Hickory and Cherry. Have Questions

[GreyGhost83]

Well as some of you probably already know I ordered a maddog midsize longbow 60" 55#     . So, while I am waiting on the maddog I want to try and make a selfbow. I found some nice hickory and cherry up on a ridge by my house. Would it be better to use the cherry or hickory wood for the bow? If I cut a piece tomorrow what do I need to do to dry it. I heard something about sealing the ends? Should I go ahead and cut it into staves? Also about how long will it take to dry? Thanks in advance for any help!

[okie64]

You should probably try the hickory first. If you cut it now it is going to be very hard to get the bark off. If you wait till May or June the bark will peel right off and the first ring under the bark can be the back of your bow. If you peel the bark and work it down to 2"wide by about 1.5" thick and set it in your house somewhere it will be ready to tiller in about a month or so. Might should clamp it down to something to keep it from warping. The closer you get your roughed out dimensions to the final size of your bow the quicker it will dry. If you try to tiller it before it is dry enough it will take a lot of set.

[GreyGhost83]

Originally posted by okie64:
You should probably try the hickory first. If you cut it now it is going to be very hard to get the bark off. If you wait till May or June the bark will peel right off and the first ring under the bark can be the back of your bow. If you peel the bark and work it down to 2"wide by about 1.5" thick and set it in your house somewhere it will be ready to tiller in about a month or so. Might should clamp it down to something to keep it from warping. The closer you get your roughed out dimensions to the final size of your bow the quicker it will dry. If you try to tiller it before it is dry enough it will take a lot of set.

Thanks for the info. I am not sure what set means though.