Greg
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Post by Greg on Feb 18, 2012 20:48:30 GMT
Hey guys,
I've procured a 6 foot length of hickory from my landlord. He said it had been cut over a year ago. I went ahead and quartered it into staves and sprayed it against bugs and have let it sit since... December. It was good and dry before, but now it's incredibly dry and the heart wood is separating from the outter wood.
So, is my understanding correct that it's the heartwood that is used to carve a bow from, and the rest of the wood is to be discarded?
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Aaron
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Post by Aaron on Feb 18, 2012 20:53:57 GMT
It's always been my understanding that a hickory stave will generally be comprised of outer wood, not sure if heartwood is present for the belly or not. I think I've seen a few with heartwood bellies but I couldn't say with any certainty.
But I know that the outer wood definitely is used.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2012 21:41:39 GMT
Yep, the outer wood is used. I have made a few hickory and white oak long bows. A shave horse really helps when you are tillering it. Plus a super sharp quality draw knife. Save the best looking stave for your final effort. The first ones will be for practice leading up to the best stave. Hickory is tough and makes a fast bow. If you have unavoidable knots in it, you can leave them in if you carve wide around them. I made some Yumi style bows also out of hickory. Good luck with your project!
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Greg
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Post by Greg on Feb 19, 2012 8:00:03 GMT
SWEET!
Because the lengths of hickory I have are VERY nice on the outside. I have 3 draw knives at present and I can shave hairs off my arm with two of them.
As for the shave horse, I started setting up a rig with my table vice that is essentially some poplar and closed cell foam. Still working on how to secure them to the vice, but I think that the setup will work.
Thanks for the info gent. Hopefully I'll have a few bows by summer to show off.
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Talon
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Post by Talon on Feb 19, 2012 8:28:13 GMT
looking forward to seeing those completed greg,i've attempted a couple of bows before,they didnt work out too well
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Greg
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Post by Greg on Feb 19, 2012 21:59:27 GMT
Eh, after further examination of the wood, I don't know exactly how many staves I will have to work with. I've just finished making a poplar insert for my bench vice, need to let the thing set for 24 hours tho. I basically glued some poplar to some very thin metal and put holes in them to screw onto the vice. This will also come in real handy when I get back into metal working. But when I do that, I'll likely make some brass inserts instead.
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