pecan for a selfbow?

[wazabodark]

Ok, so the ipe backed redoak board bow was a bust. Fortunately, at this point I've had so many bows fail that I now only try to make them out of wood that I can barbecue with. At least that way I'm not just filling the garage with wood chips.  So, in keeping with that mindset, here are some pictures of my latest wannabe.    
  If I did that right you should now be looking at pictures of a pecan stave (and my backyard on a rainy Texas day.) Now I obviously don't know much about this, but this looks like a pretty good stave to me. I'm hoping to get at least one good flat bow out of it. I'd like it to be 5'6" maximum, and pull 50# at 27". I ralize that this is a tall order for a first time bowyer, but I have a specific reason for wanting this bow. You see, hogs can be hard to kill, and the only bow I currently own is a takedown recurve my wife gave me as a gift. I'd rather not scratch it up by dragging it through the rocks and brambles that our friendly South Texas terrain has to offer. So, how bout it, folks? Anyone feel like holding my hand while I fumble my way through this one? Please!

[LittleBen]

I'm sure you'll get all the advice you need here. Just keep posting pics of your progress and people will chime in.

a flat bow of 66" and 50# @ 27" should be doable with pecan. I can't imagine why not. I'd probably go 2" wide to mid limb then taper to 3/8" tips.

8" stiff handle section or so.

I'm sure some of the more avid selfbow guys will chime in here too so just hang in there.

[Art B]

Your stave looks awful weathered, has it been stored outside in the elements.....Art

[LittleBen]

Good  call art. That may be for the smoker and not for the bow bench.

[Osagetree]

Might be good inside. I'd try it just for the practice. Never know, you may get a shooter 1st time!

American Electric Power is going to cut a pecan that resides in my back yard. My late Father planted it years ago. If I have to let them cut it, I too will be working some pecan in the future.

Good luck & keep us posted!

[LittleBen]

My favorite part of working with hickory is that heat treating it produces a smell very much like roasted hickory nuts. It's quite enjoyable. I imagine pecan is very similar in that regard.

[wazabodark]

The stave was cut from a neighbor's yard about four years ago. It has been sitting on rack in a carport since then. I only recently moved it outside where the pictures were taken. So it has not been exposed to direct sunlight or rain except for the last three weeks or so. But it has been out in the heat (which is considerable here in south central TX) and the cold(which is never much below freezing). There doesn't seem to be any visible splitting or checking on the stave at all. But then again I haven't taken the bark off yet. What exactly would I be looking for to tell me if I have a good or bad stave? The bark is still holding tight to the wood, and the stave has some pretty good weight to it, so it's not rotten or desiccated. And it's also fairly large, so a lot of what's shown in the picture can be shaved off.

[Art B]

Cut you a sliver off and do a bend/break test. Hickory will take a great bend before collapsing, but not break entirely. If it's bad, it'll break fairly quick........Art

[wazabodark]

Ok, Art. I did the bend break test and here are the results:  . Soooo, now what? I'm dying to sharpen up the drawknife and start taking the bark off this bad boy, so I'm sure that that's the wrong thing to do. And I'm wondering if I couldn't get two bows out of this stave? It's 7' feet long, one end is a triangle 5 1/2"x5 1/2". The other end is shaped kind of like a crescent with a flat top. 7" on the bark side and about 4" through the center plane. How would I go about splitting that. Or should I just leave well enough alone and go for one bow? I won't be making a single move until one (or more) of you experienced guys sounds off. I'm tired of scrapping these bows. It's time to shoot one.

[Art B]

Bend test looks OK. Might as well give it a go.

Last chuck of hickory I had was 5 1/2" wide also and I sawed two staves out of it. But it didn't have any bark on it and things were much easier to judge. Got two staves 1 3/4" in width. But the back was kinda flat to start with. More crown means less width. So, if you want two staves, you're going to have to saw/kerf dead down the center. Here's how to find the center:

Removing that bark is probably going to test your patience with a draw knife but that's where you should start. Once the bark is removed, and if no defects to work around, then clean up the stave's sides to where you have at least 5/8" reveal on the side(s). This will help give you the exact center of the stave. Mark each end and straight edge. Once sawn/split, and allowing for a side reveal on the staves' other sides, will give you a good idea of their widths.

[wazabodark]

Quick question. Am I taking off the bark skin also. It kinda cool looking and I was wondering if it isn't like a built in backing. Thanks.- RD

[Art B]

That's the cambium layer. It's OK to leave some here and there for a camo effect, but basically you want to remove most of it.......Art

[wazabodark]

Now how did I know you were gonna say that. For twenty years I've been framing houses and I don't know if my hands have ever been this tired. Drawknives are way more labor intensive than nail guns. And pecan is much tougher than oak. Labor of love though, right? Three hours I've been shucking bark. Tomorrow I'll take off the cambium and cut the two individual staves. Btw, how should I cut this thing? I have a bandsaw, but it kinda sucks; I'd need a larger blade for it anyway.  Is that the tool to use here? That's probably my only option. The stave itself is straight as a Nebraska highway if you look up the bark side or along the point of the wedge. But turn it on its side and it has a 2-1/2" crown, cup on the bark side. A lot of this should come out when I cut it to length, I would imagine. I'll post pics so that you smarter than me types can throw in your two cents on the subject. And Art, thanks so much for your guidance. You've been a Godsend on this thing. I swear if we ever meet in person I'm gonna kiss you on both cheeks. (don't worry, I hardly ever leave TX.)  

[macbow]

One way to spit it is to run a chalk line down the back and cut a kerf with a power saw.
Then use wedges etc to split it.

It takes a good bandsaw to handle a large stave.

[Art B]

I have a 12" Craftsman bandsaw with 1/2" 4 TPI blade that will handle that. But if yours is less than 1 HP it would be best to kerf and split with a circular saw as Madcow suggested.

But if you do decide to go the bandsaw route, square up the stave's base for better control on the saw. And it'll reduce cutting material making it easier on the saw also..........Art

[wazabodark]

We'll... I got the cambium off and cleaned up the edges some, and some issues became apparent. First of all there's a couple of nasty knots along the right side of the stave, so I don't think I'll be getting two bows out of it. But my real concern is the bugholes. I don't know if it's wood wasps or or those god forsaken beetles, but there are five holes about 1/4" in diam. along the side of the stave. I took a piece of picture hanging wire and ran it into each of the holes. The deepest one went about 1-1/4" . The good news is that they seem to run more alongthe surface of the wood than into it. So I may be able to cut them out. I really didn't want to back this bow; so maybe find the deepest one and start chasing rings from there? There's also a number of much smaller pinholes, too small to even get the wire into. I'm not sure if this is a natural occurrence in pecan or if it's also done by vermin. I know I've heard that some woods, like yew, are riddled with pinholes. Anyhow, my thought is to cut the stave out of the center of this piece and hopefully eliminate some of these problem areas. That is unless any of ya'll have a solution. I've posted pictures. i plan to kerf about 1/2" outside of the black lines and split away the rest. No worries though. Nothing better for smoking a pork butt than pecan.  

[wazabodark]

Ok, so l did what I said and cut the stave out of the center. I got rid of all but one of the bugholes, and that's fairly high up on the stave, so I'm thinking it will get cut out when I taper the limbs. The knots are still there, and they cause the grain to roller coaster some, but I've seen some cool bows made out of much worse. So now I have a stave 3" wide across the back, 5'10" long,  and about 5" thick. I even had enough left over to make  a couple of hatchet handles. The reflex that God put into the stave came down to 1-1/2" after and will still come down more. So what do I do now? You still with me, Art? I feel like this is the one that the pigs gotta look out for. Here's some pics.  

[wazabodark]

Ok, so l did what I said and cut the stave out of the center. I got rid of all but one of the bugholes, and that's fairly high up on the stave, so I'm thinking it will get cut out when I taper the limbs. The knots are still there, and they cause the grain to roller coaster some, but I've seen some cool bows made out of much worse. So now I have a stave 3" wide across the back, 5'10" long,  and about 5" thick. I even had enough left over to make  a couple of hatchet handles. The reflex that God put into the stave came down to 1-1/2" after and will still come down more. So what do I do now? You still with me, Art? I feel like this is the one that the pigs gotta look out for. Here's some pics.  

[Art B]

Time to lay out your bow Ronnell. What you do have in mind? I see you want 66" 50@27" but what about handle shape? Cut-in shelf or not? Bendy or flat bow style?

But before you do that, and since you have plenty of scrap, now would be a good time to do another bend/break test, against the rings this time. Last test looked good but that was with the rings and not indicative of how the bow actually bends..........Art

[wazabodark]

[IMG]  https://www.dropbox.com/sc/60viyr3e8776sh4/onJqo7bYkb  /IMG]. The bend  test is in the pictures. I'm thinking American flatbow like the old Popular Mech. layout. I like the look of that bow. I'd like the handle cut out of the same stave as the bow, all one piece. Leather wrap, and floppy rest. I learned how to shoot a bow off my knuckle, so I don't need anything fancy. If I can just make one that shoots straight and hits hard I'll be happy. Not a bend through, though. Stiff handle for sure.