working with hackberry

[gringol]

I just received a hackberry stave from Semo-Hunter (a fantastic guy all around).  I know some of you use a lot of hackberry and I'd like to know if there is anything in particular I should know about working with the stuff.  The stave I have is lazer-straight, clear, and plenty long.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Chris is a grade A gumpy, SEMO dork. But he does work an honest bargain for certain    


I heat treat every hackberry bow I build and it loves it. My favorite 28" style so far is quite simple. 66" ttt, 2" wide for 12" beyond the fades, then straight taper to 1/2" tips. Flip the tips as well. It will be the fastest bow you have built Im betting! I love the stuff and second it to osage. Incredibly light in physical weight and a breeze to work.

[bbs383ci]

Where can you get hackberry I don't have a clue what it looks like?

Sorry not trying to hijack your thread just curious?

[WestTexan]

Everything PD said....  Here ya go 383
 http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=hackberry&view=detail&id=29F5C0B5DFE3F82293ED1BCB51343478EDDE2192&first=0&qpvt=hackberry&FORM=IDFRIR
I'm in Pecos County if you need help.

[Black Mockingbird]

I agree that heat treating it is a must. It also does well with the lever designs like mollys and holmgaards and the like. Because of its lower density it allows really light stiff levers. My second fastest bow is a hackberry andaman-holmgaard.

Also should be noted im biased towards these designs.

[psychmonky]

http://www.google.com/m?q=Hackberry+bark+images&client=ms-opera-mobile&channel=new

There is a link if you hate bing as much as I do. Lol.

Its important to note that big old hackberries have a very different looking bark than the warty, bumpy stuff on younger trees.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

quote:Originally posted by PEARL DRUMS:
Chris is a grade A gumpy, SEMO dork. But he does work an honest bargain for certain    

[Roy from Pa]

Ya, dork sums it up..........  

[SEMO_HUNTER]

quote:Originally posted by Roy from Pa:
Ya, dork sums it up..........      

[Roy from Pa]

Look here ya Rebel , ya all have any idea how smart a bird dog gotta be to be trained to point, catch, and release frogs? And you seen the video of him doing that, right boy?  

[gringol]

Thanks guys.

To straighten the kinks, I just heat the guilty area and clamp to something straight?  I was thinking about cutting out the crooked end and making a little bush bow.  It would be about 55" with a working handle.  How much draw length could I get out of that?  Recommendations?  I'd prefer simple....

[PEARL DRUMS]

If you want simple cut the straightest 62" section you can find in it and make a simple "d" bow.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

Just heat the area in question and impart some gentle persuasion, often you have to go a bit beyond straight to end up with straight....make sense? Also, I'd reduce the overall mass of that blank a little before trying to heat straighten it. But by all means I wouldn't shorten it anymore just because of a few wrinkles, those should come out very easily with a heat gun. Might help to post some pics of that blank I sent ya for the guys to look at. Pictures speak 1,000 words and will help these guys help you much easier.

[gringol]

Thanks, Chris.  I'll post some pics when I get a chance.

[allpowerfulguru]

Hey Guys, since we are on the subject of hackberry... I scored a nice straight and clear Sugarberry (Celtis laevigata)last Fall. It produced 6-8 good staves. I couldn't remove the bark because it was Fall, so I left it on. So far so good, but now I would like to start working a stave or two and am not sure what to do with the bark. I thought that as it dried out the bark would separate and come off easily, but it is not. Any suggestions on how to get the bark off without destroying the back would be appreciated.

Also on another note, could someone clarify the meaning of "heat treating" hackberry. Is this just heat bending in some reflex or what?

Please forgive the newbie questions... I'm a newbie.   :D

[gringol]

Heat treating is basically toasting the belly.  It increases compressive strength and reduces set.  Ultimately it makes the bow shoot faster.  Usually people add reflex while heat treating, but strictly speaking it is not required.

[k-hat]

hey guru, what part of ET are you in?  I grew up in the lufkin area (we call that DEEP east texas   )

You be careful not to give any of my kin a hard time now out on the highways  

[allpowerfulguru]

Gringol- thanks for the info, I will look into that a little more, I assume you need a heat gun.

K-hat- I grew up in Palestine, but call Tyler my home now. I lived in Nac for a few years, so I  know Lufkin well, beautiful area, great people.

Any other thoughts on getting the bark off???

[allpowerfulguru]

Thanks for the insights everyone. I am going to start a new thread on the subject to make it easier for someone searching later on.

Gringol- Sorry for the thread jack. Make sure to post some pics of your hackberry as you work it, I am eager to see how it comes out.

[gringol]

ok, I worked out some of the worst kinks in the stave and here is the result.

 

I thinking of a working handle flat bow.  ~60" NTN (I know it's short, but that's what I have to work with).  It's 1 3/4 inches wide with a slight taper to 1" in the last 12".  For all you hackberry wizards, what's the best cross section for this?  rectangular? trapezoid?