Help this rookie build a hickory selfbow

[kevgsp]

My friend and I have gotten the itch to try making selfbows. We have NO experience with this.  All the info I have gained thru looking at past topics here!

I figured we will have lots of questions as we go along so I will post them here as them come up.

We cut the hickory on the July 27th

I have the staves split and peeled and have varathaned the ends.  

I would like to take 2 down close to dimention so they can be worked in a couple months.

The cambium looks super thin...should I seal the back now?
  Or give it a few days for the cambium to dry and turn brown so its easier to see what I am scraping/sanding off, then seal?

Thinking I could take the limbs to 3/4" thick, full width, strap to a 2x4 form till dry. Initial plan is for a 50#ish @ 29, 68" ntn, pyramid 2" to 1/2" tips. Hopefully I am not to off base with that plan.
 

[walkabout]

very nice cache of staves right there. you can probably do what you suggest, ive quick dried staves like this. as far as the pyramid design remember to follow the vertical grain to establish your profile, then lay out the profile from that. if the grain snakes a bit it can be difficult but it is possible, theres a post i made recently with a whole bunch of ideas on how to get the right dimensions out of snaky wood. good luck and keep up posted on any progress.

[walkabout]

oh and id seal what you got there, it looks like you actually got rid of the new growth when you peeled the bark.

[Pat B]

The cambium came off with the bark. What you see is the back for your bow. I always seal the back with shellac just in case. It is easily removed if you want to stain the wood later.

[Osagetree]

You're going to enjoy this!

[vanillabear?]

[Art B]

You're money ahead to get those staves reduced as you mentioned. Do you have a bandsaw? I've never seen a need to strap a roughed out bow to prevent warpage. Personally, I want a stave to go ahead and make it's natural corrections up front so I know what I'm dealing with. Making correction later on down to road with heat is a more permanent solution IMO. Have fun.........ART

[walkabout]

the first stave i roughed out i strapped down per johns advice, and it took no twist at all. the one i left thicker dimensions and later roughed out i didnt strap down and it took on about 45 degrees of twist in relation to the handle. i have to admit this is my first time working with hickory, so im not the absolute word but it seemed like a bit of diference to me. either way kev like osage tree said youre gonna have a whole lot of fun with those staves, hickory is one of the best woods to start with and is capable of allowing many diferent variations of bow styles. good luck.

[kevgsp]

Thanks Pat and Richard, your right the cambium did come off with the bark.

OK, I got the backs of 4 staves sealed before I ran out of varathane, gonna pick up some more for the others tomorrow morning.

I don't have a bandsaw.

The staves are all 78" long, bitternut I think my friend said, he is the tree guru. Marked the center and 6" either side for the handle area just to be safe then took the limbs down in thickness.I used a hatchet and drawknife one is about 1" thick the other 1.5", still full width....stopped there. Hopefully tomorrow will get them 3/4" and even all along.

My concern right now is finding a better way to secure the stave in my vice. I have two layers of firm rubber about 3/16" thick each and a doubled over rag.  Don't wanna crush the wood fibers
but it needs to be pretty tight when working the drawknife.

[walkabout]

if you got the bark off in big pieces save it for future projects like a woven quiver. just peel the cabmium from the bark(after some soaking in warm water probably) and roll it up. you can even pre cut the width of strips you want before peeling. its got some cool colors after it dries. some people use it for chair bottoms and even cordage.

[Dan Joynt]

Yes these are Bitternut Hickory staves.  They have a very straight grain and very small growth rings.

[kevgsp]

Dan and I spent a few hours in the garage today. This is what we got so far...
This is my bow
 
 

Narrowed the limbs from 3"at fades to 2" tip.  
 
 
 
 

On the right is Dan's, roughed out with a table saw.
 
 

[shamus]

Pick up a  copy of "The Bent Stick" by Paul Comstock.

You can have it read in an afternoon and it'll help you along your way immeasurably.

[Pat B]

When you reduce a stave to floor tiller stage try your best to keep the limbs a consistent thickness to reduce chances of twisting. An uneven thickness will cause twisting.
  I always leave the handle area full width and thickness so I can clamp it securely in a vice without harming the wood. You don't need the handled shaped until you are done tillering. I leave the tips wide too for future adjustments if needed.

[kevgsp]

I will probably get "the bent stick" when I put my next order from 3 rivers.

Looks like the handle area has developed a crack dead center running lengthways about six inches long.  It may or may not be deep enough to still be there once I shape the handle. I put some super glue in the crack. End grain is sealed Worst case I guess I will glue a piece on to build the handle back up if need be.

I think the 45% RH in my house was to dry to quick, lesson #1 learned. Although Dan's did not crack but his was a day behind mine before going inside and we don't know what the RH% is in his house.  They are drying quick, the difference in ease of workability in 24hrs is unreal.

[gifford, MO]

You're off to a great start; very nice looking staves. The flat bow design will give you a very durable bow. Hickories soak up moisture like a sponge, some folks keep the 'stave in process' in a dry box to keep the moisture low. Once it's finished and sealed, it will last for years, one of my earliest bows is a hickory flat bow and it still shoots fine; it's not a speedy bow but dependable. G

[walkabout]

when some of my staves developed cracks in the handle areas i filled the cracks with TB3 and it helped to stop them from spreading too much. it seems to be quite common for thicker pieces to crack, which is why roughing out the stave is a good idea.