First self bow

[Adge23]

Well after some thought I have decided I would like to attempt a self bow build. Did not really want to buy a stage so I went out and found a nice piece of hickory growing on our property. I cut a 72 inch piece out and it yield 4 staves.
Now for the questions:
How long will those need to dry before they can be worked on?
Do I need to clean the bark off now or later?
Thanks

[Adge23]

Sorry for the double post not sure how that happened

[Adge23]

Sorry for the double post not sure how that happened

[Adge23]

Sorry for the double post not sure how that happened

[Pat B]

How about the quad post?

[Adge23]

Haha I have no idea how this is happening.    Sorry

[mwosborn]

Originally posted by Adge23:

How long will those need to dry before they can be worked on?
Do I need to clean the bark off now or later?
Thanks

The longer the better.       If you are in a hurry you can work down to bow dimensions and let it dry for a month or two depending on drying conditions.  However, the best bows seem to come from slowly dried seasoned woods.  

I like to take the bark off right away on both white woods and osage.

Good Luck.

[mikkekeswick]

Rough one of them out to a straight 2 inches wide it full length. Do not narrow the handle area.
reduce the limbs down to where you are getting a wee bit of bend when floor tillering. then put it away to dry.
you have got the limbs as thin as possible and it will now dry much quicker.
Weigh the stave once you have roughed it out and mark the weight on it.
The weight will fall pretty quickly to begin with. The moisture loss will start to slow down as time passes. Once the moisture hasn't changed for a week (or hardly changed) you are ready to start working it further. Narrow the stave to bow dimension (still leave the handle wide) and work on getting it bending correctly with a long string. Don't bend past 10 - 14 inches.
then keep the stave in the driest place you have and keep checking the weight.
If the weight stays stable finish your bow.
Quick dried wood will make a superb bow. The trick is to dry it correctly asnd don't bend it too far whilst moisture content is still high.
Hickory likes to be very dry compare to other woods. If you don't get it dry enough you will get a ton of set with it.
Good luck.

[Adge23]

thanks for all the help guys. Also is storing the staves in the house the best place to dry them?

[Mad Max]

I always weight in Grams
Works good, keep a log  book
when I first got started I got 3 or 4 staves and had all of them on a log book.

Now I have 5 or 6 waiting on me to build them.
Hickory needs to be DRY

[David Flanrey]

All good advice above.
Keep that hickory in a dry place.  A house or shop as long as dry.