Hickory backed bow ?

[Colt]

Hey guys,

I want to make a hickory backed/zebrawood longbow.

Because of the length of the zebrawood, the bow will be 64" nock to nock.

The hickory backing looks good and is about 3/16" thick.

I was planning on a 7 " handle with wenge.

I have a 26" draw and am aiming for around 45#s.

Am I wasting my time, or could I make this work being the length of the bow when finished?

[Pat B]

You should be able to get more than 45# out of this combo if you wanted. Reduce the hickory backing to about 1/8" and you will be good to go. I have never used zebra wood but have hickory backed osage, yew, hickory, ipe, red oak and a few other woods.   Pat

[Colt]

Thanks Pat. I think what I'm most concerned about is the zebrawood holding up under compression. I've never heard of anyone using zebrawood for this kind of bow.

Is there a reason for that?

[shamus]

Definitely get the hickory backing to about 1/8th of an inch.

According to TBBIV it performs like maple in regards to selfbows.

zebra wood is a about as dense as lemonwood. The bow in my picture (click on my profile info) is a hickory backed lemonwood. It turned out great.

I'm sure zebrawood will work fine.

[Colt]

Thanks shamus.

I have the backing at 5/32". I'll grind 1/32" off tommorrow, then glue up.

[Pat B]

You can wait and reduce the rest of the backing after you get some tillering done. If you see that you are having to reduce the belly too much you can scrape the back some also to reduce the weight or help adjust the final tiller.     Pat

[Dave2old]

Not to discourage, as I realize that hickory backing is high on the list with many professional bowyers, while I am but an amateur and always will be. But I made a couple dozen hickory-back board bows, with hickory or osage bellies, and sooner or later every one failed, and most were longer than 64". And I used the best pignut hick I could find to buy. So I switched to bamboo backing and have made a couple dozen more bows without a single failure. I would say at the least that hickory is more of a risk than boo. But who cares? Part of the fun of amateury bowbuilding is experimentation. My consistent reaction when a bow breaks is ... laughter. "Oh well, now I get to try another one." Enjoy the process, don't expect too much, and you can't go wrong. Dave

[Colt]

Well, it's all glued up. Keep your fingers crossed for me. It'll be beautiful if it turns out.

[Pat B]

You ought to be fine, especially at 45#. Enjoy the journey and the bow when you're done. Thats what it is all about! What shape are you planning on? Wide flat limbs or thin deep limbs?   I don't know enough about zebra wood to recommend a shape. I have never had a hickory backing fail and most of the bows I build are around 55#@26". Pat

[Osagetree]

Colt, you gotta post pics when finished. Even if it does not hold up!

Joe

[Colt]

Pat,

The zebrawood is only 1 3/8" wide X 3/4" thick and face grain, not the quatersawn stuff. It's a piece of board that is left over from making veneers for glass bows.

I've made a lot of glass bows, it's this all wood (self, backed, tri-lam) stuff I'm not too experienced with.

I was thinking of 1/2" wide at the tips fading back for 14"-15", kinda like Ferret's board bow layout. The handle is wenge and I was thinking of making that 6"-7".

Where I have failed the couple of times I tried a hickory backed bow was I cut the arrow shelf much like on a glass bow. The backing always split just above that when drawn. So I was thinking of glueing a small piece of wenge or zebrawood onto the handle for an arrow shelf.

I made one like this once last year using bubbinga. The bubinga didn't hold up under compression. I realized later that my hickory backing was a tad over 3/16" thick.

Thank you for your advice.

[Colt]

Osagetree,

I love those turkey calls and the hickory backed osage bow of yours in the how-to section.

I really envy you guys who have access to osage. None here in Minnesota.

I grew up in SW Michigan and it was all over behind the house I grew up in. Now, it's all been developed and the trees are all gone.

[Pat B]

If the zebrawood is a dense wood with good compression strength I'd keep it 1 3/8"(possibly a bit less) at the fades and either make a straight taper to 3/8" tips or go out about 6" to 8" from the fades before beginning the taper to the tips. You may want to initially make the tips 1/2" until the tillering is done and reduce them after you are sure the string will line up with the handle. I also leave the handle full width and thickness until the very end in case I need to adjust the stave for string tracking and it gives you a place to clamp the bow while working on it, without damaging the finished handle.  Leave the tips thick also so you can reduce the width later and still keep the strength needed. This will reduce the physical weight without affecting the integrity of the tips.
   I don't cut an arrow shelf in any wood bows. On some, I add a small leather shelf, more so for a locater than an arrow shelf. When you release an arrow, it shouldn't touch the shelf or the side of the bow anyway. The shelf makes it easier for some to be able to draw the bow and not have the arrow fall off. In most cases this occurs when the person drawing the bow curls the string fingers as they draw, forcing the arrow to the left(on right handed bows)instead of locking the fingers in a hook and drawing straight back.  
   When making self and backed bows I usually mark the center of the stave, go out 2 " each side of that mark for the actual handle and another 1 1/2" to 2" for the fades. This will give you a handle area of 7" to 8", including the fades.
  If you use a bulbous (Torges style) handle with a small wedge of whatever(leather, wood, horn) for an arrow  shelf/locater, you can reduce the width at the arrow pass to 1" or less, putting the arrow relatively near the center without effecting the strength of that highly stressed area of the bow...like a cut in shelf will do. Properly spined arrows will fly off of this kind of bow as well as any. Pat

[Dave2old]

Well and ironically, after what I said above about giving up on hickory backing ... the next day I discovered a long-neglected hickory-backed osage board blank under the cabin, already cut to basic limb shape. SO, I have no choice but to try again! And why not? Wood, like you and me, is all organic ... it/we all have to die someday. Might as well have a little fun and try a bit of art along the way. Clearly, there is something basically wrong with my hick-back formula, which only further experimentation can hope to solve. Nobody cares but me, and I don't care that much ... so what's to lose? (Oops ... I promised not to post anymore during happy hour!) dave

[Pat B]

Dave, How are your hickory backed bows failing? Are the backing strips coming apart? If so, it has been my experience that improper care of the hickory from tree fall to lumber is the culprit. Hickory is very strong in tension but being a white wood it is very susceptible to rot if not handled properly. The only failure I have had with hickory backings was one that broke across the grain. The log I cut it from was not handled properly and the entire 8" log, after being sawn into backing strips, became fire wood.     Pat

[Colt]

Pat,

Thanks for your help. Like I said before, I've made a lot of glass bows, but this hickory backed stuff is somewhat new to me. So this is an experiment. Hopefully it will be complete by the end of the week.

[Apex Predator]

I made one almost exactly as you are building.  It was ten years ago and my second successful bow.  It was a couple of inches longer and I draw 27".  Still shooting and it's almost 10 years old.