using it, I’d bet money it will crack.

[Pat B]

plus that break could go into the wood also.

[ntvbowyer1969]

ok thx guys. so how does everyone apply it ? if you take strips from around the tree (the trees arent very big) you will need to splice pieces to cover the limbs. what kind of splices do people make to ensure they dont separate? again ihave never used the bark for backing before so i am just trying to learn.The bark is so paper thin i didnt know it would add strength or poundage to a bow.

[AndrewS]

Look for cheŕrytrees with a diameter over 12 inch. So you will get stripes about 33 to 35 inch length.

[Springbuck]

 Everyone I've seen just runs them up onto the stiff part of the handle and butts or skive's them together.  In a bending handle, a simple lateral scarf joint should work, esp. if you place it under a binding or handle wrap.

[ntvbowyer1969]

Thx everyone.a lot of great info.

[chamookman]

John Strunk used a Skive joint - on the few I've done, I'd butt joint the pieces. Once the Bark was cleaned up after gluing, I would use rod winding thread (blue/red/green or yellow) and wrap/cover the seams. Bob