Intro, and Q on choosing hickory staves

[Freeflynick]

Hi everyone!
I'm Nick, a native Scotsman living in Houston for the last 20 years. I picked up bow building as a COVID hobby and have done 7 board bows of various types but want to try my hand at a self bow. Unfortunately osage is hard to find but I can probably get some hickory.
My question is, what should I be looking for? What is the ideal diameter of tree to look for? Obviously as straight as possible with no knots, but I don't know if I should be looking for young trees in the 4"-6" range or something more mature.
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!
Cheers,
Nick

[wood carver 2]

Hi Nick! Welcome to the addiction. 😁
I can’t be much help since I never made a selfbow, but I have seen bows made from relatively small saplings.
Dave.

[Roy from Pa]

Hey Nick welcome to trad gang.

Straight as possible with no knots is a good start, also look for straight bark.

A tree about 8 to 9 inch diameter can be split into 4 equal sections and yield 4 bows....

As soon as you cut the tree and cut it into 6 foot sections, "immediately" seal the ends with wood glue or varnish, etc to keep the moisture in, otherwise the ends of the log will split.

[williwaw]

with hickory, there is a time in the spring when the sap rises, and the bark can be peeled very easy. If you take the bark off, watch for checking on the back and be prepared to seal there also 

Hickory is good, but the best (osage) can be found a few hours north of you. just saying

[skeaterbait]

Don't forget to consider drying time. There is only so far you can go on a freshly cut stave. I think a pretty standard dry time is 1 to 2 years (for a stave that is). If you cut it down to the basic bow shape the drying time is shorter but still not something you can make a bow from right away.

At least that is my experience.

[Freeflynick]

Hickory is good, but the best (osage) can be found a few hours north of you. just saying

Williwaw - if you have the hookup on a good area to search for osage, I would be very much obliged!! I was at a friends camp last weekend near LaGrange and searched around for osage....found one but didn't see any suitable limbs, too twisted.
Also, I would like to try a couple of self bows with something less precious than osage to lessen my chances of screwing up a nice osage stave!

Cheers,

Nick

[Freeflynick]

Wow - you guys are quick!! I didn't expect this many replies in such a short time....I can see this site being a very valuable resource on my bowyer journey!

Skeaterbait - thanks for the tips on drying times. I had heard that hickory could be used after just a month or 2 of drying. Any tips for drying staves or rough-outs in the Houston climate? I have an attic that gets very hot, but also very humid.

[Pat B]

Wait until the leaves come out. That way you can just peel the bark off to expose a pristine back for your bow. Anything from 2" up will make a good bow. With a 4" to 6" you can get 3 staves or like Roy said 8" to 10"  for 4 staves. Once you cut it into 6' lengths and split it in half seal the ends well. Wood glue works well for this. Leave the bark on for a few weeks then remove the bark. I like shellac for backs because it is easy to remove with alcohol.
 You can reduce a stave to almost bow size, floor tiller stage and it will dry faster.

[williwaw]

if you reduce your stave to near bow dimensions, and choose your drying area wisely. you can shorten dry times.  a constant thickness stave will give you less troubles than one that is thick and thin.  So if you rough out your bow with 3/4 limbs, but leave a 2" thick area in the middle for a handle. the handle will check. one way around this is to cut the stave down to 1" for the entire length and plan to glue up an extra piece to the handle.   Attics are dryer than the humidity outside because the humidity is relative to the temperature and the attic is hotter.  speed drying wood needs to be checked every day, especially the first week or so, so a car parked in the sun is more practical. get a  digital gram scale to monitor weight loss.  the first few days will drop weight fast as free water is lost, but the checking will happen later as the stave starts to shrink.

[Eric Krewson]

I seal green hickory backs and ends just to be on the safe side. I like a 12" to 15" tree, lots of staves, usually multiple 6' cuts out of the trunk. Like was said wait until the leaves start to bud out, winter cut hickory is a pain to get the bark and cambian off of.

This is late cut hickory, it took me two weeks with a drawknife to get the bark off these staves, here they are sealed with shellac.