r/d lamination questions

[don s]

i have the materials to do a boo backed hickory bow. i want to do a r/d design. i have a couple questions. first is it necessary to taper the hickory as well as the boo before glue up? am i correct in assuming it will make things easier not only with tillering, but, it would make the glue up easier? second, the hickory i have is pignut, is this a good choice for a hickory bow? thanks.
       don

[IdahoCurt]

I taper my laminations and the boo back before glue up on my bows.It makes glue up easier and my bows seem to hold the profile better,also tillering is easier.Make sure your Bamboo is thinned out or it will over power the hickory and lose the r/d.

[Pat B]

I pre-tiller the belly so I get a smooth even bend at glue up.
  Hickory isn't the best wood to use as a belly wood because it is weak in compression(very strong in tension)and especially to go with a backing as strong as bamboo and in a very stressed design like R/D. I know folks use hickory as belly wood with boo but for the effort that goes into making one of these bows a better belly wood would be like osage, ipe or other compression strong woods.

[don s]

what about doing a hickory backed hickory r/d style? or a boo backed hickory, but, hill style? would these choices work. i don't have osage or ipe. i really can't afford to get any either. i have to go with what i do have.
                                don

[Pat B]

That would be a better combo and especially if you lived in an arid climate. Dan Perry(of Perry reflex fame)is a world class flight shooter and he likes hickory for his flight bows. He makes hickory and boo backed hickory flight bows. When you can get hickory to 5% or 6% M/C it performs like a champ and other bow woods would explode at that M/C. But in hunid climated , because hickory is so hygroscopic, it is slow to release moisture and becomes a slug. If you temper the belly before glue up it might help but in my opinion hickory just isn't a good belly wood.
  I love hickory selfbows. In that respect hiskory is one of my favorites but I know when the humidity rises a hickory bow will loose weight, take on set and should be set aside for dryer conditions.

[Pat B]

By the way, Dan Perry lives in Utah and most of the flight shoots are at the Utah Salt Flats.High altitude and very dry air.

[don s]

i live in buffalo, new york. aside from a few days in the summer, it is not humid.
           don

[vanillabear?]

[Pat B]

Bear, I don't know how I missed that bow. Looks like an excellent design for the wood combo and obvoiusly very effective! Did you get a pass through on that boar? d;^)
  Don, as you see it can be done. I don't know how many bows you have made but for a beginner hickory is a poor belly choice. The less frustrations a newby has the more he will learn and the more he will stay interested in wood bow building and the more confidence building it will be.

[vanillabear?]

[don s]

i've made a 3 piece glass recurve and 3 piece long bow,bbo,red oak pyramid,working on 2 hickory pyramids and a bbi. i just repaired and refinished an old indian archery flatbow. i've been wanting to do a r/d
                        don

[PV]

Couple of the best R/D bamboo backed bows I've built have hickory bellies. Keep your bamboo thin and your hickory dry.Not much humidity in Buffalo so that should'nt be and issue. I pre taper backing and belly.I also keep them long 64"NTN  and above. At that lenght I go 1 1/4- 1 1/2 " at the fades down to 5/8" -1/2" at the tips with flat belly. Not too radical on the R or D  Your results may vary.......  Got to use what we've got eh ...

[don s]

exactly pv. i have to use what i have. getting a different belly wood isn't an option at this point in time. thanks for all the info everybody.
                                          don